Tag: ww2

The Greatest Generation?

I welcome today guest essayist C.J. Morrissey, huge history buff, a very “smaht” guy. He has written a deeply considered essay with great relevance on this particular day, June 6.

June 6, 2019

With Tom Brokaw’s 1998 book so named, many Americans were re-awakened to the efforts of that special generation of Americans who contributed to the defeat of the Axis powers, whether they participated directly in combat or acted in military support roles or worked in domestic industry. As a history buff and a son of two veterans of World War II, for a couple recent decades I had wondered why so few Americans woke up on June 6th each year and didn’t think of the striking significance of the date.  

With the passage of time, it seems the media has heightened attention to the significance of the date, the dwindling numbers of World War II veterans, and an increasing presence of, to paraphrase late Senator John McCain, an almost overblown respect for the role of the military.   For example, McCain’s feelings, among other concerns and related statements, that taxpayers funding orchestrations of military pomp and circumstance at sporting events seemed inappropriate.

Let’s revisit whether we think the circa World War II aged citizens should indeed be held above and considered “The Greatest Generation”.  It was very clear that the Axis powers represented a threat to democracy and freedom all over the world.  While early sentiment such as the America First movement reinforced an isolationist strategy, ultimately it was not hard for that generation to get behind the Allied effort after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.  The threat was clear and present.

 Consider other generations or time periods where American citizens needed to contribute in difficult environments or made special efforts in support of their fellow citizens or mankind.  For example, Civil War regiments mustered in support of the cause that the Union was an ideal that must be saved.  This was done in the face of draft riots, early on bungled military leadership, inconsistent provisioning and other resources, racial overtones, and a fully divided country.  An argument can be clearly made to propose that generation of Americans as the greatest generation.  Millions of Americans led by Abraham Lincoln contributed in every sort of way to preserve the American experiment.  

Separately, by focusing on a “generation” of Americans as the greatest, we leave out the great Americans who contributed greatly to building our country in the absence of the motivational clarity provided to the World War II generation.  Several events and personal contributions come to mind.  We can cite original participants in the founding of this country, not just specifically the Founding Fathers, but the farmers, merchants and laborers who for a brief few years, became their own incarnation of the citizen soldier.  We can cite the contributions of those veterans who served in Vietnam who came home to an unappreciative, and in many cases, hostile reception.  We can think of the waves of Chinese, Irish, Italian and Jewish immigrants who came to this country in the late nineteenth and early 20th century and whose labor built the modern America.  We can think of the Freedom Riders and other civil rights activists and causes of the 1960s who sought to fight back against the ingrained practices of Jim Crow in the southern states.  

My parents were part of Tom Brokaw’s “Greatest Generation”.  I consider that generation everything about our America; apple pie, John Deere tractors, hard working, VFW halls, big families, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Marlboro cigarettes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, Ted Williams, non-fat dry milk, sun burns at the beach and so on.  What does not come to mind about the “Greatest Generation” are the moral, cultural, direct and indirect challenges of preserving and maintaining the best things about America that arise out of less obvious challenges to freedom and moral growth.  Here’s to hoping that the Millenial generation rises to the occasion and participates in today’s substantial challenges and, can therefore potentially supplant Tom’s “Greatest Generation”.

Fortune Favors the Bold

I recently went shopping with a friend at a nearby antique market, and while we meandered through the vast indoor space — a converted mill building alongside the North Canal in Lawrence (off-shoot of the Merrimack River), we kept up a running conversation. At one point, we both agreed that we were ideal companions in that particular endeavor. Both of us have a casual approach, not in the least like how her husband undertakes the task, nor how my husband used to — each can (or could) spend up to an hour in one nook, closely examining every piece. When my husband George was alive we enjoyed our antique shop adventures immensely, but it always was the case that as soon as we entered the door, we’d part ways. Inevitably, he would emerge with something amazing, and I would be spending my money on something that before too long would end up in a Goodwill bin. I just don’t have the eye for spotting treasures; either that, or I’m too impulsive. . . or impatient. . . or lazy. Maybe I’m all those.

