A Sad Commemoration

Most surviving persons of my parents' generation remember what they were doing when they received the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In my earliest years as a student the anniversary, then twenty-some years in the past, was mentioned every year. In the years since the milestones are generally marked by quick mentions on the nightly news. Many people who were alive then have passed on. The American response was to declare war on Japan, and it was over in August 1945, three years and nine months later.

Today is the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, four airplanes were deliberately crashed, three of them into heavily populated buildings. Millions of people saw the events unfold live on TV. I will never forget seeing the damage done to the Pentagon. This is the first year that the anniversary has fallen on a Tuesday, the same day of the week as the attacks. Each year has been marked by lengthy commemorative ceremonies in New York, including the names of all those who perished in the World Trade Center, the scene with the most casualties. Some have suggested that it is time to scale back, especially now that the man who helped calm the city is now running for President. Having him speak at the ceremony would be, many - including myself -
say, inappropriate, turning a still-fresh and painful memory into political opportunity for his major claim to fame.

Moments of silence and/or tolling of church bells have been suggested, along with a brief ceremony of remembrance. This has been supported by residents of the city who lost no one in the attacks, who say they are suffering from 9/11 fatigue; as well as by some of the family members of the deceased, who wish to turn their grief into something less public. Others say they want the somber and lengthy ceremonies to continue indefinitely.

The healing has begun. The morning news shows carried on as usual. There were no interruptions in the broadcast to televise the reading of the somber names of the dead. This is a natural progression as this day becomes part of history. I wish I could say that the American response to the 9/11 attacks was the same as that to Pearl Harbor, that after a difficult fight with many casualties our country eventually kicked the ass of our enemy, but the war we declared afterward still goes on nearly six years later, with no end in sight, and a death toll that rivals the number of lives lost that terrible day.

One thing is certain: Eventually the public commemoration will be scaled back. This is a natural progression, and, many psychologists say, a healthy one. The Challenger explosion is usually mentioned in passing on its anniversary. The observance of the national tragedy that I have only the dimmest memories of, the assasination of President Kennedy, is also mentioned in passing, has diminished, with more coverage likely to come on the fiftieth anniversary in 2013. The decrease in attention was fine with President Kennedy's family, who prefers to mark the anniversary of his birth with the Profile in Courage award.

For unknown reasons, the tragedy that held the record for the most lives lost in the history of New York City prior to 9/11 cannot even be named by most people. This was not the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire (146 young women died), but the 1904 fire that broke out on the steamship General Slocum as it cruised up the East River, full of German immigrants, mostly women and children, on a church outing. Out of 1,300 people who boarded the boat, 1,021 of them were killed. By the 1920s the anniversary of that day had been largely forgotten, was marked only by a small ceremony in a Lutheran cemetery, having been overshadowed by the attention given to the sinking of the Titanic (expect a big tribute to those victims on the 100th anniversary in 2012) . And forget about the home-grown terrorism that occurred in Oklahoma City in 1995. I've always felt that those people were short-changed, because the people behind that attack were freckle-faced white boys. No sense of national outrage there. No huge payouts to the families of those who died, some of whom lost their homes after suffering financial hardships. And the story itself usually placed second on the evening news to the O.J. Simpson case, like two people dead is more newsworthy or outrageous than 168. Finally, we've all seen how much work remains to be done in New Orleans two years after Katrina. If that flood damage had occurred someplace like Cedar Rapids, Iowa, it would have been restored, bigger and better, long ago. Only in America.

As the evening news and documentaries recall the horrible events of that Tuesday morning six years ago, I will say a prayer for the souls of those who died and for the ongoing struggles of those who suffered permanent injuries, and for those whose lives forever changed that day, for whatever reason. I will hope for an end to this seemingly endless war.

And I will also give thanks for the proof that life does go on: My granddaughter, who was born one year ago today.