The Milwaukee Post

8 • Milwaukee County Post • May 9, 2014 OPINION By JENNIFER RUDE KLETT The month of May in the United States contains both Mother's Day and Memorial Day, two apparently distinct and unrelated holidays. This May, however, I would like to recognize a remarkable subgroup of moth- ers: mothers who have lost their son or daughter while serving our country in the armed forces. Although motherhood has been histori- cally commemorated in various forms throughout the world, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation establishing the first national Mother's Day holiday 100 years ago on May 8, 1914. Just a few weeks later, unfortunately, a European assassination in June would touch off a devastating world war that would end the lives of nearly 10 million men (some histo- rians now believe this number is signifi- cantly higher; some women served in World War I, although it was predominantly men who fought). Those ghastly 10 million deaths obviously and quietly affected moth- ers in six continents during and after the Great War. Millions of moms saw their sons drafted or enlist, and leave to fight over there, not knowing if they would return. Many men, of course, did not return. Their mothers, en masse, would have to live with the shattering news that their son was gone from this world. Even to refer to the fallen within such a large statistic runs the risk of minimizing and depersonalizing each mother's loss. Has the world ever known such breadth of maternal mourning? The First World War was an unprece- dented time when our country established a large army to fight overseas, which is hard for us to imagine now that the U.S. has emerged as the sole world superpower with military presence throughout much of the world. But during World War I, the U.S. armed forces swelled from a mere 140,000 or so to 4.8 million men – "doughboys" who answered the call from Uncle Sam with astonishing speed. During World War I, families began the practice of hanging service banners, although they were not standardized until the Second World War. Blue Star banners represented immediate family members serving in the war; Gold Star banners rep- resented ones who had died while serving. On May 28, 1918, after the casualty cable- grams began delivering the dreaded news, President Wilson approved a suggestion from the Women's Committee of the Council of National Defenses for women in the U.S. to wear a black armband with a gold star, rather than donning conventional black mourning attire. A new group called American Gold Star Mothers formed a decade later, and is still in existence today. The group offers comfort to mothers who've lost a son or daughter while serv- ing, and loving care to hospitalized veter- ans confined in government hospitals away from home. Subsequent wars, and even "peacetime," would regrettably force more mothers to endure the loss of their children serving in the military both abroad and on U.S. soil. It must be unbearably sad to raise a son or daughter to adulthood, only to lose him or her to the violence of the world. There is no greater earthly bond than the love a mother has for her child. In keeping with Memorial Day, we have not forgotten the ultimate sacrifice made by soldier sons and daughters. As the book of John 15:13 (NIV) states, along with many headstones of fallen sons and daughters throughout the world: Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. In turn, we have also not forgotten the unique sacrifice made by these mothers who have relinquished their children. We have not forgotten the crushing grief they have suffered. (Jennifer Rude Klett is a freelance writer and former journalist living in Delafield. She is the author of a nonfiction book, "Alamo Doughboy: Marching Into The Heart Of Kaiser's Germany During World War I." Klett is the mother of two sons ages 24 and 21. She can be reached via www.jrudeklett.com.) Remember mothers who've lost children to military service LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Regulations are important To the editor: The Milwaukee Post had an article about workers at Eaton Cooper Power Systems plant receiving severe chemical burns after being ordered to perform cleanup of sulfuric and phosphoric acids that they weren't trained or qualified for. OSHA, the agency that investigates unsafe workplaces, has fined this company. This wouldn't have happened a century ago. At that time, there were no state or fed- eral agencies to hold companies responsi- ble for these kinds of acts. I bring this up because I hear from those who state we should do away with government regula- tions. Yes, I agree, unnecessary ones. But regulations that protect workplaces and ones that ensure all oil tankers are double hulled so we don't get giant spills like Exxon Valdez are extremely important. Regulations exist for a reason, and the rea- son is that not all business owners are eth- ical or responsible. Government regula- tions helps the responsible owner by ensur- ing the less responsible ones meet certain minimum standards. Jerome McCollom Milwaukee Walker record falls short of goals To the editor: "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's legacy will, in many respects, be measured by one number: 250,000." That's what PolitiFact said in June of 2011. They were talking about the number of jobs candidate Scott Walker promised to deliver in his first term in office as he sought our votes. More recently he has said he does not think voters will punish him if he does not meet his pledge to create 250,000 private-sector jobs by 2015. Maybe if he had not fallen so miserably short. Forty percent is not a passing grade. Maybe if Wisconsin did not trail nine of the 10 other Midwestern states in job growth. Maybe if he had not said he would get up every day and work to deliver those jobs but then traveled the country running for president and campaign cash. Maybe if had not blindly followed the tea party and rejected our federal tax funds for high-speed rail, high-speed Internet for northern Wisconsin and Medicaid expan- sion, and all the jobs that went with them. Maybe if he had not opposed the minimum wage and disproportionately cut taxes for the wealthy, moves that unnecessarily restricted job growth. Maybe if he had not tried to talk his way out of his pledge, maybe then ... Tom Krajewski Madison Question of the week Should tougher laws be passed to restrict predators from schools and parks in Milwaukee? "First, there are already plenty of laws deal- ing with criminal behavior in various locales. Second, many of the individuals that the public wishes to ban from various venues have served their time as adjudicated by a court of law. Typically, the punishment has been incarceration, perhaps followed by probation or other tracking. The punish- ment as adjudicated by law does not allow for banishment from all public places forev- er. Third, a restriction against these individ- uals would preclude their involvement in many public events. Perhaps their own child or children are involved in school activities such as drama, track, football. Would this parent not be allowed to sup- port his or her child? If a political rally is held in a public park, would these individu- als not be allowed to attend? Please note I am not necessarily advocating for employ- ment in these venues. Fourth, some of these individuals are tagged (forever) as sexual predators due to an untimely encounter in their youth (for example: 18-year- old has sexual relations with 16-year old). Lastly, I would think most parents would prefer to know WHERE predators are so that they (the parents) can make sure their child or children avoid any contact." – Gail L. Paschall Cudahy "More laws? How about enforcing the ones we have? How about tougher sentencing? We need more police.We need the judicial system to sentence appropriately, and be responsible for light sentencing.We need to get tougher with the laws we have." – Noah Borkenhagen Franklin This week's question Did the judge make the right decision to halt the John Doe probe into the Walker recall? Editor's note: When responding to the Question of the Week, please include your full name with spelling, phone number and city where you live. Phone numbers will not be published. Anonymous respons- es are no longer accepted by the publica- tion. Call 744-6370, Ext. 15 and leave a brief answer. Readers may also send an email with a brief answer to: dbutler@conleynet.com. Send your letters to: The Milwaukee Post, c/o Dwayne Butler, 3397 S. Howell Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53207, or by e-mail to: dbutler@conleynet.com. We reserve the right to edit letters for style, length and clarity. Letters should be typewritten or printed and include full name, phone number and address. Please keep your letters to no more than 400 words. Letters policy

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