It is understandable, given the pandemic, that this month’s remembrances of the 75th anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany were relatively subdued. World leaders are rightly preoccupied with trying to ensure their citizens’ well-being in the present, balancing public health concerns with the need to sustain their nation’s economies.

Even so, it is surprising that almost no mention was made of the important link between the last great pandemic and America’s leadership in World War II in the person of Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, who deftly handled a Spanish flu outbreak at Camp Colt in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.