Dire Straits in the South Pacific

Dire Straits in the South Pacific

“We were just cogs in a wheel – little pieces of a big machine. No one

thought of being a hero.”

This statement reflects just the sort of attitude I have come to

expect from my grandfather over the years – modest, understated,

discreet, and almost icy. When I undertook this assignment, I must

confess that I fantasized about what would happen when my grandfather

finally opened up to me about his experiences in World War II, a topic

about which he rarely speaks. I imagined some brilliant catharsis

would transpire and I would finally come to understand him more fully.

His tale would give me the key to unlocking the mystery behind the man

who has always loomed over my life like a legend. A man of few words,

it was with some hesitation that he agreed to share with me the

harrowing tales of his wartime adventures. At the outset of the

interview, what he offered was primarily narrative in nature, full of

facts, but lacking in emotion and general insight. As he continued his

story and the interview wound to a close, the depth and scope of what

he had told me took on a deeper significance. Buried in subtext was

the essence of what he dared not say. It became obvious that my

grandfather's experiences in World War II had profoundly shaped the

man he is today. The mystery was no more.

Stanley John Bryant was born January 9, 1919, the son of country

doctor in Lowell, Massachusetts. In 1937, he realized he had outgrown

the small town in which he had spent his childhood. Following the

trend of the era and the footsteps of his three brothers, he enlisted

in the United States Navy on March 17 of hat year. "I w...

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... all costs. What

is notable is that both my Grandfather and the nation which he fought

to defend both justified their actions along the rationale that war

was the only way to preserve the common good.

The popular consensus of American involvement in World War II appears

in retrospect to have been a truly "Good War" – a venture defined by

the purest and most clear-cut utilitarian and humanitarian

motivations. My interview with my grandfather has led me to wonder

whether or not he buys into this glossy analysis. With his refusal to

qualitatively evaluate the American involvement in World War II or

take of credit for his own actions, I suspect that even after all

these years, he has not been able to fully come to terms with the war

and the way it permanently altered his beliefs, personal philosophy,

and way of life.