Don’t ever forget the cost of war

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It is hard to believe it has been over 70 years since June 6 (D-Day), although now, the war does seem so very far away. I was nine years old when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. I had an older cousin stationed on Oahu, Hawaii in the SeaBees. He survived the war, had a very good life, but has since passed. I had an uncle who also served and was part of the D-Day invasion. He also survived.

It was a custom during that time to place a satin flag in the windows if you had someone in the service — blue stars for living soldiers and gold if they had been killed. I remember putting a flag in our window for my father the morning we said goodbye at the local Wilmington Depot when he left for basic training. We also added the other family members to the number of blue stars.

Here at home there were ration stamps for food and gasoline. There were paper drives, aluminum drives and more too numerous to mention. We grew our own vegetables and canned them. We had a cow, so we churned our own butter and did many other things we thought would help in the effort.

When D-Day came and it was broadcast over the radio, I remember how excited everyone was, even though we were frightened for those we had over there. I did not understand because of my age — by then I was a teenager — how very important that day was. However, I did notice how many blue stars turned to gold. Let’s don’t ever forget what a war really costs.

Lucy Steritz

Lynchburg

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