An interview with someone who lived during WWII, the essay illustrates several questions one might ask, and responses I recieved, as well as an analysis of the responses.
1.Question: Were you involved in the war? Any family members involved in the war?
Answer: He was not involved in the war because he was too young. However, his father worked as an electric engineer for the army and operated radars. He had two uncles who were also in the army and had another uncle in the navy.
2.Question: Were you active in civil defense, Red Cross, war industries, other volunteer activities?
Answer: He was in the boy scouts and was extremely patriotic. He collected scraps of aluminum, steel, iron, and paper for the war effort. He did not see this job as a burden and even competed for respect by trying to collect the most materials. He was also a coastal watcher and was assigned to watch for enemy submarines along the eastern coast. However, he never actually saw one.
3.Question: Any military experiences or personal anecdotes?
Answer: He became a casualty-reporting officer in 1957 when he was stationed in Alaska. Before then, he was generally pro-war, but after telling two or three wives that their husbands were dead, he became more passive. He said his job as a casualty-reporting officer changed his view towards war and caused him to question the Vietnam War and the policies of President Bush.
4.Question: How did you view the war then?
Answer: During the time of the war, he was nonchalant to the war. In fact, he said the worst part about the attack on Pearl Harbor was that he could not go to the beach on that day. As a child, he did not understand much about the war. For example, he said that when he learned about the Pearl Harbor invasion, he asked himself "what's a Pearl Harbor?" and when he read about the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, he asked himself "what's an atomic bomb?" He viewed the war as a game, because he never experienced any major losses. He thought that there was no way the United States could lose and never worried for one second.
5.Question: How did you view military or political leaders during
Answer: He was not involved in the war because he was too young. However, his father worked as an electric engineer for the army and operated radars. He had two uncles who were also in the army and had another uncle in the navy.
2.Question: Were you active in civil defense, Red Cross, war industries, other volunteer activities?
Answer: He was in the boy scouts and was extremely patriotic. He collected scraps of aluminum, steel, iron, and paper for the war effort. He did not see this job as a burden and even competed for respect by trying to collect the most materials. He was also a coastal watcher and was assigned to watch for enemy submarines along the eastern coast. However, he never actually saw one.
3.Question: Any military experiences or personal anecdotes?
Answer: He became a casualty-reporting officer in 1957 when he was stationed in Alaska. Before then, he was generally pro-war, but after telling two or three wives that their husbands were dead, he became more passive. He said his job as a casualty-reporting officer changed his view towards war and caused him to question the Vietnam War and the policies of President Bush.
4.Question: How did you view the war then?
Answer: During the time of the war, he was nonchalant to the war. In fact, he said the worst part about the attack on Pearl Harbor was that he could not go to the beach on that day. As a child, he did not understand much about the war. For example, he said that when he learned about the Pearl Harbor invasion, he asked himself "what's a Pearl Harbor?" and when he read about the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, he asked himself "what's an atomic bomb?" He viewed the war as a game, because he never experienced any major losses. He thought that there was no way the United States could lose and never worried for one second.
5.Question: How did you view military or political leaders during