어제 미국 워싱턴에서 있었던 제2차 세계대전 기념물 헌정식에는 부시 대통령을 비롯하여 클린턴, 부시 1세 전 대통령과 영화 배우 탐 행크스, 전 공화당 대통령 후보 밥 돌(기념물 건립위원장), NBC 뉴스 앵커 탐 브로커 등 10만 명의 대관중이 참석했다. 미국의 젊은이 1600만 명이 2차대전에 참전했고 약40만 명이 전사했으며 지금 약400만 명이 생존해 있다. 이날 기념식은 참전용사들에게는 최후 최대의 행사였다. 부시 대통령은 대부분이 참전용사인 약10만 명의 관중들을 '가장 위대한 세대' 라고 추켜주면서 '기립하여 우리의 인사를 받으라'고 유도했다.

2차대전 참전 세대에 비견될 만한 우리의 가장 위대한 세대는 1920년대생이다. 이들은 6.25 전쟁을 온몸으로 겪었고 그 뒤 근대화 시기에 경제전선에서 주력군으로 일하여 이 정도의 나라를 만들어 후손들에게 물려주었다. 이들을 수구꼴통이라고 성토하는 친북좌익과 그들에게 속아넘어가는 철부지들도 있으나 1920년대생이야말로 기립박수를 받아야 할 민족사의 가장 위대한 세대이다.

몇년 전 이들을 그룹 인터뷰한 月刊朝鮮 기사를 읽어보았는데 이들은 한결같이 '당신들이 국가에 대해 무엇을 해달라고 이야기하기 전에 당신들이 국가를 위해 무엇을 했고 무엇을 해야 하는지를 생각해보라'고 말하고 있었다.

위대한 세대에 대한 감사를 잊지 않는 미국과 위대한 세대를 저주하는 자들이 득세한 한국을 비교해보면 어디에 축복이 내릴지 대충 짐작이 가지 않는가.

*뉴욕 타임스 기사 全文

Vets Gather to Dedicate World War II Memorial
By MICHAEL JANOFSKY

Published: May 30, 2004


WASHINGTON, May 29 — Tens of thousands of aging veterans gathered Saturday under a sparkling sky on the National Mall for the long-awaited dedication of the World War II Memorial, a tribute to the United States' greatest military victory and those who fought to preserve democracy against the threat of tyranny.

At a time of sharp divisions over the war in Iraq, the dedication brought together leading figures from both political parties. It celebrated a generation of Americans who enjoyed near-unanimous national support for their commitment, valor and sacrifices in a war that Gen. P. X. Kelley, chairman of the American Battle Monuments Commission, called 'the most significant event in the history of mankind.'

The luminaries at the 90-minute dedication included President Bush, as well as the two presidents who preceded him and sat side by side on the stage, Bill Clinton and Mr. Bush's father, George Bush, a decorated Navy pilot in World War II.

The current President Bush was the keynote speaker, addressing a vast audience of more than 100,000 on the Mall, one of the largest gatherings ever to hear him in person, and he thanked those who served in World War II.

'At this place, at this memorial, we acknowledge a debt of long standing to an entire generation of Americans — those who died, those who fought and worked and grieved and went on,' Mr. Bush said. 'They saved our country and thereby saved the liberty of mankind. And now I ask every man and woman who saw and lived World War II, every member of that generation, to please rise as you are able and receive the thanks of our great nation.'

And rise they did, veterans from all 50 states, many of them frail, many from their wheelchairs and nearly all wearing caps, ribbons or old uniforms as proud reminders of their service. Organizers of the event said that 117,000 tickets had been distributed, with veterans accounting for about 60 percent of the total. Thousands more watched the ceremony on large screens along the Mall and by satellite in New York City and other places around the country.

Other tributes came from the actor Tom Hanks, who became a national spokesman for the memorial after starring in the World War II film 'Saving Private Ryan'; Tom Brokaw, the NBC News anchor who has written three books about the World War II generation; and former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, an Army veteran who was severely wounded in World War and who later became the memorial's national chairman.

Mr. Dole, now 80, provided the emotional high point of the program as he reflected on his own wartime experience and told the crowd: 'What we dedicate today is not a memorial to war. Rather, it is a tribute to the physical and moral courage that makes heroes out of farm and city boys and that inspired Americans in every generation to lay down their lives for people they will never meet, for ideals that make life itself worth living.'

By some estimates, the dedication was the largest reunion of World War II veterans since the war ended in 1945. It was also probably the last of its size. Most of the 16 million who served in the United States armed forces in World War II have died, and those still alive, about a quarter of the total, are in their 70's or 80's. About 1,100 veterans who served in World War II die every day, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The memorial, which occupies 7.4 acres between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial and cost $175 million to build, opened last month, before the dedication, to give more veterans the chance to see it.

'It's a long overdue tribute,' said Bud Riel, 81, of Bothell, Wash., who was a Navy Seabee in the Pacific. 'If they waited any more years, there wouldn't be any of us left.'

More than a few veterans in the crowd had emotional reactions to the dedication ceremony, which began with military bands playing music from the 1940's and the showing of historical footage of the war on giant screens.

Gale Cornwell, 78, a marine from Kingman, Ariz., who landed on Normandy Beach on D-Day and served for 38 years in the military, stared ahead and wiped tears from his eyes. 'I'm here primarily to honor my mother,' Mr. Cornwell said, recalling Mabel Cornwell, an Army nurse. 'She landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day plus four with Patton's Army.'

He could not stop the tears. 'So many old friends who aren't here,' he said haltingly. 'They're all gone now.'

For Mr. Bush, whose popularity these days vacillates with developments in Iraq, the dedication ceremony meant a brief respite from the daily grind of politics.