Every once in a while, however, I’m inspired to be different. I want to be that person who can while away an hour or two in an antique shop (or an entire morning at a fair), inspecting countless pieces of recycled merchandise, moving some aside to reach for the hidden gems. Just as gratifying would be the casual conversations that can be struck up with knowledgeable (and quirky) vendors, especially the ones who get excited when you’re curious about an item’s history or backstory. (Having lived more or less in the shadow of my much more social and outspoken partner, let me just say it’s a slow process learning to position myself center-front on that same stage where for decades I occupied a position slightly behind George. . . right where I was comfortable.)

Bembe and Yoselín rocking a Cuban son

In most rooms of my house there is at least one of George’s antique finds. I find I’m less able to part with the unique, one-of-a-kind vintage and antique curiosities that reside politely — in some cases joyously entertaining — on shelves. One of my favorites is a pair of folksy-looking Cuban musicians, hand-carved and depicted in a stylized manner. They’re an exuberant couple with posable bodies. The man is playing the güiro, the woman — bongos, and both are singing. Every so often, in order to fully appreciate their vitality, I reposition their arms or their heads or their feet. I’m not likely to ever part with my Cuban pair because their most recent story — the only chapter I’ll ever know — fills me with my own version of joy. On one of our antique adventures, George and I found ourselves somewhere downeast in Maine. As we typically did, we entered an antique shop together and immediately parted company. My interests tend to lean toward old textiles, sewing machines, 60’s lunchboxes, books, and 19th century photos. George’s particular interests were tools, toys, bottles, and anything he thought I would like. After about 30 minutes George appeared at my side and silently handed me the pair of figurines. He knew I would love them, and maybe imagined that I would add them to the decor in my Spanish classroom. Not for a moment would I entertain such a thought — I wanted them just for myself. It didn’t surprise me at all, either, that he had found them in a part of the shop that I had already breezed by.

Over the years, I feel I’ve come to know Yoselin and Bembe quite well. (Yes, I’ve named my high-spirited, posable Cuban musicians.) Like most people, I’ve formed an attachment to a possession that obviously has only the slightest of monetary value. It must be said, though, that whenever we enter an antique shop or attend a fair or (especially) a flea market, we entertain a hope that we’ll find a hidden gem. Yoselín and Bembe are enough of a treasure for me, but this morning I read in Smithsonian about a woman who really hit the jackpot. . . in a Goodwill store, of all places. For the price of $35 (if you shop at Goodwill, you understand that to be top dollar), Laura Young emerged with a very heavy but cool marble bust that she knew would look perfect in her hall entryway. Young isn’t a complete novice — she trades in antiques, so she knew she was on the better end of the transaction.

Audentes Fortuna Iuvat

The 2,000 year-old story began with some famous Roman commander or emperor’s son or son of a disgruntled statesman (good guy, bad guy — it’s hard to know with certainty). In death, all these guys are elevated anyway, whether in status or as blocks of marble shaped into beautiful, proud heads and placed on a pedestal. . . literally (or, at least their likenesses are. . . literally).

Whoever was being represented by the sculpture, its beauty and value were appreciated (many centuries later) by King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who made it a part of his permanent collection, housed in the newly constructed Pompeiianum Museum in Aschaffenburg, Germany. One hundred years would pass uneventfully until very eventfully World War II happened, and the Allies bombed the Pompeiianum. The shame is made greater by the fact that looting then took place by the Allies. One way or another, the stolen head made its way to the United States where it remained a secret for nearly eighty years. And now, the real story is as much about our curiosity about the moron in Texas who dropped it off at a Goodwill recycling center as it is about where it has been for eighty years.

There’s a lesson here, and I don’t think it’s caveat emptor. Perhaps caveat donator (“donor beware”) better captures the moral. Also, bona quarentibus (which, if I’m not totally making up my own form of Latin, means “Good things come to those who seek.”)

Read Smithsonian’s article : “Ancient Roman Sculpture Likely Looted During WWII Turns Up at Texas Goodwill”