Sports Quiz: If you saw the latest issue of Sports Illustrated this
will test your short-term memory. What did SI consider to be the
top 3 sports achievements of the century? [For ex: Edwin Moses
107-race winning streak in the hurdles, Bob Beamon”s long jump,
or a career like Wayne Gretzky”s. Also, think of the “sporting
life” as well (swimming the English Channel would be an example
of this). Answer below.
The Century
I will have some detailed commentary in my Week in Review
(posted 12/31). But we can only hope the next century is better
than this one was.
U.S. War Dead
World War I – 116,500 (the majority died from disease)
World War II – 406,000 (292,000 in battle)
Korea – 33,500
Vietnam – 59,000
Gulf War – 148
There were an estimated 10 million deaths in World War I.
Estimates for World War II range from 35-50 million.
Some smaller nations that deserve to be remembered for their
efforts during WW II:
Australia – 27,000 killed
Canada – 42,000 killed
Finland – 91,000 killed
Estimates of Soviet deaths during the century due to
Communism:
Civil War and Famine, 1918-22 – 3-5 million
Forced collectivization after 1929 – 10-14 million
Ukrainian Terror-Famine – 6-7 million
Deportations to the Gulag up to 1937 – 10 million
Deportations to the Gulag, 1939-45 – 7 million
Winston Churchill
After his appointment as Prime Minister in May, 1940, Churchill
addressed Parliament:
“I say to the House as I said to Ministers who have joined this
government, I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and
sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind.
We have before us many, many months of struggle and suffering.”
“You ask, what is our policy? I say it is to wage war by land, sea
and air. War with all our might and with all the strength God has
given us, and to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never
surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime.
That is our policy.”
“You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is
victory. Victory at all costs – victory in spite of all terrors –
victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without
victory there is no survival.”
June 18, 1940.addressing Parliament after the fall of France:
“What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. The
Battle of Britain is about to begin. On this battle depends the
survival of Christian civilization.”
“Upon it depends our own British life and the long continuity of
our institutions and our empire. The whole fury and might of the
enemy must very soon be turned upon us. Hitler knows he will
have to break us in this island or lose the war.”
“If we can stand up to him all Europe may be freed and the life of
the world may move forward into broad sunlit uplands; but if we
fail, the whole world, including the United States and all that we
have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new dark
age made more sinister and perhaps more prolonged by the lights
of a perverted science.”
“Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duty and so bear
ourselves that if the British Commonwealth and Empire last for a
thousand years, men will still say ”This was their finest hour.””
Here”s a toast to you, Sir Winston
FDR…address to the American people…12/8/41
“We are now in the midst of a war, not for conquest, not for
vengeance, but for a world in which this nation, and all that this
nation represents, will be safe for our children.”
“We are going to win the war and we are going to win the peace
that follows.”
“And in the dark hours of this day – and through dark days that
may be yet to come – we will know that the vast majority of the
members of the human race are on our side. Many of them are
fighting with us. All of them are praying for us. For, in
representing our cause, we represent theirs as well – our hope and
their hope for liberty under God.”
Address to the Congress, 1/6/42
“Our enemies are guided by brutal cynicism, by unholy contempt
for the human race. We are inspired by a faith which goes back
through all the years to the first chapter of the Book of Genesis –
”God created man in His own image.””
“We on our side are striving to be true to that divine heritage.
We are fighting, as our fathers have fought, to uphold the
doctrine that all men are equal in the sight of God. Those on the
other side are striving to destroy this deep belief and to create a
world in their own image, a world of tyranny and cruelty and
serfdom.”
“That is the conflict that day and night now pervades our lives.
No compromise can end that conflict. There never has been and
never can be successful compromise between good and evil. Only
total victory can reward the champions of tolerance and decency
and freedom and faith.”
Barry Goldwater….1964 Republican Convention
“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no
vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit
of justice is no virtue!”
Top 3 songs for the week of 12/27/69: #1 “Someday We”ll Be
Together” (Diana Ross & the Supremes) #2 “Leaving On A Jet
Plane” (Peter, Paul & Mary) #3 “Raindrops Keep Fallin” On My
Head” (B.J. Thomas).
Quiz Answer: SI listed Roger Bannister”s breaking of the 4-
minute mile barrier (5/6/54) and Edmund Hillary”s assault on
Mount Everest (5/29/53) as #1a and #1b. #3 was Joe
DiMaggio”s 56-game hitting streak (5/15-7/16/41).
Next Bar Chat, Monday.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
