Autographed copies are available at Peregrine Book Co.,
Prescott, Ariz in the local author’s section
I TALKED TO A MAN TODAY . . .
Editor's note: The following guest
column recently appeared in the Agri-Times NW. The author is unknown
I talked with a man today, an 80+ year old man. I asked him if there was
anything I can get him
while this Corona virus scare was gripping America.
He simply
smiled, looked away and said:
Let me
tell you what I need! I need to believe, at some point, this country my
generation fought for I need to believe this nation we handed safely to our
children and their children.
I need to
know this generation will quit being a bunch of sissies, that they respect what
they've been given . that they've earned what others sacrificed for."
I wasn't sure where the
conversation was going or if it was going anywhere at all. So, I sat there,
quietly listening.
"You know, I was a little boy during WWII. Those were scary days.
We didn't know if we were going to be speaking English, German or Japanese at
the end of the war. There was no certainty, no guarantees like Americans enjoy
today.
And no
home went without sacrifice or loss. Every house, up and down every street, had
someone in harm's way. Maybe their Daddy was a soldier, maybe their son was a
sailor, maybe it was an uncle. Sometimes it was the whole damn family ,
fathers, sons, uncles .
Having
someone, you love, sent off to war ,it wasn't less frightening than it is
today. It was scary as Hell. If anything, it was more frightening. We didn't
have battlefront news. We didn't have email or cellphones. You sent them away
and you hoped & you prayed. You may not hear from them for months, if ever.
Sometimes a mother was getting her son's letters the same day Dad was
comforting her over their child's death.
And we
sacrificed. You couldn't buy things. Everything was rationed. You were only
allowed so much milk per month, only so much bread, toilet paper. EVERYTHING
was restricted for the war effort. And what you weren't using, what you didn't
need, things you threw away, they were saved and sorted for the war effort. My
generation was the original recycling movement in America.
And we had viruses back then,
serious viruses. Things like polio, measles, and such. It was nothing to walk
to school and pass a house or two that was quarantined. We didn't shut down our
schools. We didn't shut down our cities. We carried on, without masks, without
hand sanitizer. And do you know what? We persevered. We overcame. We didn't
attack our President, we came together. We rallied around the flag for the war.
Thick or thin, we were in it to win. And we would lose more boys in an hour of
combat than we lose in entire wars today."
He slowly
looked away again. Maybe I saw a small tear in the corner of his eye. Then he
continued:
"Today's
kids don't know sacrifice. They think sacrifice is not having coverage on their
phone while they freely drive across the country. Today's kids are selfish and
spoiled. In my generation, we looked out for our elders. We helped out with
single moms whose husbands were either at war or dead from war. Today's kids
rush to the store, buying everything they can with no concern for anyone but
themselves. It's shameful the way Americans behave these days. None of them
deserve the sacrifices their granddads & Great granddads made.
So, no I don't need anything.
I appreciate your offer but, I know I've been through worse things than this
virus. But maybe I should be asking you, what can I do to help you? Do you have
enough soda pop to get through this, enough steak? Will you be able to survive
with 113 channels on your TV?"
I smiled, fighting back a
tear of my own , now humbled by a man in his 80's. All I could do was thank him
for the history lesson, & leave with my ego firmly tucked in my rear.
I talked to a man today. A
real man. An American man from an era long gone and forgotten.We will never understand there sacrifices. But we should work harder to learn about them,& learn from them, & surely to respect them.
I remember
seeing the posters promoting citizen participation on the home front during
WWII.
These posters encouraged the greater public to become involved in war production and growing victory gardens.
They persuaded folks to collect and turn in old newspapers and metal, including
nylon stockings for recycling.
There were posters to make citizens aware of the presence of
enemy spies among the populace, and urged people not to openly discuss any
knowledge they have of military or defense operations. Hence, the adage, loose lips sink ships.
Posters encouraged
people to drive less and conserve gasoline so that more could be available for
the military. Patriotism became the central theme of advertising throughout the
war. Large-scale campaigns were launched to sell war bonds, promote efficiency
in factories, and maintain civilian morale.
The administrator has provided visitors to this site with
Selected Posts from The American Legion’s collection—IN YOUR OWN WORDS
SPECIAL POST ON THE NAZI SUBMARINE U-234:
Special Post:
SPECIAL POST--
Overview of popular songs and music of the 1940's [LISTEN]
Blues In The Night [ TUNE IN ] Besame Mucho [TUNE IN] I'll Never Smile Again [TUNE IN] When I Grow Too Old To Dream [ CLICK HERE ] Along The Navajo Trail [LISTEN]
You Belong To My Heart [ TUNE IN ] 1940's music collection [ LISTEN IN ]
MOVIES OF THE 40'S YOU CAN VIEW Just click on [WATCH]:
State Fair [WATCH] Julia Ross [WATCH]
RADIO BROADCASTS ABOUT THE WAR: [CLICK HERE TO LISTEN] (At the beginning of this link there will be a request to donate to the one that maintains this old news broadcast site, I's up to you to donate or not. Just scroll below the donation request where there are a list of available radio porgrams. After making a selection, some audio may take a few moments to begin)
1940 POPULAR RADIO SHOWS INCLUDING DRAMA, COMEDY, ECT. [ TUNE IN HERE
ON THE HOME FRONT
ARIZONA'S AREA 51, CAMP BOUSE An Army Desert Training Facility of the 1940's
SELECTED SITES OF INTEREST:
The Smart Site for Kittens [Click here]
LC Herst fine art collection: [CLICK HERE]
Hillsdale College publication, Imprimis article, Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence [CLICK HERE TO read the article]
Anybody recall the old TV show, “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. that
starred Frank Sutton as SGT. Carter?
