America's Combat Experience in World War
More than 16,000,000 Americans served in the Armed Forces during World War U, but only 800,00 (or just 5%) took part in what Gerald Linderman calls "extended combat." (1) Their world, he convincingly argues, differed so fundamentally from the world of non-combat soldiers that it constituted a separate "world within war." Combat, over and above military service generally, altered the very world view of the soldier and shook his basic assumptions about his enemy, his peers, his God, and the nation he had pledged his life to defend.
Linderman uses the letters, diaries, and books of combat veterans along with a survey done by the Army War College to let the combat veterans speak for themselves. He focuses primarily on ground combat in Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific, though he addresses the air war in chapter one. In chapters 3 and 4 he argues that the geographic, cultural, and military contexts of the three theaters produced very different kinds of war and different understandings of what "the rules of war" meant.
Linderman is not the first scholar to write about this world. Paul Fussell's 1989 book Wartime argued that the world of the combat soldier was so much as odds with any non-combatant's ability to understand it that "the real war will never get in the books." Linderman agrees. Indeed, the combat soldiers themselves understood that civilians and non-combatants could not (and perhaps should not) know about the world of combat. In this world, men became callous to the deaths of enemies and of comrades alike, acted in ways that contradicted a lifetime of church and school, and sometimes found themselves inexplicably fascinated by the "enduring appeals" of battle.
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...his mortality. Gerald Linderman has done the historical record a great service by telling the story of the men who lived, and often died, at the very edges of civilization.
Linderman quotes combat veteran James Jones, who noted that among the combatants, "There was a lot more bitterness in World War II than historians allow" (197). Because that bitterness runs so counter to American conventional wisdom about World War II, it has remained hidden beneath what Fussell angrily described as a war "sanitized and romanticized almost beyond recognition." Linderman's insightful and moving book goes with Fussell beyond the war of Hollywood into a world beyond the abilities of Hollywood to describe. Gerald Linderman has restored the voice of the combat soldier to the historiography of the Second World War with dignity and humanity so that their world shall not be forgotten.
“The war correspondent is responsible for most of the ideas of battle which the public possesses … I can’t write that it occurred if I know that it did not, even if by painting it that way I can rouse the blood and make the pulse beat faster – and undoubtedly these men here deserve that people’s pulses shall beat for them. But War Correspondents have so habitually exaggerated the heroism of battles that people don’t realise that real actions are heroic.”
Ward, Geoffrey C. and Burns, Ken, The War, An Intimate History 1941-1945. (New York: Knopf 2007)
Guy Sajer’s The Forgotten Soldier is a work notable not only for its vivid and uncompromising account of his experience as a member of the Wehrmacht in World War II, but also for its subtle and incisive commentary about the very nature of war itself. What is perhaps most intriguing about Sajer’s novel is his treatment of the supposedly “universal” virtues present within war such as professionalism, patriotism, camaraderie, and self-sacrifice. Sajer introduces a break between how war is thought about in the abstract and how it has actually been conducted historically.
Michael C. C. Adams' book, The Best War Ever: America and World War II, attempts to dispel the numerous misconceptions of the Second World War. As the title suggests, Americans came out of the war with a positive view of the preceding five turbulent years. This myth was born from several factors. Due to the overseas setting of both theaters of the war, intense government propaganda, Hollywood's glamorization, and widespread economic prosperity, Americans were largely sheltered form the brutal truth of World War II. Even to this day, the generation of World War II is viewed as being superior in morality and unity. The popular illusion held that 'there were no ethnic or gender problems, families were happy and united, and children worked hard in school and read a great number of books.' (115)
So said German World War I Veteran, Erich Maria Remarque, in his book All Quiet on The Western Front. War is an extremely complex and corrupt affair that many can’t even begin to comprehend. This juxtaposing quote perfectly depicts how Remarque’s detailed and personal novel allows the reader inside the mind of a soldier, giving unique insight on war. The novel follows the events narrator Paul Bäumer encounters whilst at war and shows Bäumer’s reflective thoughts on these events. This form of narration is a large part of what makes the book so effective. The book conveys many strong messages about war but the most prominent ones in the story line are:
An article called, “The Real War,” written by Roger J. Spiller, begins with a quote by Walt Whitman, “The real war will never get in the books.” The author writes about an interview with Paul Fussell, who was a soldier in World War Two and has written many books about World War One and World War Two. Fussell is very opinionated and critical about other books written about these wars, asserting they are not realistic or portray the true essence of what really occurred by soldiers and other people participating in the wars. I claim that it is impossible to convey the actual personal feelings and emotions of those involved in a war in books or any other forms of media.
Adams, Michael C. C. The "Best War Ever: America and World War II" Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD 1994. Bailey, Ronald H. The Home Front, U.S.A. Time-Life Publishing, Chicago, IL. 1978 Bard, Mitchell G.
In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul, the main character is a nineteen-year-old man who voluntarily joins the German army to fight in World War I against the French. Paul went into the war full of nationalism and ready to fight for his country. Soon after entering training, Paul began to realize that there is way more to war than just fighting for his country. Because it contains evidence of dehumanization and disconnectedness with the world, Erich Maria Remarque’s novel All Quiet on the Western Front reveals soldiers who are blindsided by the effects war has on them.
