Our Views: Honor World War II Veterans While You Can

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Today’s front page story features a touching image of Lewis County resident Roy Long accepting a Bronze Star for acts of heroism undertaken before many of us were born. 

Without the efforts of Long and and some 16 million Americans who put their lives on the line in World War II, today’s world would obviously be a much different place. 

Thankfully, we don’t have to imagine that scenario. 

As the wheels of time churn ever forward, it’s increasingly important to remember the acts of bravery and selfless courage that allowed for America and its allies to prevail in the second World War. 

Veterans from the war are dying at a rate of about 492 a day, according to statistics from the Veteran’s Administration. 

That means only about 855,000 World War veterans are alive today. 

That number will only decline with each passing day. 

The work of the Veterans Memorial Museum in Chehalis is incredibly important. It’s not just about commemorating victories and defeats on the battlefield. It’s about capturing the stories of men and women who shaped the world as it exists today for the better. 

That’s not blind patriotism. That’s reality. 



Consider the case of Roy Long, who was unwilling or unable to share his stories of the European theater until being pushed to do so by his son, Jim Long. 

“I never knew what he went through,” Jim Long said. “But I was bound and determined after getting that all recorded. He deserves some recognition.”

Most of us will never know the fear and dread of being pinned down by a machine gun and watching your friends mowed down as they try in vain to halt the barrage. We won’t know whether we’d have the intestinal fortitude to act, or if we’d collapse into fear.

For Long and many of his generation, those scenarios are real. We must learn from them, if only to know that they happened and the courage summoned in their face could be needed again. 

The museum carries out the work of collecting these stories on a constant basis. Learn more at veteransmuseum.org or, better yet, visit the facility at 100 SW Veterans Way, Chehalis. 

Likewise, Herrera Beutler has an ongoing initiative to collect and share the stories of veterans. Stories and photos can be emailed to share.vet.stories@gmail.com or mailed to O.O. Howard House, 750 Anderson St., Suite B, Vancouver, WA 98661.

The Office of the Washington Secretary of State, meanwhile, has published stories of veterans online at www.sos.wa.gov/legacyproject/washington-remembers/.

Take a moment to hear their stories. They are important, and it won’t be long before we can only hear them through history books, audio recordings and others.