My older brother is a Vietnam vet; he earned a Bronze Star for his service. My father served during the Korean Conflict, but not in it. His older brother fought in WWII and was captured with fellow soldiers, taken to Nazi prisoner-of-war camps, where he was tortured and nearly starved to death; he later received several medals. That “greatest generation” that fought, and so many died … not just for our country, but to free the millions horribly oppressed in Europe under the evil regime of Adolf Hitler’s ghastly Germanic forces. Hitler believed in a superior race and stirred up the masses with his fiery rhetoric against the “others’, especially Jews. When he came into power he instituted horrific progroms of government-sanctioned prejudice against the Jewish people. How was one deranged man able to influence and seduce so many? Hitler himself was daily injected with methamphetamine, and the pill form was distributed to many of the German fighting troops to “heighten aggression and diminish human warmth and empathy”. Hitler was criminally insane and he surrounded himself with sadistic monsters, willing to do the evil bidding of their Fuehrer. Hitler’s megalomania knew no bounds; he took over most all of Europe, and his soulless death squads are responsible for the extermination of several million human beings. The total death toll of WWII is estimated at 50 – 80 million people! Try to take that in … for just a moment! That was the price for a world, the outcome of a nation that vaulted forth and rallied behind a psychopath, who preached a doctrine of white supremacy, and told his fellow Germans why they were the perfect race. And in believing that message they were willing to turn a blind eye or even to take an active part in confiscating the homes and possessions of their Jewish neighbors, in watching them shot down in town squares, in seeing them and their family members loaded like cattle on train cars to be shipped to “work camps” where they were raped, tortured, experimented on, and millions worked to death or gassed in furnaces. When our Allied Forces finally got to some of those death camps they freed an emaciated, demoralized, grateful remnant of people and witnessed gruesome sights beyond imagination; many later suffered from PTSD. The vast stash of possessions stolen from these creative, hard-working, faithful Jewish people included priceless works of art, jewelry, beautifully-crafted furniture, their clothing and even barrels full of gold fillings taken from their teeth! Our Allied Forces delivered the remnant from the hell of Hitler’s design. My uncle, Wayne Rex Forsyth, was a hero! Even though he was taken prisoner-of-war! He left an idyllic countryside to experience a hell on earth, the conception of a madman! He didn’t serve to get medals; he certainly wouldn’t have asked for or accepted one someone else had earned. My 5th great-grandfather, Elijah Forsythe, emigrated here from Scotland to join us in the Revolutionary War. His son, William Forsyth, fought in the War of 1812. My 2nd great-grandfather, John Forsyth, fought in the Civil War, was a captain of a colored-company of soldiers, who were indeed fighting for freedom. My other ancestors emigrated here from Sweden and Spain; and some were Native American. My Spanish grandfather, Hilario Mendoza, born in Texas, was a career military man, Army-Air Corps aviator, enlisted in 1918; he fought in WWI and served through WWII before retiring. We are a country of immigrants. We need to embrace our diversity. We are a country founded on freedoms, one being freedom of and from religion. We need to celebrate our own traditions and welcome and respect others. We are a country of laws and compassion; we need to learn how to love our neighbors, as ourselves. With Veteran’s Day coming upon us just following Election Day, please do not denigrate the service of our men and women by voting for Donald J. Trump, who is like the reincarnation of Adolf Hitler; who is against all the best ideals this country of ours stands for — our “better angels” who serve and have served so we live in freedom. We need to NOT take our freedoms lightly! We need to be aware of the rebirth of “American Nazism” in this country, to uproot, not cultivate. (Google the subject). White supremacism, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, sexism should have no place in our 21st century society. Hate speech can quickly go from talk to violence, as witnessed by some political allies. Let us pull together and celebrate the glorious history of the birth of our nation and all those immigrants who fought as Americans for the freedoms we enjoy and often take for granted. Let us remember ALL our heroes, who have fought valiantly for our shared ideals, for progress, for the human and civil rights that have brought us thus far. Let us NOT turn back! E Pluribus Unum.
Written by: Trish Forsyth Voss; printed as Guest Opinion in 10/24/16 issue of The Register-Mail newspaper, Galesburg, IL.
