This month marks the 60th anniversary of World War II’s conclusion, and since its climax shaped so much of the planet we live on today, we’re commemorating it with a special two-page A Look Back on page 22.

Those of you who weren’t alive then and or haven’t read through our archive of Chronicles from 60 years ago may be surprised to learn how completely the wartime editor, the late Nancy Lee, and her writers followed the war. They didn’t write reports of the battles or the campaigns, but hardly a week went by from early 1940 to late 1945 without a report, an analysis or a comment on our troops or on the effect the rationing and other war-time controls had on horse sports, which in those days were almost exclusively racing, foxhunting and horse shows. The Chronicles of the early ’40s almost always contained an article about a rider, trainer, breeder or owner who was heading off to England, France, Hawaii or one of the many stateside bases, or they had an article about what Americans who weren’t going overseas could or should do here at home to defeat Germany and Japan.

Why? Because America’s war effort 60 years ago had a tremendous effect on keeping, training and competing horses, even though Pearl Harbor was the closest our enemies ever came to bringing the fighting to our shores. The mobilization of millions of troops–and the production of the weapons, food and supplies they needed–directly affected the availability of horse feed and equipment and of professionals like grooms, veterinarians and farriers. Rationing of gasoline and tires also caused the cancellation or postponement of hundreds of horse shows, hunt meets and race meets, even of the Triple Crown.

Not since then has an American military campaign had such an affect on us, the participants in American horse sports, unless someone close to us was killed or wounded. In the almost four years since Sept. 11, 2001, we probably haven’t noted the war on terrorism more than half a dozen times in the Chronicle. That’s really a bit surprising since this war is every bit as global as World War II, as last month’s bombings in London and Egypt (and Spain last year) have reminded us. And, as those bombings and Sept. 11 showed, any one of us could be right in the middle of this war at any time.

One reason why the war on terrorism has had only a tangential impact on our sports is that the battle is so unclear, the goal so uncertain. This time, we won’t have a landmark victory like D-Day or Okinawa, Paris or the Philippines. President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, Gen. Patton and Gen. MacArthur knew exactly what countries or islands they had to occupy. Sixty years later, the only target is Osama bin Laden, and what good would it do to capture or kill him?

My father fought in World War II, as a Naval doctor in the Pacific, one of the hundreds of thousands preparing to invade Japan when we dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This anniversary has caused me to wonder if I–if more of us–could or would make the kinds of tangible sacrifices our fathers and grandfathers did? Would we, if we knew it would make a difference, that it would end the senseless killing? We’ve now fought this war for three months longer than World War II, with no end in sight. And I fear we may, someday, have to do something more than suffer through aggravating lines at the airport.