Remembering those who made the supreme sacrifice: Letters
Remembering those who made the supreme sacrifice
May 22 − To the Editor:
If you are an avid visitor of the Portsmouth Library, the monument which stands by the main door may have become so familiar that it is perceived as just part of the building’s façade.
The granite monument commemorates the men from Portsmouth who lost their lives during World War II. Members of the Portsmouth High School class of 1940 donated the monument in memory of their classmates who perished during the war.
Their names are: Alexander Drobiesewski, James Joyce Jr., Peter Phillipe, James Birt and Stephen Starkey.
Cpl. Drobisewski USAAF (US Army Air Force) died when his transport aircraft was shut down over the Mediterranean. He was 21 years old.
Seaman 1st. Class James Joyce enlisted in the Navy after his first year at UNH. He was a radioman and gunner serving in the Pacific.
Sgt. Phillipe served in the Navy as a gunner specialist performing submarine patrol duties on the west coast. He died in action over the Pacific.
SSgt. James Birt, US Army was declared missing in action in Okinawa in 1945. Birt was employed at the Portsmouth Navy Yard before he enlisted. He was the son of City Councilman Samuel Birt.
Sgt. Starkey served in the US Army as was killed in action in France. He was a first-year student at UNH when he enlisted.
They and the other 106 names listed on the monument were part of a generation of young men and women who forfeited their youth and lives to fight against the evil that was spreading across Europe and the Pacific and threatening to take over the world.
They were not much older than the average High School graduate and had their entire lives ahead of them. To them, we owe a debt of gratitude for their willingness to answer the call to keep the world free.
Next time you visit the Portsmouth Library, take a few minutes, stop and read through the names inscribed thereon. And let’s hope that future generations never take their liberties for granted. It was purchased for them at a great cost.
“They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning”
We will remember them.
For the Fallen. by Laurence Binyon, 1914
Sue Polidura
Portsmouth
God bless America, our service men and women and our flag
May 22 − To the Editor:
I am writing this letter in memory of all the men and women who gave their lives protecting America and the American Flag. I grew up during World War ll and had two brothers and many relatives who served our country. My one brother served in the Army and was in combat in Italy, and the other was in the Navy in the US. I had a cousin who was a paratrooper who was shot while descending from a troop transporter landing over Europe. Bob survived but died shortly after the war.
I served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. All over the world today we have troops serving America, Democracy and the American Flag. As I drive the countryside and see the many variations of flags representing someone’s cause by altering the American Flag, I wonder what they are trying to say. I see flags upside down, black stripes, yellow stripes and some others that are supposed to represent what they believe. Then I come across a home flying an American Flag with the red, white and blue colors and it brightens my day and I feel that all is not lost.
Will it take a tragic event in America before we realize that we must ALL COME TO OUR SENSES and rally together like we did during World War ll, before it is too late. God Bless America, our Service Men and Women wherever they are, and the American Flag.
Bob Hassold
Newmarket
The hydrogen revolution is coming
May 22 − To the Editor:
Green Hydrogen (G-H2) will be key new player in our planet’s Clean Energy Future.
It was a great disappointment for us to hear that NH opted out of the New England H2 research hub application for funding. This is a great time to explore the possibilities of using H2 energy. With NH not part of the New England H2 research hub team, will MA or ME be chosen when the Gulf of Maine wind farm needs a mainland connection? What else will New Hampshire miss out on? Must our children, wanting to work in clean energy, leave our state for work? We think Governor Sununu and the NH Department of Energy should rethink their decision to sit out the Federal H2 research hub planning initiative. NH should find a way to participate in this forward-looking effort. Hopefully the University of New Hampshire and other academics will be involved.
The federal government initiative included funding of $3.6 billion to create 6 to 10 Clean H2 Research Hubs across the country to investigate the uses of H2 as an energy carrier. Unlike the rare earth ingredients needed for lithium-ion batteries, H2 is abundant worldwide. G-H2 can be produced and used in a variety of ways. Hard to decarbonize areas of the economy such as industrial use, railroad systems, the airline industry and large transport trucks currently cannot economically benefit from Li-ion battery systems. They are too heavy and take too long to recharge. To transition from our current fossil fuel economy, we must look for new energy fuels and systems that are renewable (able to be used repeatedly), sustainable (easily produced and affordable in price) and clean (no greenhouse gas emissions, and without negative impacts to our environment).
Currently federal and state subsidies have been directed towards EV vehicles, solar PV panels and wind turbines for electricity generation. These are popular because we all are comfortable with using electricity daily.
The primary reason why G-H2 is such a good fuel is because it is very versatile. G-H2 can be derived from water using renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. Worldwide, G-H2 generation has become much cheaper because of the lower cost of renewable energy, the lower cost of electrolysis to produce G-H2 and the increasing demand for G-H2. Unlike batteries that discharge their stored energy in just a matter of hours, G-H2 is mobile and can be compressed as a gas or made into ammonia and stored indefinitely in already existing, safe facilities. It packs enough punch to power hydrogen fuel cell cars, trucks, and trains. It can even power ships and eventually replace natural gas to heat our homes and buildings.
European and Japanese firms have already developed the machinery to make G-H2 and use it. If the US does not quickly get involved in G-H2, our country could be playing catch-up over the next few decades. Hybrid car technology was more quickly taken advantage of by Japan than the US.
Germany is already operating H2 fueled commuter trains. Italy is already using large amounts for heating and industrial use. Toyota is already supporting a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle fleet in California for the past 5 years. Toshiba has been operating the Fukushima H2 Energy Research Field for 3 years. It’s powered by 1,620,000 square feet of solar panels that convert water into G-H2. The G-H2 is compressed and stored to power fuel cells that go online automatically to quickly generate electricity and balance out the natural fluctuations of the local power grid resulting from solar and wind systems. More Info?, contact us at: peter.somssich@gmail.com .
Let’s get NH on the Green H2 train, before it leaves the station.
Kent Howard, Community Energy Activist, Author, Journalist
Dover
Peter Somssich, former State Representative/ Science Technology &Energy Committee
Portsmouth
Hydrogen Advocates of NH
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Remembering those who made the supreme sacrifice: Letters
