Dean Poling: Reviewing a litany of sad Septembers

Sep. 10—Sunday marks the 21st anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001. 9/11. The beginning of what was once called the War on Terrorism.

Earlier this month marked the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, one of the worst natural disasters to hit the nation.

Some may wonder if maybe there isn't some sort of curse on this time of year? Maybe there is a sad litany of Septembers written throughout the course of history.

Past Septembers have certainly had their share of tragic events, wars and catastrophes.

— On Sept. 1, 1939, Adolf Hitler's German army invaded Poland, which led to Britain and France declaring war on Nazi Germany. By Sept. 27, 1939, Warsaw, Poland's capital, surrendered to German forces. Septembers are littered with Nazi aggressions and atrocities.

— On Sept. 5, 1901, anarchist Leon Czolgosz shot President William McKinley. The president died of his wound on Sept. 14.

— On Sept. 2, 1666, the Great Fire of London destroyed 13,000 buildings and took an untold number of lives.

— On Sept. 22, 1980, the war between Iran and Iraq started.

A person could make the assumption that Septembers are cursed, especially, with few exceptions, these are only September events from the 20th and 21st centuries.

World War II started in a September. America faced a brutal attack in a September. A U.S. city felt the full consequences of a massive hurricane in a September.

But to focus only on the horrors of September ignores the historic good of the month. Numerous nations declared their independence during past Septembers. Several wars have officially ended in Septembers.

On Sept. 3, 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed which meant the end of the American Revolution and a victory of independence for the new American nation.

On Sept. 5, 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt successfully brokered an end to a bloody war between Japan and Russia.

On Sept. 2, 1945, Japan officially signed its surrender on the USS Missouri bringing to an end World War II.

On Sept. 13, 1993, Israel and the PLO signed a historic peace agreement.

Other benefits of past Septembers include:

— The official birth of the United States of America with the completion of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787.

— On Sept. 30, 1928, the discovery of penicillin was announced.

— On Sept. 5, 1991, the Soviet Union ended through the Congress of Peoples Deputies.

— On Sept. 7, 1943, fascist Italy surrendered to Allied forces in World War II.

— In late September 1940, England won the Battle of Britain.

— On Sept. 22, 1862, months before the official Emancipation Proclamation, President Abraham Lincoln ordered all American slaves freed.

— On Sept. 25, 1818, the first human blood transfusion was conducted.

Judged in this light, September becomes a coin with two sides.

So goes the vast panorama of history.

Bad can be found in the days, throughout the years and centuries, of each month.

September does not corner the market on tragic events.

Some may argue that a specific day, April 14, is a date designated for tragedy.

On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln. On April 14, 1912, 1,500 people died with the sinking of the Titanic. Yet, rather than a cursed day, perhaps April 14 is a date of coincidence, another date of life and living, suffering and dying, just like any other day.

Anyone with a loved one born on April 14 would not consider it a cursed day but a joyful day, as will anyone with a birth, wedding anniversary, etc., in September consider it a blessed month.

Conversely, anyone who has lost a loved one on any date will consider that day tragic.

Assassinations, wars, battles, fires, natural disasters, cruelty, collapses and more blister each month in the calendar, while peace and the triumphs of civilization bless each month as well.

For as many mourn these September anniversaries, others will celebrate birthdays and wedding anniversaries. And people throughout this September and the Septembers to come will mourn and rejoice, despair and triumph.

Dean Poling is an editor with The Valdosta Daily Times and editor of The Tifton Gazette.