Gen. Michael Hagee salutes World War II veterans, from left, Alvin Stotz, Sam Sorenson, Huey Lamb, P.B. Snyder, Jim Glazener and Ernestine Walker-Burnham.— Standard-Radio Post/Ken Esten Cooke
By Ken Esten Cooke —
It may seem like a lifetime ago, but the effects of allied victory during World War II are still felt around the globe.
Six WWII veterans attended the “End of WWII” ceremony on Friday in the memorial courtyard of the National Museum of the Pacific War. And the grandson of the nation’s 41st president, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, gave the keynote speech.
Hostilities in the Pacific ended officially on Aug. 14, 1945, when the Japanese surrendered to Allied Forces aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
Michael Hagee, the 33rd Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps and now president and CEO of the Admiral Nimitz Foundation, opened the ceremony. Hagee said the men and women “who wear the cloth of our nation” have qualities few others, if any, possess.
“When they meet adversity, they respond to it,” he said. “They don’t have to wait for orders, they figure it out and they make it happen.”
Hagee praised the military members who stood on the front lines.
“Admirals and generals do not win wars,” Hagee said. “But who wins wars? Privates. Lance Corporals. Sergeants. Lieutenants. Captains.”
“And the reason they do is when things change, they figure it out and they respond. I can name a whole list of battles during World War II where they figured it out,” Hagee said. “So today, we honor those individuals.
Hagee recognized all veterans and family members.
Then he recognized six World War II veterans in attendance.
“Now for the ‘Greatest Generation,’” Hagee said. “I know you don’t like that moniker, but you’re stuck with it. Tom Brokaw was right. During the greatest crisis of the 20th Century, you came forward.”
Attending were Alvin Stotz, Sam Sorenson, P.B. Snyder, Huey Lamb, Jim Glazener and Ernestine Walker-Burnham.
“Not only were you successful in that endeavor, but you came back here and built this nation into one that is the envy of the world.”
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