In All Quiet on the Western Front, it becomes very apparent that some of the soldiers do not feel as if World War I was their fight, when comrades begin discussing the origin of war. One comrade, Albert states that a war is initiated by “one country badly offending the other” (204). This lead to a discussion over why the soldiers are fighting when truly it is one person or a small group of people that are directly offended by an opposing group in a similar position of power. Therefore, why must they discover the true horrors of war while simultaneously putting their lives on the line, when the ones who began the predicament, propelled false advertisement with propagandas that romanticized and glorified war don’t have to live as if the next second may be their
From sunrise to sunset, day after day, war demolishes men, cities, and hope. War has an effect on soldiers like nothing else, and sticks with them for life. The damage to a generation of men on both sides of the war was inestimable. Both the novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, and the poem “I Have a Rendezvous with Death,” by Alan Seeger, demonstrate the theme of a lost generation of men, mentally and physically, in war through diction, repetition, and personification.
Through its history, America has experienced a plethora of tragedies and victories, each making an impression on its identity. But as with all things, it did not evolve overnight into what it is. Politics are the brain of the country, but the people are the heartbeat. The direction of the former depends on the status of the latter and certain events affect the citizens of a country beyond repair. War shakes a nation to its core, transforming every facet of society. Sometimes it is for the better, but not every time. Throughout the last century the US has had the misfortune of going through three wars, each very different. The start of the century kicked off with World War I, giving the nation economic as well as societal changes, from the growth of Progressivism to the start of the journey for women's equality that would shape the political world of the 21st century. As for the next World War which came all too soon, it gave America the patriotism that was so long admired and the unity of thought on a national matter. Yet again, women in the war transformed their role in society, but this time even greater. However the economy did not fare so well, and suffered even more from Roosevelt's policies and massive tax implements affecting the the future decisions regarding the deficit and budget. To finish, Vietnam was an even greater disappointment to our nation. The riots and movements of the day regarding communism which was the enemy, and the open hate towards the soldiers from the media seriously hurt the war and the nations view of it. NOt to mention Nixon's feeding of the welfare beast and EPA. All in all, despite every other event of American history, very few have had as much of an affect on the nation politically as WWI, WWII ...
War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, written by the talented author Chris Hedges, gives us provoking thoughts that are somewhat painful to read but at the same time are quite personal confessions. Chris Hedges, a talented journalist to say the least, brings nearly 15 years of being a foreign correspondent to this book and subjectively concludes how all of his world experiences tie together. Throughout his book, he unifies themes present in all wars he experienced first hand. The most important themes I was able to draw from this book were, war skews reality, dominates culture, seduces society with its heroic attributes, distorts memory, and supports a cause, and allures us by a constant battle between death and love.
Imagine being in an ongoing battle where friends and others are dying. All that is heard are bullets being shot, it smells like gas is near, and hearts race as the times go by. This is similar to what war is like. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, the narrator, Paul Baumer, and his friends encounter the ideals of suffering, death, pain, and despair. There is a huge change in these men; at the beginning of feel the same way about it. During the war the men experience many feelings, especially the loss of loved ones. These feelings are shown through their first experience at training camp, during the actual battles, and in the hospital. Training camp was the first actuality of what war was going to be like for the men. They thought that it would be fun, and they could take pride in defending their country. Their teacher, Kantorek, told them that they should all enroll in the war. Because of this, almost all of the men in the class enrolled. It was in training camp that they met their cruel corporal, Himelstoss.&nbs most by him. They have to lie down in the mud and practice shooting and jumping up. Also, these three men must remake Himelstoss’ bed fourteen times, until it is perfect. Himelstoss puts the young men through so much horror that they yearn for their revenge. Himelstoss is humiliated when he goes to tell on Tjaden, and Tjaden only receives an easy punishment. Training camp is as death and destruction. Training camp is just a glimpse of what war really is. The men do not gain full knowledge of war until they go to the front line. The front line is the most brutal part of the war. The front line is the place in which the battles are fought. Battles can only be described in one word- chaos. Men are running around trying to protect themselves while shooting is in the trench with an unknown man from the other side. This battle begins with shells bursting as they hit the ground and machine guns that rattle as they are being fired. In order to ensure his survival, Paul must kill the other man. First, Paul stabs the man, but he struggles for his life. He dies shortly after, and Paul discovers who he has killed. The man is Gerald Duval, a printer.&n Having to deal with killing others is one of the horrors of war. The men who are killed and the people who kill them could have been friends, if only they were on the same side. The other important battle leaves both Paul and Kropp with injuries.
The Forgotten Soldier is not a book concerning the tactics and strategy of the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War. Nor does it analyze Nazi ideology and philosophy. Instead, it describes the life of a typical teenage German soldier on the Eastern Front. And through this examined life, the reader receives a first hand account of the atrocious nature of war. Sajer's book portrays the reality of combat in relation to the human physical, psychological, and physiological condition.
World War I, an event which changed the geopolitical makeup as well as the attitudes of the world, consisted of people killing other people. In fact, every war is made up of people. In the day to day lives of civilians today, whether watching the news or reading a history book, the personal aspect of wars, particularly, is lost to many people. The notion that every soldier is a human being with likes, dislikes, talents, families, and favorite foods would certainly be acknowledged on a multiple-choice test, but practically it seems to be forgotten. Books like An American Soldier in World War I¸ however, help ground the massive geopolitical turmoil involved in a war like the Great War in the reality of humanity. The book’s goal is to look at