Ian Wilkins writes, “I
agree that the best use of a time to remember and contemplate like that which
Veteran's Day encourages us to do is to broaden out memory beyond the specifics
of war itself, and to consider all of the far-reaching impacts into the lives
of those who were involved in one way or another.
My grandfather’s brother, Jack Wilkins, was an all-star multi-sport athlete from the Main South neighborhood of Worcester. When Pearl Harbor was bombed, he and my grandfather signed up and shipped off immediately—into the marines and the navy, respectively. While my grandfather rode aboard a Navy fuel tanker, thankfully avoiding torpedoes and coming home safely, Jack was piloting fighters in the marines. When WWII was over, my grandfather came home to his wife. Eschewing the reported major-league baseball tryouts which had been scheduled before the war, Jack stayed on in the marines, and went to Korea a short time later.
Less than a month into Korea, Jack’s plane was shot down. For the entire duration of the war, nobody in the family knew what had happened to him. In fact, he had been captured and was a POW. The way they finally became aware of this is that, when the war was over, there were several prisoners released. My family was watching the prisoners walk off the planes on television, and there was Jack, alive! It has become a piece of family history that is not often talked about, but the city of Worcester held a parade for his return.
Jack moved very quickly to a warmer climate (Florida), never to return to New England. He did not like to talk about his experience; the little I know of it I learned from my grandmother.
As interesting and impactful as this story is, it is but one of many. Jack’s experience was something that followed him for the rest of his life. My absolute favorite movie which explores the horrible things that can follow vets home in this way is The Deer Hunter. Yes it is very long, and yes some of the stuff is absolutely crazy, but it always hits me in a very American way. Of course, there are so many great Vietnam movies which delve into the psychological toll, but the connections I feel to the America portrayed in The Deer Hunter—the small, industrial town and its inhabitants—makes it stand out for me.”
My grandfather’s brother, Jack Wilkins, was an all-star multi-sport athlete from the Main South neighborhood of Worcester. When Pearl Harbor was bombed, he and my grandfather signed up and shipped off immediately—into the marines and the navy, respectively. While my grandfather rode aboard a Navy fuel tanker, thankfully avoiding torpedoes and coming home safely, Jack was piloting fighters in the marines. When WWII was over, my grandfather came home to his wife. Eschewing the reported major-league baseball tryouts which had been scheduled before the war, Jack stayed on in the marines, and went to Korea a short time later.
Less than a month into Korea, Jack’s plane was shot down. For the entire duration of the war, nobody in the family knew what had happened to him. In fact, he had been captured and was a POW. The way they finally became aware of this is that, when the war was over, there were several prisoners released. My family was watching the prisoners walk off the planes on television, and there was Jack, alive! It has become a piece of family history that is not often talked about, but the city of Worcester held a parade for his return.
Jack moved very quickly to a warmer climate (Florida), never to return to New England. He did not like to talk about his experience; the little I know of it I learned from my grandmother.
As interesting and impactful as this story is, it is but one of many. Jack’s experience was something that followed him for the rest of his life. My absolute favorite movie which explores the horrible things that can follow vets home in this way is The Deer Hunter. Yes it is very long, and yes some of the stuff is absolutely crazy, but it always hits me in a very American way. Of course, there are so many great Vietnam movies which delve into the psychological toll, but the connections I feel to the America portrayed in The Deer Hunter—the small, industrial town and its inhabitants—makes it stand out for me.”
Rob Gosselin writes, “In the early 1980's I served under a United States
Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sergent. He did multiple combat tours in Vietnam.
In his opinion, the only movie he ever saw that looked like what he experienced
was Hamburger
Hill (1987). It might
be worth a look.”
Irene Martyniuk responds to Thursday’s WWI post, writing, “I
gave a paper a few years ago about the Irish who chose to serve in the British
Army in WWI. Ireland was neutral, even though it was still officially part of
the British Empire, and those who held an Irish passport were exempt from the
British draft, but many (more than the Irish now want to admit) chose to
serve—usually for the money. This is a topic Sebastian Barry
brilliantly explores in his fiction, about which I wrote in my paper. In doing
research for that work, I was quite surprised to discover that in the Republic
of Ireland, there are still no clear records as to how many Irish served in WWI
(they still argue about ‘who is Irish’) and how many died, and the first
official memorials honoring those who served and those who died were only
erected in 2004 or so!”
Responding to
the same post, Stephen
Railton writes, “I wonder when the
monuments will reflect the black contribution to America's various wars? or the
native American ones? etc?” And then he links these questions to the NAACP film Birth of a Race (1918), which in one section “shows a black man and a white man, working
together in a field and then marching together in same uniform off to war. I
don't think I've seen it all, just that clip, and it doesn't look very
impressive as a piece of cinema -- god knows how little money they had to make
it. I'm not sure it was ever shown in many (any?) theaters either. But like
those un-erected monuments, it is part of the story you're helping us recover
this week.”
Next series starts Monday,
Ben
PS. What do you think? What would
you add?
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