A Sort of Homecoming

Well, tonight brings to a close the first run of Ken Burns’ The War (although if you missed any of it the entire series will replay on consecutive Wednesday starting tomorrow at 9:00 p.m.). Tonight he will focus in part on what it was like for the millions of men who went off to war to return home and try and live a “normal” life. So as the series returns home, it has put me in a reflective mood as to where the journey has taken me.

I will admit that I have found it difficult to watch at times. As silly as it sounds, I’ve found myself feeling emotionally drained just from watching. I think the series has definitely told the human stories of what Burns’ has called “the worst war” in a way that will change how many people feel about not just this war, but all wars.

For us here at KETC, the stories and memories you have shared with us has definitely changed how we feel about World War II. It is tempting to try and order history by dates, lines on maps, and numbers of killed, wounded, missing. But history is much more than that. And while that’s easy to say, your stories have made it something that for us will be impossible to forget. Thank you again for all your contributions.

Mike