It turns out Carter was some kind of WWII and Korean War
veteran that served with honor. mo He took part in 14 landings
in the Pacific, including Leyte, Luzon, Bataan and Corregidor. When the war
ended, he was sent to join the occupation forces in Korea, where he wrote,
directed and produced ''The Military Government Hour,'' a radio propaganda
program.
For more on Sutton, see:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0840308/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
The administrator has provided visitors to this site with
Selected Posts from The American Legion’s collection—IN YOUR OWN WORDS
Tribute to a brave man
Our Dad, Our Hero
Our Vines Have Borne No Fruit: (Book Review)
Heart of A Soldier
Tribute to a brave man
My Dad, Our Hero
Thanks For The Memory
We Have Met the Enemy and It Is Us?
Home, at Last
Brothers in WWI
The great Seabee tank caper
In 1945, the German submarine, U-234, under top secret
orders, was carrying special instructions and a cargo of uranium oxide to
Japan. The cargo was to be utilized for
Japan’s atomic bomb project.
Before the sub could reach its destination, the Nazi
government capitulated, resulting in the commander of U-234 changing course,
and surrendering to a U.S.
Coast Guard Cutter.
One could speculate on an alternative historical outcome if U-234 would have completed its mission.
For those wishing to read more about U-234, here are two links, each providing in depth coverage of the story:
Special Post:
The Saluting Boy on Omaha Beach [CLICK HERE TO WATCH]
SPECIAL POST--
SONGS OF THE TIME: To listen, just click on the [TUNE IN or LISTEN ]
I'll Be Seeing You, [CLICK TO LISTEN] Shoo Shoo Baby [LISTEN TO the Andrew Sisters]
I'll Be Seeing You, [CLICK TO LISTEN] Shoo Shoo Baby [LISTEN TO the Andrew Sisters]
Blues In The Night [ TUNE IN ] Besame Mucho [TUNE IN] I'll Never Smile Again [TUNE IN] When I Grow Too Old To Dream [ CLICK HERE ] Along The Navajo Trail [LISTEN]
You Belong To My Heart [ TUNE IN ] 1940's music collection [ LISTEN IN ]
SOME POPULAR MOVIES OF THE TIME PERIOD:
Lifeboat
(1944) - National
Velvet (1944) - Since You Went Away (1044) - Life Boat (1944)
State Fair [WATCH] Julia Ross [WATCH]
LIST OF POPULAR RADIO SHOWS
Doc Savage (action) - Dragnet (police) - Alan Young Show (comedy) - Gang Busters (police)
The Great Gildersleeve (comedy) - Hopalong Cassidy (western) - Terry and the Pirates (serial)
Portia Faces Life (soap opera) - Death Valley Days (western) - The Whistler (weird mystery)RADIO BROADCASTS ABOUT THE WAR: [CLICK HERE TO LISTEN] (At the beginning of this link there will be a request to donate to the one that maintains this old news broadcast site, I's up to you to donate or not. Just scroll below the donation request where there are a list of available radio porgrams. After making a selection, some audio may take a few moments to begin)
1940 POPULAR RADIO SHOWS INCLUDING DRAMA, COMEDY, ECT. [ TUNE IN HERE
Using the 1940 Popular Radio Show site:
On the top is a menu where you may select the TYPE of radio show such as comedy, crime, mystery, westerns, ect.
For example, clicking on “WESTERNS” will present you with a list of popular “cowboy” radio shows. Lets for an example select “GUNSMOKE”; you are now given a list of episodes that you may listen to. Picking and clicking on “BILLY THE KID”, you may bengin listening to the broadcast.
Give it a try, and I hope you enjoy the show.
A COLLECTION OF 1944 RADIO AND NEWSREELS [CLICK HERE ]
THE PEARL by John Steinbeck, ANIMAL FARM AND 1984 by George Orwell
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS by Hemingway, GRAPES OF WRATH by Steinbeck
WW2 AIRCRAFT NOSE ART : (See note below pertaining to "Pop ups and ads ) Enjoy the Big Band sound along with the visual. [ CLICK HERE TO VIEW ]
WHAT BOOKS PEOPLE WERE READING IN THE 1940'S. Just click on [BOOK TITLE ]
WHAT BOOKS PEOPLE WERE READING IN THE 1940'S. Just click on [BOOK TITLE ]
THE PEARL by John Steinbeck, ANIMAL FARM AND 1984 by George Orwell
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS by Hemingway, GRAPES OF WRATH by Steinbeck
ON THE HOME FRONT
ARIZONA'S AREA 51, CAMP BOUSE An Army Desert Training Facility of the 1940's
SELECTED SITES OF INTEREST:
The Smart Site for Kittens [Click here]
LC Herst fine art collection: [CLICK HERE]
Hillsdale College publication, Imprimis article, Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence [CLICK HERE TO read the article]
RECOGNIZING CELEBS WHO SERVED IN WWII
Kirk Douglas, US Navy. Sub-chaser in the
Pacific. Wounded in action and medically discharged.
