Memorial Day, Honoring the Past by Changing Direction

My mother served with the Women’s Army Corps during World War II as a draftsman, chaplain’s assistant and truck driver. Originally assigned to Alaska, at the last minute orders were changed and she was shipped with all cold weather gear to New Guinea and later the Philippines.

My father came with one of MacArthur’s divisions when he (MacArthur) returned to the Philippines. I remember my Dad describing how he met my mother. He volunteered as an usher for a church service. My mother had been out walking and happened upon the church building just as services were about to start. My father greeted her as she walked in, showed her to a seat and then sat next to her.

That was as much as he would say about their courtship.

I did not know my father was a war hero until after he died.

The only battle experience Dad described was walking many miles on two broken ankles while escorting rescued American prisoners to safety.

It was my uncle who told me years after Dad died that Dad was one of a group of soldiers who rescued prisoners of war from the Japanese at Santo Tomas in the Philippines.

Dad also was credited with saving his own life and that of eleven other soldiers when they were under attack by a Japanese Platoon. My father and the other American soldiers had taken cover in a church. My father shot and killed the Japanese Platoon leader. With no one to issue orders the rest of the platoon vanished into the Philippine countryside. 

Mom told me many stories of her experiences. The most frightening was of being out on a walk alone in the Philippines (No one was supposed to leave the compound, but Mom often went on walks alone), when she heard the approach of a Japanese unit on the trail. Mom left the trail and hid flat and still on the ground not daring to look at the soldiers as they passed. 

World War II became the genesis of many changes that would shape the post war future. Women entered the work force in large numbers to help with manufacturing. This set the stage for a future where most women continued to work outside the home often in positions that in the past had been open only to men. 

Technological advances were made in airplane and engine designs that were adopted for domestic applications. After the war at Honeywell where my father worked as an engineer a device was invented that worked at high altitudes and allowed pilots to know which direction they were going in, and whether they were flying right side up or upside down. (An important distinction when flying over the ocean).

Post World War II America was less insular. A few years after I was born my parents opened their home up to students and professors connected with the University in Minneapolis. We had people living in our home from India, Egypt, Pakistan and Japan. It was normal for me to hear other languages and people with different eating habits and clothing styles.

By the time I was five (early 1960's) my mother had fallen in love with Japanese culture. We had many students and professors from Japan living with us all the time. My mother studied and became fluent in formal Japanese. She went to work at Mt Sinai Hospital and saved her money for several years and then took a trip to Japan. This was a very different experience from Mom’s fearful moments pressed against the floor of the Philippine Jungle listening to the footsteps and voices of Japanese soldiers. 

So while World War II created conditions that necessitated change, post World War II saw a continuation of a change in direction for America and for my parents, away from insular attitudes. Those whose lives were sacrificed during World War II were part of a whole that set the stage for a more prosperous future.

Today much has changed in the way America wages war. The military industrial complex is no longer restricted to American factories and American jobs. Technological advances allow military forces to strike targets from a remote location. The US has expanded their military presence around the globe. Yet when the US is at war the civilian population has little direct involvement other than to note the rise in national debt. It is the military families that primarily mourn the loss of loved ones or struggle to overcome the injuries suffered from their experiences.

It is time for America to honor those who continue to give their lives in service by changing direction. Expending resources on foreign wars for the sake of oil increases the likelihood of attack on America and does nothing to increase jobs at home. When the Nation is at war every household, rich or poor needs to be included in supporting the effort in some way. 

People need to work: Manufacturing jobs need to be brought back to the US. We need to shift much of our military spending to domestic needs. Investments in transportation and energy infrastructure and energy alternatives and efficiencies will help build a stronger economy and a stronger America.