Memorial Day thoughts

Here's an e-mail I recieved that got me thinking-

Sent: Wednesday, May 24, 2006 6:14 AM
>Subject: How Dare They
>
>
>SHALL WE HIRE A MONUMENT ENGRAVER TO GO TO ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
AND
>ADD THE MISSING WORDS ?
>
>A MESSAGE FROM AN APPALLED OBSERVER:
>
>Today I went to visit the new World War II Memorial in Washington, DC.
I
>got an unexpected history lesson. Because I'm a baby boomer, I was one
of
>the youngest in the crowd. Most were the age of my parents, veterans
of
>"the greatest war," with their families. It was a beautiful day, and
>people were smiling and happy to be there. Hundreds of us milled
around
>the memorial, reading the inspiring words of Eisenhower and Truman
that
>are engraved there.
>
>On the Pacific side of the memorial, a group of us gathered to read
the
>words President Roosevelt used to announce the attack on Pearl Harbor:
>
>Yesterday, December 7, 1941-- a date which will live in infamy--the
United
>States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked.
>
>One elderly woman read the words aloud:
>With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination
of
>our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph.
>
>But as she read, she suddenly turned angry. "Wait a minute," she
said,
>"they left out the end of the quote. They left out the most important
part.
> Roosevelt ended the message with "so help us God.'" Her husband
said,
>"You are probably right. We're not supposed to say things like that
now."
>
>"I know I'm right," she insisted. "I remember the speech." The two
looked
>dismayed, shook their heads sadly and walked away.
>
>Listening to their conversation, I thought to myself, "Well, it has
been
>over 50 years. She's probably forgotten." But she had not forgotten.
She
>was right.
>
>I went home and pulled out the book my book club is reading --- "Flags
of
>Our Fathers" by James Bradley. It's all about the battle at Iwo Jima. I
>haven't gotten too far in the book. It's tough to read because it's a
>graphic description of the WWII battles in the Pacific.
>
>But, right there it was on page 58. Roosevelt's speech to the nation
ends
>in "so help us God."
>
>The people who edited out that part of the speech when they engraved
it on
>the memorial could have fooled me. I was born after the war. But
they
>couldn't fool the people who were there. Roosevelt's words are
engraved
>in their hearts.
>
>Now I ask:
>
>
>
>WHO GAVE THEM THE RIGHT TO CHANGE THE WORDS OF HISTORY??
>
Send this around to your friends People need to know before everyone
forgets. People today are trying to change the history of America by
leaving God out of it, but the truth is, God has been a part of this
nation, since the beginning. He still wants to be... and He always
will
be!

Then I looked around and found that families of 9-11 victims recieved an average of $1.1 million, but a soldier's family only recieves about $7,700 when they're killed in Iraq. The link is here.