Disparate in battlefields, weaponry, uniforms and the times, a soldier's constancy remains the same. So in cold forest rains nearly three scores ago and in blasting sandstorms just a few days past, members of America's armed forces stand up for the nation and our pluralistic way of life. Warriors’ honor
holds steadfastThe degree of threat and the tactics of the country's enemies today are far different from those confronted by the 442nd Regimental Combat Team during World War II.
No matter. The substance offered by the segregated unit of Asian Americans to their fellow citizens is the same as that of troops in Iraq. They set aside youthful sanguinity and a soul's unwillingness to take another's life to defend the rest of us.
Some in the 442nd returned home from Bruyeres, Belmont and the Vosges Mountains in France, as some will from Nasariya, Kirkuk and Basra. Some left their bodies in those far-off places, as some have and others will in Iraq.
This mattered then and it matters now.
While the decades have cut the 442nd's numbers, time has not diluted the strength of honor. It is claimed and maintained by the men and women fighting in Iraq.
To the members of the 442nd, who are recognized this weekend on the 60th anniversary of the team's founding, we again drape leis woven with esteem and gratitude across your shoulders and join you in remembering the comrades who are gone from this world.
Cynthia Oi
coi@starbulletin.com