America was reeling, thrust into a World War on two fronts, multiple continents and two oceans. Japan's march across the Pacific and the losses in the Philippines made the citizenry hungry for action, for revenge, for anything to lift their spirits. On April 18, 1942 a group of 80 brave men known as the Doolittle Raiders flew 16 B-25 bombers on a mission to attack Japan. Our first "retaliation" for that horrible day 62 years ago. This mission did little to truly hurt the Japanese or its military. It was probably more like an aggravating mosquito at the time. Even the mission itself didn't go as planned with losses and planes crash landing in places they weren't supposed to be. However what this mission did was restore the American resolve, morale and spirit.
"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." Those words were supposedly written in the personal diary of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto sometime after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. If they truly were penned, they could not have been any truer in foretelling what was to come.
Our Pearl Harbor has passed. Today however we were the mosquitoes. County Council voted unanimously to keep Stutman Road open until such time as a court decides otherwise. We won a small victory for our neighbors, community and Lexington County to boost our morale, our spirit and our resolve. A sleeping giant in Western Lexington County has been awakened. Councilman Todd Cullum described it best when he said that all of county council had "heard you loud and clear" from the hundreds of emails, calls and letters. Over 400 alone from the online petition.
This was our first skirmish and it was all we had set out to do today. But there is tomorrow and the day after and next month and next year. The battle isn't over, the war has not been won, but a sleeping giant has been awoken.
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