The Daily Item: May 27, 2022

A4 FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2022
OPINION
Edward M. Grant
President and Publisher
Michael H. Shanahan
Chief Executive Officer
Ernie Carpenter Jr.
Advertising Director
William J. Kraft
Chief Financial Officer
James N. Wilson
Chief Operating Officer
Thor Jourgensen
Editorial Editor
PUBLISHERS
Horace N. Hastings, 1877-1904
Charles H. Hastings and Wilmot R. Hastings, 1904-1922
Charles H. Hastings, 1922-1940
Ernest W. Lawson, 1940-1960
Charles H. Gamage and Peter Gamage, 1960-1982
Peter Gamage, 1982-1991
Peter H. Gamage, 1991-1996
Brian C. Thayer, 1996-1999
Bernard W. Frazier Jr., 1999-2005
Peter H. Gamage, 2005-2014
John S. Moran, Executive Editor, 1975-1990
DIRECTORS
Edward L. Cahill
John M. Gilberg
Edward M. Grant
Gordon R. Hall
Monica Connell Healey
J. Patrick Norton
Michael H. Shanahan
Chairman
After the Uvalde
massacre, will Americans
finally say “enough”?
Editorial from the Dallas Morning News
The feeling is too familiar now. It hits like a shock and
then twists into emotions of horror, anger, sadness, and
fear until it settles in the mind as a sickening numbness
that we don’t know what to do with.
The place this time is Texas. Uvalde. The deaths for
now include 19 children and two adults.
Schoolchildren. Teachers. Executed on their own campus.
Murdered in the place where they should be safe,
where they should be growing and becoming.
As a nation, we lack the capacity — morally, intellectually,
politically — to seriously grapple with the evil
sickness that has set in, manifested in the incomprehensible
nihilism of a murderer who would destroy the
lives of the most innocent among us.
But the rage spreads through all of us as we spin in
the powerless frustration that nothing is done, that
nothing will be done, and that we will simply await the
next slaughter.
Politically and legally, this country refuses to accept
or act upon the obvious connection between the easy
availability of powerful weapons designed to kill humans
and the way they get into the hands of young
men, even boys, with histories of disturbing behavior.
Our political conscience as a nation is so stunted now
that we cannot even enforce laws that are on the books
to stop these shootings. We cannot seriously discuss,
much less legislate, common-sense laws that could get
broad agreement that might stop the next shooter. We
cannot even agree that we should use the resources of
the federal government to study gun violence.
We believe in the right to bear arms. But every human
right is balanced with human responsibility. No
right is unlimited. Every leading Republican has made
more permissive gun access a political cause while doing
precious little or actively undermining efforts to
enforce existing regulation.
We do not know many details about the Uvalde murderer.
We do not know his motive. We do not know
much beyond the fact that he was 18, he wanted to kill
children and he had the means to do it.
It is time to re-enact the restrictions in the Federal
Assault Weapons Ban that were so foolishly permitted
to expire. It is time to limit high-capacity magazines. It
is time to ensure that background checks and red flag
laws have the most serious and uniform enforcement.
And it is time to open broad debate about other measures.
Saying this law or that law would not have prevented
what happened is Uvalde is not enough. We must
demand from our elected officials that they study, propose,
and enact legislation that has an effect. If you are
in elected office, this is your job. It is urgent — a moral
imperative.
There will be calls for addressing mental illness.
Those are valid. But if one thing is clear from mass
shooting after mass shooting, it is that killers generally
acted with careful planning and clear intent. They understood
the depravity and evil of their actions. They
did these things because they knew they were terrible
and because they had the ready means to do them.
After so much blood of so many children has been
spent, after so many mothers and fathers and sisters
and brothers have been left with lives of agony and
mourning and loss, after all of this horror and pain, are
we still unable to act?
I always leave Arlington National
Cemetery with more than I bring
Family lore holds that
the name inscribed in pale
stone in Arlington National
Cemetery’s columbarium
above the name of my
daughter’s grandfather was
the alias George Sohl used
during his service as a Naval
intelligence officer.
