Right now, the world seems to be in the midst of wars. Currently, there is the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the Israeli/Hamas conflict. In both struggles we are seeing homes and civilians, adults as well as children, killed. The nightly news is devastating.
It makes me think of the phrase, ‘the last good war,’ which is used to refer to World War II. I would like to say here that there can be necessary wars, defensive wars, and political wars but there are no ‘good’ wars.
Take a look at the two pictures beside this essay. They are both of my father. The first is his graduation picture from West Point where he placed third in his class. The next is just one year later, taken when he had become captain of a B-29 flying over the Himalayan Mountains to bomb Japanese held China. He is just short of his 23rd birthday and will be shot down over Manchuria in a few days.
Look at this young man’s face and see what war does. There are no ‘good’ wars.
