Keller @ Large: Thank You For Protecting Us
BOSTON (CBS) - It's Memorial Day, a day we originally set aside to honor the men and women killed in military service to our country.
After World War I, Memorial Day was officially expanded to honor all our war casualties, civilians included, like the 2,974 innocent people murdered by the late Osama bin Laden's bloodthirsty followers.
Listen to Jon's commentary:
Podcast
At times, the 9 ½ years since the September 11 mass murders have felt like a struggle to keep Americans from forgetting what happened and what is still happening.
Last year at this time, we had the attempted car bombing of Times Square as a grim reminder of the reality of the war we're involved in.
At his trial, the complete idiot who planted that bomb told the court: "Brace yourselves, because the war with Muslims has just begun."
He wasn't kidding. We're on higher alert than ever about the activities of homegrown terrorists.
And just last week, we lost seven of our soldiers in Afghanistan to a bomb placed in a field in an area that coalition troops had cleared of terrorists just a couple of months before.
Those type of roadside bombs killed 268 of our finest over there last year, up more than 50-percent from the year before.
Injuries due to these makeshift bombs have doubled in the last two years.
Nonetheless, we probably face a renewed risk of people thinking the war against terror is mostly over now that Osama bin Laden has met his well-deserved fate.
What a terrible mistake.
Back when he was a candidate, President Obama used to imply that the war on terror was over-hyped, but I notice that spin is long abandoned since he's on the inside with full knowledge of what's happening.
Yes, we need the brave men and women who protect us more than ever.
And we shouldn't need a special day to be reminded to say to them, both the living and the dead, thank you.
And God bless you.
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.