The truth is tucked away
in some Pentagon filing cabinet,
or it has disappeared
into the past, save for the
tantalizing mystery it proffers
every time I have the
honor to visit Arlington.
It takes a little effort to
find the columbarium with
its stone walls filled with
names. It’s not on one of Arlington’s
main roads leading
to the Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier or the hill where the
Kennedys are buried.
My wife and I wandered
beyond the columbarium
on a September morning 20
years ago and came upon
a simple monument on
the cemetery’s edge where
visitors had tucked notes
into the monument’s stone
seams.
Across the Potomac River,
the Pentagon loomed squat
and solid, and it took me a
minute to realize the monument
was a tribute to lives
lost a year earlier on Sept.
11.
We ended up in Arlington’s
Section 60 on a wet
June afternoon 15 years
ago and saw people, many
of them young, huddled
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
in front of graves. Some
clutched flowers, others had
brought balloons and personal
mementos, and we
realized that Father’s Day
for these people meant visiting
the graves of dads, sons,
husbands, and fiancés killed
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I had the honor to be present
for William Manning’s
Arlington burial. His service
to our country spanned
through World War II, Korea,
and Vietnam. He shared
an affinity for military life
with my late father-in-law
and he was captured on
Wake Island in December,
1941. The Japanese made
him work in a mine and I’m
told it was an experience he
rarely, if never, talked about.
The burial unfolded with
crisp military efficiency and
I couldn’t help but feel Bill
Manning wasn’t being laid
to rest under a pall of sadness,
but rather, he was being
welcomed to Arlington
by thousands of silent comrades.
I think about my visits to
Arlington on the days leading
up to Memorial Day and
I’m glad that every day I
walk down Monument Avenue
in Swampscott is Memorial
Day, if only for the
time it takes me to recite the
Pledge of Allegiance once
the big town flagpole comes
into view and then whisper
four words as I pass the memorials
saluting Jared Raymond
and Jennifer Harris.
“Freedom is not free,” I
remind myself as I spot
parents walking their kids
across Linscott Park to
school and see the banner
of inclusivity waving in
the breeze in front of First
Church.
I walk without fear of
missiles and artillery shells
driving my family into a
cellar to hide. A painting in
my den memorializes the
defense of Wake Island and
makes it easy for me to remember
Bill Manning’s service.
I’m overdue to visit Arlington
again, and maybe my
granddaughter — George
Sohl’s great-granddaughter
— will be with me on
my next trip. She will look
at the letters engraved in
the smooth white stone and
ask, “Who was he?” I will
answer, “He was the brother
of all the other people whose
names you see here.”
I will never be able to repay
the debt of gratitude I
owe those who we remember
on Memorial Day; but l
never forget that the debt is
owed.
Memorial Day and sacrifices made
Marblehead Police Department statement on Uvalde shootings
To the editor:
Chief Dennis King and
the Marblehead Police
Department wish to offer
their condolences to all
those affected by the horrific
events that occurred
yesterday at Robb Elementary
School in Uvalde,
Texas.
“On behalf of all the
members of the Marblehead
Police Department,
I send my deepest condolences
to the families,
friends, and loved ones of
EDITORIAL
all the victims of yesterday’s
senseless tragedy in
Uvalde, Texas.
“In an effort to make
students and staff more
comfortable in the wake of
this tragedy, Marblehead
Police will maintain an increased
police presence at
Marblehead Public Schools
until further notice. This
is purely a precautionary
measure as no threats
have been made to any
schools in the district.
“Our Department works
regularly with Marblehead
JEFFREY BLONDER
Opportunity, legacy, duty,
purpose, patriotism — the
reasons behind choosing
military service differ from
person to person. But as
varied as the reasons are,
there’s a universal understanding:
Service means
sacrifice, even if that sacrifice
is one’s own life.
When service members
die, the impact ripples
through our community.
Their deaths touch more
than just the lives of their
loved ones and friends. As
their stories are shared in
our neighborhoods, schools,
and places of worship, these
men and women become a
part of the collective identity
of our hometowns.
