Parenthesis to History (washingtonpost.com)
I think that Krauthammer has missed the point. His compliants about the National WWII Memorial are off the mark. Asking questions about why are the states named. These are where the nation sent its sons out to fight and in some cases die. Take the 29th Infantry Division for example. Part of this division landed in the first wave at Omaha beach on D-Day (and has its own memorial. These men were formed from a National Guard division, as were most of the divisions that the United States created to fight in Europe and the Pacific. They came from Maryland, Virginia, as well as some from Pennsylvania. It was a regional and state division like most National Guard units. This is why the D-Day Memorial is in Bedford, VA. That town suffered the highest casualty rate on D-Day, losing almost 20 of her sons in a single day at one place.
Krauthammers point about the stars (4,000 gold stars representing 100 combat deaths) is also misplaced. In fact, men did die by the hundreds in battles. Kasserine, Sicily, Italy, D-Day, St. Lo, the Ardennes, the Rhinelend, Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Okinawa. These and many other place saw young men, from small and big towns all across the United States and its territories, give their lives to defend and bring freedom to the peoples of Europe and Japan and the Pacific.
To make these kinds of complaints regarding the WWII Memorial shows that one, Krauthammer just dislikes the memorial itself or its location, and shows his ignorance of the US Military's structure during World War II. Our boys were killed by the score for what they believed was an important task. In my opinion, he cheapens their sacrifice and this nation's long overdue "thank you" by bringing his personal dislikes to the table.