Normative History Life Events
Normative history life events include events that had a major impact historically; such as war, the civil rights movement, The Great Depression etc. John was born in 1933 at the tail end of the Great Depression and before the Korean and Vietnam War. I asked him how each of these three specific events, which were monumental in history, affected him and his day-to-day life. Since the Great Depression ended in 1939, John does not remember too much, as he was only 6 years old. However, he does state that it did effect his father, as it was harder to find blue-collar jobs. However, he vividly remembers the Korean War (1950-1953). John was drafted in 1953 at just 19 years old. He was in the Army and took the infantry basic training and Military Police
School. When I asked John how he felt about being drafted about the war, he stated, “When I was initially drafted I was somewhat frightened or scared. You think about ‘oh my gosh this Korean War is raging. Will I get killed or kill something?’ What helped me was that my dad served World War 2 in combat and survived… it eased my fears”. Once done with training he was stationed first in Indiana where he was a post stockade. This meant that every day he would pick up 3 prisoners and watch them all day. He hated it and it was not uncommon to try and scare the prisoners so they would refuse to go with you the next day. After a while he transferred to Germany. While during this war, he wasn’t in combat however, it still had some adverse effects. When he was drafted he was 19 and in the Erikson stage of role confusion. John mentioned it was different when he got back because all of his friends had grown up and started a life. This could have easily affected him since he didn’t have a “crowd” to fit in to, it might have been harder to find out who he was as an individual. However, John comments that “[he] didn’t feel behind”. As for the Vietnam War, John* was not drafted and remembers how it divided the country. Overall, he was thankful his son was not drafted.
School. When I asked John how he felt about being drafted about the war, he stated, “When I was initially drafted I was somewhat frightened or scared. You think about ‘oh my gosh this Korean War is raging. Will I get killed or kill something?’ What helped me was that my dad served World War 2 in combat and survived… it eased my fears”. Once done with training he was stationed first in Indiana where he was a post stockade. This meant that every day he would pick up 3 prisoners and watch them all day. He hated it and it was not uncommon to try and scare the prisoners so they would refuse to go with you the next day. After a while he transferred to Germany. While during this war, he wasn’t in combat however, it still had some adverse effects. When he was drafted he was 19 and in the Erikson stage of role confusion. John mentioned it was different when he got back because all of his friends had grown up and started a life. This could have easily affected him since he didn’t have a “crowd” to fit in to, it might have been harder to find out who he was as an individual. However, John comments that “[he] didn’t feel behind”. As for the Vietnam War, John* was not drafted and remembers how it divided the country. Overall, he was thankful his son was not drafted.