These stories, our Memorial
Day observances, and
the memorials and plaques
dedicated to our military
dead instill a sense of pride
among the citizens. They
inspire new generations
to raise their hands in service.
Because there may be
no greater sacrifice than to
offer one’s own life for the
lives of others. We don’t just
honor them at home. Remembrances
and tributes to
their sacrifice begin at the
very spots where they selflessly
gave their lives—both
for the brothers and sisters
they stood shoulder to
shoulder with and for their
country. Tributes include
the Battlefield Cross, which
some historians say has its
roots in the Civil War. Today,
it’s most recognizable as a
helmet resting on top of an
inverted rifle stuck in the
ground with boots placed in
front. Dog tags hang from
the rifle.
Public Schools to teach
students and staff about
safety measures to use in
the event of an emergency.
All school staff are trained
in ALICE, a training that
helps prepare individuals
to handle the threat of
an active shooter, which
stands for Alert, Lockdown,
Inform, Counter, and
Evacuate. Our Department
also assists school administration
in conducting
age-appropriate drills with
all students at each school
throughout the year.
THOR JOURGENSEN
COMMENTARY
Thor
Jourgensen
On the battlefield, members
of the unit can come
to this temporary memorial
to pay their final respects.
Even the process of returning
those killed in battle
home, known as a dignified
transfer, reflects the respect
and honor owed.
Small teams conduct the
solemn duty of moving a
transfer case onto a waiting
aircraft and draping
an American flag over the
case for the service member’s
journey back to Dover
Air Force Base in Delaware.
There, a team meets the remains
and begins the preparation
to return the service
member to loved ones.
But some who died while
serving have not yet made
it back home to the United
States. We honor them
through tributes such as
the Missing Man Table, displayed
to honor those who
are still missing in action
or prisoners of war. We don’t
just reflect.
We act by continuing the
search for those still missing.
The Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency (DPAA)
sends teams all over the
world, searching land and
sea to recover the missing’s
remains.
DPAA estimates that
more than 81,600 service
members are still missing.
Among them are 41,000
who are presumed to be
lost at sea in the Indo-Pacific
region. Some of those
still missing at sea were
killed aboard Japanese “hell
ships” during World War II.
Hell ships were unmarked
Japanese merchant ships
that sailed between the
“In coordination with Superintendent
John Buckey,
we formed a School Safety
Committee, which meets
regularly to discuss school
safety issues and create
plans on how to respond to
them collectively.
“In addition to working
with the district, we
partner with places of
worship and businesses
in town to help prevent
such incidents, including
by teaching staff about
the ‘Run, Hide, Fight and
Power of Hello’ method to
Philippines and Japan
during the war and appeared
to only be carrying
Japanese military personnel
and supplies. But below
deck, crammed into dark,
sweltering holds were Allied
Prisoners of War.
The conditions were deplorable.
People were often
heaped on top of each other,
with no access to bathrooms
or light, and with little to no
food or water. It’s estimated
that 126,000 Allied Prisoners
of War were moved this
way.
More than 1,500 men died
in their holds from heat,
thirst, or being killed by
Japanese guards. But more
than 19,000 died when the
U.S. Navy and other Allied
forces carried out attacks on
these ships.
We must continue to share
their stories so we can remember
what they sacrificed
for the rest of us. Because
few men and women
choose to put their lives on
the line to serve and defend
the Constitution. Few go
toward danger and willingly
face atrocities most of us
can’t fathom.
Few volunteer to serve,
knowing that death may
be the outcome. But we can
ensure that those who do
make this choice and make
the ultimate sacrifice can
rest knowing they served
with the thanks of grateful
citizens and knowing that
they won’t be forgotten.
Jeffrey Blonder, USN, is
the retired commander of E.
F. Gilmore Disabled American
Veterans Chapter 64 -
Swampscott/Lynn.
diminish threats.
“The Marblehead Police
Department will continue
to work to provide education
and offer training
surrounding emergency
situations, as well as
support to the community
in any way we can during
this difficult time.
“If you or your child become
aware of any threat
toward a school or institution
in town, please notify
the Marblehead Police
Department at 781-631-
1212 immediately.”
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