The history of America is decorated with some of the great conflicts that have ever been fought by civilizations and for great ideals. This was never truer than in World War II, which was sometimes called the Great War. As is so often the case, it was not a war that America wanted to become part of. So often, it is when aggressors bring war to America that she is forced to respond. But in all cases when America responds, it is with a fury that her enemies will seldom forget.
The prospect of a global conflict is really terrifying when you consider it. And because it involved almost every nation and continent in a world war that lasted for years, World War II was a world war in every sense of the word. The adversaries of the United States and her allies were powerful, well-armed, intelligent, and determined. However, America rose to the occasion, and it will do so once more if someone like Hitler dares to pose such a grave threat to civilization.
The way in which we worked with our allies during World War II was practically perfect. We distributed our forces throughout numerous battle zones, from Europe to Asia to Russia, operating as one team nearly as if we were one nation and one army. We faced multiple foes at once. Hitler's Germany stood alone as a terrifying foe as it extended its destructive power across Europe, annexing nation after nation and posing a threat to engulf the continent in its entirety, before moving on to annex countries in Central Asia and even America.
But among Germany's allies, particularly Japan, we also had strong adversaries. It was a blow to America that could not be denied when this terrifying adversary attacked our men at Pearl Harbor. Japan had wanted to weaken the American military and destroy any desire on the side of Americans to retaliate or join the battle. They received the exact opposite, as every American adult, child, and citizen banded together to create a war machine that would destroy the Axis powers at any cost.
However, the most significant message that America sent to the rest of the world when it faced and routed Hitler's army was that totalitarian control over free peoples would never be accepted. Like the great emperors of ancient Rome and the early Germanic nations, Hitler dreamed of ruling the world. But when we formed this nation, America had already stated that we would not be used as a pawn by tyrants or kings. While there was still a fighting will in this nation, we were not going to hand over that fought-for freedom to a lunatic.
The struggle was not without difficulty or expense. The freedoms secured by our predecessors were preserved by thousands of America's young people. The heroic American soldier and the civilian populace that stood by them must not be let down until Hitler and his allies were defeated, therefore our leaders had to demonstrate a resolution and a unity that would not waver in the face of adversity.
During that significant struggle, the world saw what America was capable of. It observed that a nation endowed with immense riches and success was also eager to use those resources to protect its allies and its boundaries. For our adversaries, learning that America was not a nation to be trifled with in battle was a harsh lesson. But then, even in defeat, we reached out to Japan, Germany, and other defeated peoples and assisted them in recovering from that terrible war, demonstrating that we were not a spiteful nation. This is also evidence of the American spirit and sense of justice. Let's hope an adversary never reappears to test that resolve because
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