Victory at last

The ship's announcement system carried this electrifying moment from Captain to crew "NOW HEAR THIS: NOW HEAR THIS: THE WAR IS OVER!" Two hundred twenty men created a pandemonium of shouting and whooping when he added, "We have received orders to get underway: Destination Tokyo Bay."

For the first time in four years, we turned on our running lights as we left for that fabled destination, arriving with most of the Third and Seventh Fleets that final day in the historic month of August 1945 --- just 65 years ago.

Okinawa to our stern, we anchored in Japan just a hundred yards from the USS Missouri, where the next day we watched the surrender ceremony take place at so long last. We were to stay four months carrying on occupation duties. But the long and vicious conflict was finally a matter of fact.

But that month of August had seen the first and last use of nuclear weapons at Hiroshima and Nagasaki --- the wisdom of that act has been debated ever since. This observer might have been one of the million casualties had we been forced to invade their homeland. It was a peaceful occupation and we got to meet ordinary Japanese people. Especially the kids who somehow picked up the universal cry "Hi, Joe --- got any gum?"

In the many wars since the big ones, there has never been any clear-cut reasons to engage in conflict as did we experience during those hateful four years. Korea's "police action?" has become the forgotten war. Viet Nam should never have happened --- there was no compelling reason to fight and even its ending was dishonest on our part. The intervening fracases have had no clear reason for our loss of troops and resources --- even now at August's end in 2010.

Let us decide to be at peace --- it is such a precious commodity.