The Good War Analysis

One usually associate war with slaughter and envy. War is a serious commitment and places financial burdens on the countries involved. In Studs Terkel’s book, The Good War, he reveals first hand accounts of war veterans and people involved in World War II. Most of these interviewers share their tortuous times at war, but enjoy talking about the good times they had. This gives light to personal development and positive gains that came from war. In my paper, I will focus on how some good came out of the bloodbath of World War II. Pre-World War II, the United States was suffering from a depression, Roosevelt’s New Deal was making decent progress, but as the war began the country shifted gears, it boosted the economy. There was an increase in
spending on manufacturing of war related goods. Sequentially, it created more jobs and put more money in American worker’s pockets. At this time, women were promoted to work to help the country achieve greater outputs while the men were away fighting the war. This produced a different atmosphere, “where we could help each other without fear” (Terkel 1997, 180). This quote was taken from Win Stracke interview, and it highlights the patriotic sprit that had overtaken. Getting involved in World War II helped bring confidence into the working class people and helped the United States emerge from a depression. The war not only increased the power of United Stated, but also empowered those soldier who fought for us over seas. One benefit of joining the army was to take advantage of the GI Bill. For their service, Steve Terkel and many other veterans took advantage of this because it allowed them to educate themselves and jumpstart their civilian career. Additionally, some soldiers used the bill to purchase their first homes. Not only did the soldiers benefit from the war with free education and personal development but also civilians in enemy countries gained some political freedoms. Prior to the end of World War II, the Japanese civilians didn’t know off or had a democracy. There was a particular military-like culture that was embraced in the society. Stud Terkel shares Yasuko Kurachi Dower’s experience in school before and after the war. Japanese culture was strict and had no wiggle room for failure. Yasuko Kurachi Dower describes school as military like with a lot of rules and questioning was not allowed. However, after the war ended she quotes, “school changed overnight. Almost all the old rules disappeared. They went overboard, 180- degree change. We could talk back to teachers. We could discuss things… We were now to run a democracy and learn new ways of doing things” (Terkel 1997, 250). What this means is there was positive change in Japanese society and the children were given the opportunity to think outside of the box. Yes, the United States and other countries caused massive amounts of destruction in Japan, but learning from that experience Japan changed their outlook. From the horrors of going to war, the Japanese civilians gained certain rights and received a democracy. Not only did Japanese civilians benefit, but also women in America started standing up for themselves. With a lot of the men going overseas to fight the war, women were stepping up and taking positions in factories and working hard at home. Additionally, they were not oppressed my men, but worked alone side them. The women took pride in their work and decided their own fate. Frieda Wolff, joined the Red Cross to go overseas and aid the soldiers at war. One part of her interview that stood out to me was: “I always violated rules… Nobody could court-martial me” (Terkel 1997, 315). Frieda Wolff, was strong women and did not let men or law preventing her from getting what she wanted done. Women like her got respect and saw progress in society. With that being said the African Americans Soldiers made some advances during the war as well. Even during the war efforts, the African American citizen were discriminated against.
The black soldiers were segregated at all the army bases, and didn’t get much respect from their fellow white soldiers. Lowell Stward, part of the Army Air Corps, used the discrimination to his advantage. Due to the Jim Crow laws in the Air Force, it made it almost impossible for African Americans to learn to fly or become high ranked officers. Because it was so tough it created an elite group of pilots who were better than the white soldiers. One of which was Lowell Stward. Because they so an ample amount of training and had the best record, they were in high demand. Additionally, Lowell Stward and other black soldiers contributed to integration and getting rid of Jim Crow laws in the army. The black community didn’t make a lot of progress in society during the war, but found more work. Even though blacks had difficult times, some black soldiers were able to surpass white soldiers in technical skill. Likewise, majority of the people at home did well during the
war. As the war progressed, everyone was employed and businesses were making great profits because of the influx of demand and shortage of supply.
As told by Lee Oremont, the war helped bring money to the businesses and the working people. Lee Oremont may sound like a war profiteer, but he gave back more to his employees in order to avoid taxes. However, most families had more discretionary income so they did not suffer. A point Lee Oremont made regarding increase in demand was: “you could sell anything you got, it just walked off the shelves” (Terkel 1997, 314). This says those at home were not experience the true horrors of war. With US businesses booming and the American civilians employed, they loved the
war. Going to World War II has its consequences, we lost many Americans and there were many casualties overseas, but some good did come out of it. Economically speaking, the increase in spending sparked by the war is the reason why the United States emerged out of the depression. Everyone was working and everyone was contributing to the war. And passing the GI bill allowed for more American to get a college education. Not only did Women and African Americans make progress in society during the war, but also the civilians in other countries gained political freedoms. There is never a war with out sacrifices, which is why veterans will recount all the good memories before the horrifying.