Interlude:
Speeches of Great Men
I Franklin Delano Roosevelt
April 12th,
1945 Philippine Islands
Tanka 15-21
The Death of President Roosevelt
Tanka 15
Luzon invasion ~
"hey, you guys
wake up ‑‑ bad news"
"a new president"
"what are you
talking about?"
"President
Roosevelt just died"
Tanka 16
stunned shock
disheartened
we hid our
embarrassed tears ~
our nation's father
taken from us in mid‑war
we silently wept
why now?
Tanka 17
our nation's leader ‑‑
President so many
years
how could he leave
now ~
will anyone replace
him
who will now lead
our country?
Tanka 18
he abandoned us ‑‑
we thought he'd live
forever ~
we must prove him
right
resolving always to
fight ‑‑
victory must just be
his
Tanka 19
anger then arose
the enemy abused him
"Roosevelt no
damn good"‑‑
but will they still
insult him
Roosevelt ‑‑
our fallen leader?
Tanka 20
glad news end of
war
sadly he didn't
survive
but Eleanor did
and when the UN was
launched
enemies joined hands
with us
Tanka 21
his works will live
on ~
with his GI Bill for
help
we all returned home
‑‑
though infamy was
the start
his name will always
endure
______________________________________________________________________
We are all familiar with the question that starts, "Can you recall
where you were when ..." and ends with a famous (or infamous) event like
"John Kennedy was assassinated" or "when the moon landing was
announced"? There were two other
incidents I recall: one was where I was when I learned of the attack on Pearl
Harbor and the other when I learned of President Roosevelt's death.
Roosevelt's address to the Congress on the day after Pearl Harbor was
etched in every American mind:
"Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 ‑ a date which will live in infamy ‑
the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval
and air forces of the Empire of Japan. .... With confidence in our armed forces
‑ with the unbounding determination of our people ‑ we will gain
the inevitable
triumph ‑ so help us God. I ask
that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by
Japan on Sunday, Dec. 7, a state of war has existed between the United States
and the Japanese empire."
That announcement, of course, started my Diary of the Mind, and
learning of his death resonates clearly in my memory. I had listened attentively to his address to Congress, and had
later voted for him via absentee ballot for his fourth term only a short time
before he died.
Interestingly, I had
also predicted that his death would occur before the war would have ended.
Sir Sidney
____________________________________________________________________________
The philosopher's response:
Speeches of Great Men II Emperor Hirohito.
It was a bleak day in late February, 1989. I was the only Westerner [gaigin] at the Gates of the Imperial
Palace, To‑kyo. Light rain was
falling. We had waited patiently for
some hours. Slowly the cortege carrying
the coffin of the late Emperor Hirohito passed through the gates as the Gun
Salute broke the silence.
There was a young Japanese police woman standing in front of me. I
could see that she was crying. I moved
slightly toward her and spoke to her softly. "Ganbatte kudasai".
["Please bear up"; I had said, using the Japanese idiom.] She turned and nodded, and I could see the
tears on her cheeks.
* * * * *
"Should we continue to fight, not only would it result in an
ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but it would also
lead to the total extinction of human civilization. Such being the case, how
are We to save the millions of our subjects, and atone ourselves before the
hallowed spirits of our imperial ancestors? .... We have resolved to pave the
way for a grand
peace for all generations to come by enduring what cannot be endured and
suffering what cannot be suffered."
The Surrender Rescript Speech of Emperor
Hirohito
delivered at noon, To‑kyo time, 15 August 1945
5 the honoured dead,
7 treasure of many nations ‑
7 each the others
sacrifice [katauta form pre‑ AD
400]
Hugh Bygott