I'd like to take a moment to pause this morning and acknowledge Charles W. Lindberg, last of the men who were involved raising the flag on Iwo Jima (recently renamed Iwo To). Charles W. Lindberg died on Sunday, June 24th 2007 at the age of 86.

Lindberg was involved in the raising of the first flag atop Suribachi, the highest point on Iwo To. Once the commander from the Marine beach head saw how tiny the flag was, he ordered a larger flag from one of the ships sent up the hill to replace it. The second flag and it's placement has been recorded in history as a symbol of the war in the Pacific.

It saddens me to see these people disappearing so rapidly. I can only imagine how it must have felt for my grandfather, a military veteran as well, to have experienced the death of the last Civil War veterans in his youth. My father seeing most of the WWI veterans pass away. Unfortunately for them, there was no way to collectively and massively put their memories to paper (or e-paper, as it were). The sad part about today is that we have the ability to record these stories, record their heroic moments, document their trials and tribulations...but so few people today seem interested. So few people seem to realiize we're losing a national treasure right before our very eyes. Most veterans of WWII are at least 85 years old...many (that are still alive, anyway) are in their 90s. We are facing an extinction in the next few years and it is something we will NEVER get back. Once they're gone, all our children will have is OUR memories....which too will fade into obscurity in the next generation.

~Dubya