America's history is graced with some of the greatest conflicts ever fought by civilizations and for great ideals. This was never truer than in World War II, sometimes called the Great War. As is so often the case, this was not a war America wanted to be in. When aggressors bring war to America, it is often forced to respond. But whenever America responds, it is with a fury that its enemies rarely forget.
When you think about it, the very idea of a world war is terribly terrifying. And in every respect, World War II was a world war because it involved virtually every country and every continent in a global conflict that lasted for years. The enemies of America and its allies were well-armed, intelligent, determined, and powerful. But America has risen to the challenge and will meet it again if the likes of Hitler dare to threaten civilization like this again.
World War II was also practically a textbook example of flawless cooperation with our allies. Working with them, as if we were one country and one army, we deployed our forces to various battlefields from Europe to Asia to Russia and around the world. We had to fight more than one enemy. Hitler's Germany itself was a terrifying foe as it spread its evil influence across Europe, occupying country after country, threatening to engulf the entire continent and then move on to conquer countries in Central Asia and even the Americas.
But we also had powerful enemies in Germany's allies, especially in Japan. When this terrifying enemy struck our forces at Pearle Harbor, it was a blow to America that could not be ignored. As for Japan, they hoped to cripple the American military and remove all hope from the American heart so they could strike back or become part of the conflict. They accomplished the exact opposite as every man, woman, and child in America came together to build the kind of war machine that would bring the Axis powers down, no matter the cost.
But the most important thing America said to the world when it took on Hitler's armies and defeated them was that totalitarian rule by free nations would never be tolerated. Hitler had dreams of world domination like the great kings of ancient Rome of the early Germanic empires. But America overthrew dictators when we founded this country and declared that we would not become pawns of kings or tyrants. We weren't going to hand over that hard-fought freedom to lunatics while there was any fighting will left in this country.
It was not an easy battle or a battle without cost. Thousands of American youth have given their lives to preserve the freedoms won by our forefathers. Our leaders had to show resolve and unity that they would not blink in the face of the challenge and not let down the brave American soldier or the civilian population behind them until Hitler and his allies were defeated.
The world saw what America was made of in this great conflict. He saw that a country that was blessed with great wealth and prosperity was also willing to use those resources to defend its borders and defend its allies. It was a harsh lesson for our enemies to learn that America is not a country to be trifled with in a fight. But then we showed that we are not a vindictive country when, even after defeat, we reached out to Japan, Germany and other defeated nations and helped them recover from that terrible war. This too is a testament to the American spirit and the American sense of fair play. Let us hope that the enemy will never again rise to test that will, for he will discover, as Hitler did, that America will not fail to respond to the call to battle or the call to honor that is her heritage.
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