Tuesday, May 27, 2008

The Price of Freedom

A hat tip to Scott Johnson of Powerline, who found this superb Memorial Day column by Tom Mountain of Newton, Massachusetts. When he asked for a list of Newton residents who died in World War II, the local veterans' services office sent him a fax that was six pages long. It contained the names of 269 men from Newton who gave their lives during the war.

As Mr. Mountain writes:

"By any measure, 269 men killed in war from a city the size of Newton is an enormous, heart-wrenching number. That's well over 500 mothers and fathers who received the fateful telegram, informing them that their sons had been killed in wartime. No corner of Newton was spared the tragedy of the Second World War. Every neighborhood, every block, every school suffered the loss of someone who was killed overseas. To this day, there are those among us who remember all too well."

Read the whole column. And remember.

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