September 1, 1939’s place in world history

Most of what we know about why September 1, 1939 is so important to world history is what we’ve heard or read.  Unless you happen to be of a certain age and can remember when Germany invaded Poland which started the Second World War in Europe.  Seneca resident Lowell Ross was alive then, although only seven years old.  Ross spoke today on 101.7/WGOG about why Nazi Germany’s crushing of Poland and its resistance was pivotal to widening the war.  It would not be for two years, until Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, that the United States entered the war against Axis powers.  Ross remembers the great sacrifice that many Walhallans made to fight war on several fronts—in Europe, in Africa, and in the Pacific.  And he refers to a Keowee Courier article that recounts the great excitement locally when the last of the Axis powers, Japan, formally surrendered September 2, 1945.  Fast forward all these years and Ross raises this question, “Where is the memorial for the men and women who served and were injured and killed during World War II?”