Oct 25 2016
Guard against American ‘Nazism’
My older brother is a Vietnam vet; he earned a Bronze Star for his service. My father served during the Korean Conflict, but not in it. His older brother fought in WWII and was captured with fellow soldiers, taken to Nazi prisoner-of-war camps, where he was tortured and nearly starved to death; he later received several medals. That “greatest generation” that fought, and so many died … not just for our country, but to free the millions horribly oppressed in Europe under the evil regime of Adolf Hitler’s ghastly Germanic forces. Hitler believed in a superior race and stirred up the masses with his fiery rhetoric against the “others’, especially Jews. When he came into power he instituted horrific progroms of government-sanctioned prejudice against the Jewish people. How was one deranged man able to influence and seduce so many? Hitler himself was daily injected with methamphetamine, and the pill form was distributed to many of the German fighting troops to “heighten aggression and diminish human warmth and empathy”. Hitler was criminally insane and he surrounded himself with sadistic monsters, willing to do the evil bidding of their Fuehrer. Hitler’s megalomania knew no bounds; he took over most all of Europe, and his soulless death squads are responsible for the extermination of several million human beings. The total death toll of WWII is estimated at 50 – 80 million people! Try to take that in … for just a moment! That was the price for a world, the outcome of a nation that vaulted forth and rallied behind a psychopath, who preached a doctrine of white supremacy, and told his fellow Germans why they were the perfect race. And in believing that message they were willing to turn a blind eye or even to take an active part in confiscating the homes and possessions of their Jewish neighbors, in watching them shot down in town squares, in seeing them and their family members loaded like cattle on train cars to be shipped to “work camps” where they were raped, tortured, experimented on, and millions worked to death or gassed in furnaces. When our Allied Forces finally got to some of those death camps they freed an emaciated, demoralized, grateful remnant of people and witnessed gruesome sights beyond imagination; many later suffered from PTSD. The vast stash of possessions stolen from these creative, hard-working, faithful Jewish people included priceless works of art, jewelry, beautifully-crafted furniture, their clothing and even barrels full of gold fillings taken from their teeth! Our Allied Forces delivered the remnant from the hell of Hitler’s design. My uncle, Wayne Rex Forsyth, was a hero! Even though he was taken prisoner-of-war! He left an idyllic countryside to experience a hell on earth, the conception of a madman! He didn’t serve to get medals; he certainly wouldn’t have asked for or accepted one someone else had earned. My 5th great-grandfather, Elijah Forsythe, emigrated here from Scotland to join us in the Revolutionary War. His son, William Forsyth, fought in the War of 1812. My 2nd great-grandfather, John Forsyth, fought in the Civil War, was a captain of a colored-company of soldiers, who were indeed fighting for freedom. My other ancestors emigrated here from Sweden and Spain; and some were Native American. My Spanish grandfather, Hilario Mendoza, born in Texas, was a career military man, Army-Air Corps aviator, enlisted in 1918; he fought in WWI and served through WWII before retiring. We are a country of immigrants. We need to embrace our diversity. We are a country founded on freedoms, one being freedom of and from religion. We need to celebrate our own traditions and welcome and respect others. We are a country of laws and compassion; we need to learn how to love our neighbors, as ourselves. With Veteran’s Day coming upon us just following Election Day, please do not denigrate the service of our men and women by voting for Donald J. Trump, who is like the reincarnation of Adolf Hitler; who is against all the best ideals this country of ours stands for — our “better angels” who serve and have served so we live in freedom. We need to NOT take our freedoms lightly! We need to be aware of the rebirth of “American Nazism” in this country, to uproot, not cultivate. (Google the subject). White supremacism, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, sexism should have no place in our 21st century society. Hate speech can quickly go from talk to violence, as witnessed by some political allies. Let us pull together and celebrate the glorious history of the birth of our nation and all those immigrants who fought as Americans for the freedoms we enjoy and often take for granted. Let us remember ALL our heroes, who have fought valiantly for our shared ideals, for progress, for the human and civil rights that have brought us thus far. Let us NOT turn back! E Pluribus Unum.
Written by: Trish Forsyth Voss; printed as Guest Opinion in 10/24/16 issue of The Register-Mail newspaper, Galesburg, IL.
By spiritspeak • Guest Opinion 0