/8th Air Force
Since Tom Brokaw wrote a book of the same name, the term "Greatest Generation" has become synonymous with those who fought World War II. But in the early stages of the war there were doubts as to whether that generation could defeat the axis powers.
For my birthday my son Mike gave me a copy of "Reporting World War II." The book is a compilation of newspaper articles and excerpts from books written during the war. It makes for interesting reading. Unlike post war writers, these writers did not have the luxury of knowing the outcome of the war.
Robert Sherrod was a writer and editor for both Time and Life magazines. In 1944 he wrote "Tarawa: The Story of a Battle." Excerpts from this book show a real concern that the average American would not be able to fight and win the war. He was not alone in this. At a White House Press Conference in June, 1940, President Roosevelt said angrily that "a year of military training would be good for the mollycoddled youth of the United States." Three months later he signed the Selective Service and Training Act, the first peace-time draft in American history.
In 1940 and 1941 Sherrod spent months on maneuvers with the Army in Louisiana and North Carolina. He wrote that the experience "did not serve to ease my fears that perhaps we had grown too soft to fight a war." Soft and mollycoddled are not adjectives usually used to describe World War II era Americans.
In August, 1942 Sherrod returned from Australia and spoke to the President. He told FDR, "I knew we could make the machines of war. But I didn't know whether we had the heart to fight a war. Our men who had to do the fighting didn't want to fight." That same month Sherrod asked an Army general his opinion of the American soldier. The general said, "I'm afraid, Bob. I'm afraid the Americans of this generation are not the same kind of Americans who fought the last war."
History shows us that these fears were unfounded. At the same time these statements were made in August, 1942, the Marines were slugging it out with the Japanese at Guadalcanal. This battle reversed the tide of Japanese expansion and would culminate in their surrender on the deck of the U.S.S. Missouri three years later.
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“The "Greatest Generation" Measured Up”
David Arnett wrote...
Rick,
Years ago, I asked my father about how he felt during WWII in regard to the outcome. He said that although he had no idea how events would unfold nor whether or not he would survive the war, he never had so much as the slightest doubt that the allies would emerge victorious. He added that he never once heard anyone express anything but the utmost in optimism. Same with my mother.
I once had a discussion about the war with a friend from Ireland. Although he, like me, is a baby boomer, he said that Ireland's response to the outbreak of WWII was to start teaching German in their schools.
David
Alex Mena wrote...
Rick,
Small world! I started reading that book this past summer and put it down for a while. Some of those stories are tough to read back to back. I picked up the book again about a week ago and just read the Sherrod story today, the same day I'm reading this blog. What an odd coincidence.
I'm really liking the book, seeing as the stories are written while the War is in progress. One gets a real feel for the horrors and destruction and loss.
We could use some writers like Sherrod today, covering our current wars.