Photo courtesy Visit Sarasota County

I am writing in response to the snarky article Jacob Ogles wrote dated July 11. It is clear by his words he has a total lack of knowledge of what the Sailor statue represents to many people, including myself. My father fought in WWII. He was one of the lucky ones that came home. My mother was there in Times Square with two of her girlfriends to greet the sailors and soldiers that did make it home. It was an extremely proud day for America and is remembered by those who were there with warmth and tears. The sacrifices made by that generation could never be understood by generations to follow. Young Jacob should not pretend to understand nor should he be so obviously disrespectful to those who will read his article. You know, those who served and fought for the very freedoms he obviously enjoys, including freedom of speech. It is a shame that he uses that privilege to make fun of a representation of an era that so many people lived through and some gave their lives for.

And, to be clear, my mother is in possession of a photo, the original of which is in the National Archives, taken on V J Day, by Navy Lieutenant Victor Jorgensen (no relation) which is the photo of the young Sailor and Nurse. He also took a photo of my mother and her girlfriends which appeared in the NY paper of that time. Both are dated August 15, 1945. The name “Unconditional Surrender” was given because that was what the Japanese stated when they did indeed surrender to the United States. Unlike young Jacob, I am privy to a first hand account of that day and in no way was that nurse forced to do anything she did not want to. So let’s not go down that broken road.  As we have found out, the #MeToo movement only speaks out and supports woman who accuse Republicans of sexual assault.  Remember Tara Reade?

Just a note on the placement of the statue. I don’t believe for one second that it has anything to do with irresponsible driving. I am sure that young Jacob has had the opportunity to experience the no blinker, me first phenomena that we all experience now that our Downtown is so over crowded it takes hours to get around and God help you, get a parking space. I am sure the accident that he may be referring to had nothing to do with the fact that the person driving the white Mercedes lost control of the car after running the red light. Hmm, right. And to make matters worse, we are now confronted with another circle to be built at one of the busiest intersections in Sarasota. Genius!

I have lived here for over 25 years, migrating from New York. My Grandparents were immigrants that settled in the Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn. They never received a penny in aide and built a business that one could be proud of. That is what this statue also represents, being a proud American! It is obvious to the reader that young Jacob holds complete disdain for the piece and his arrogance knows no bounds while insulting the Veterans of our shared community. Certainly, this will be a topic of discussion and those who honor this Country and what it truly stands for will fight to keep the statue. It would do young Jacob some good to appreciate the Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook crowd as well, they are a big boom to our suffering economy. Last time I looked, we were and remain a tourist destination.

While I am aware that this letter may get lost in the mailbag, I hope that the wonderful founders of SRQ Media, Lisl Liang and Wes Roberts, who I once knew personally through business here in Sarasota, will pass this on to their contributing senior editor. This is just my opinion and the opinion of those who I spoke to before penning my response. Unfortunately, the voice of young Jacob will be heard but mine may not so I will be sharing it along with the article on my many social media platforms. As the famous author Margaret Wolfe Hungerford once phrased, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” meaning beauty is subjective, as is art. I support all the artwork and sculptures throughout our city, I even know some of the artists and will not use this platform to offer my opinion. Perhaps, a little more accurate history and a little less opinion will serve the author well in his next editorial.

Jody Jorgensen is a resident of Sarasota.        

Photo courtesy Visit Sarasota County