The global coronavirus pandemic is an obvious crisis. Nation-states have closed their borders and heavily restricted the normal intercourse of civil society. In America alone, millions of people could lose their jobs. Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, are likely to die by the time the virus clears or a vaccine is approved for release.
And yet, our history begs us to keep perspective. Every day of World War II was worse than this.
On Aug. 14, 1945, Japan effectively surrendered, and there was obvious elation. But the nation would still have to heal its wounds. Yes, the United States came out of the war as the unparalleled global economic superpower. But we lost 407,000 Americans to win, with more than 650,000 others wounded. Considering the U.S. population in 1939 and applying that killed-in-action rate to 2020, the figures would add up to more than 1 million dead today. That’s a lot of mourning families and friends.
Of course, Victory Day was the best day of America’s four-year role in bringing a positive end to that war. The earlier days were hard-won.
Many of the air, land, and sea battles which made that victory possible were ferociously brutal in their own right, including for civilians. The D-Day landings took 4,400 lives from Allied troops on their opening day, with thousands more lost in action as the Allies broke out of Normandy, then pushed across France and into Germany. A similar horror was applied to the battles of the Pacific theater. About 3,000 Americans died at Guam, including a young Ernest Kernen. Less than a year later at Okinawa, the U.S. would lose 14,000 people. My grandfather’s battalion endured a 75% casualty rate during the operations to take that island.
All of this bears noting because it speaks to a very small part of those very dark days. In our prevailing, we should remember the stakes: The world, and specific peoples in particular, were saved from existential catastrophe.
Perspective matters.
The number will surely rise, but for now, the coronavirus death toll is well below the number of people lost to the flu each year. The Centers for Disease and Prevention say, on average since 2010, 12,000-61,000 people die from the flu annually. Of course, we should be taking action to suppress the spread of the coronavirus, and yes, most analysts suspect we will eventually lose more people to the coronavirus than to the flu.
But we will get through this. We are highly unlikely to face World War II casualty rates. The coronavirus does not pose a threat to our very existence as a nation. Staying indoors is tedious for most of us and economically painful for many workers. But we will prevail. Keep the faith.
