The excerpt entitled Operation Torch, is a chapter out of the book No One Ever Asked Me which is a collaborative biography written by Hollis D. Stabler and historian Victoria Smith. This is a very important memoir of World War II because not many Native Americans have been published, even though the Native Americans played a massive and extremely important role in the war. In the second chapter of the book, Stabler opens up with discussing how his mom felt towards him enlisting into the army or navy. Stabler’s mother was concerned with how her son would be treated in the army due to his race and ethnicity. Throughout the chapter, there were instances of racism towards Stabler and others, but overall, his fellow soldiers respected Stabler and treated him like a fellow brother and a fellow soldier. …show more content…
One part I particularly found fascinating was how many Native Americans volunteered or joined the war. “…on September 16, 1940, more able-bodied American Indians didn’t need to be compelled to defend American soil. Of the over fifteen million people who would eventually serve in the U.S. Armed Forces between 1940 and 1945, 25000 of them-men and women- were American Indians. For every Indian Pressed into service, one and a half, according to government estimates, volunteered… American Indians participation in World War II outranked, per capita, that of any other specialized population in the United States, including whites.” (Smith pg. 1, 3,) I am shocked because of how badly the American Indians were treated by the American government, yet they still fought for the freedom of the
Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage. Sculley Bradley, Richard Beatty, and E. Hudson Long Eds. New York: W.W. Norton, 1962.
The Tuskegee Airmen arose during WWII in the United States’ time of need. Overcoming countless hardships, their persistency to help light the United States’ path to victory proved to be an unforgettable, memorable, time in history. “The Tuskegee Airmen overcame segregation and prejudice to become one of the most highly respected fighter groups of World War II” (“Airmen Overview”).
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)
The book Outlaw Platoon written by Sean Parnell is a soldiers’ tale of his platoon in one of the most dangerous places on earth. This book is a non-fiction riveting work that tells the story of a platoon that spent sixteen months on an operating base in the Bermel Valley, the border of Pakistan. This mission the men were sent on was part of a mission called Operation Enduring Freedom. This book is extremely relevant to the war that we are still fighting in Afghanistan and the humanitarian work that continues. We still have men in this area fighting and losing their lives everyday. It is the focus of ongoing political debates and the purpose of our involvement there is an ongoing question in the minds of many Americans. In writing this book, Parnell makes it clear in his author’s notes that he indeed was not trying to pursue one political agenda over another. His goal as not to speak of all members of the platoon and expose their identities and the types of soldiers they were but instead to showcase some of the men’s bravery and abilities during the war. Parnell believed that he owed it to the men to write something that would show the world what these men go through during combat in an honest and raw account. Another purpose of Parnell’s in writing this book is an attempt at making sure these men are given a place in American war history.
During the first World War, the US military saw great benefits in relying on the Choctaw and Comanche languages to relay important messages in the battlefield (Bixler 37). When World War II began, it was the idea of an anglo-american called Philip Johnston who suggested to once again use Native American languages to send important messages during the war (Bixler 39). Philip Johnston was a World War I veteran who was born in 1892 to a missionary who lived in the Navajo Reservation. Growing up, Johnston was able to become a fluent speaker in the Navajo language and during World War II, he alongside 4 other Navajo Indians were the first to help develop the Navajo language as code for the war (Bixler 39). This turned out to be a great idea because according to a book title “Navajo Code Talkers” by Nathan Aaseng, in the year of 1940, there were “fewer than 30 people outside the Navajo tribe that knew their language (19). In addition, during the years prior to the start of WWII, Germany had sent out German students to study various Native American tribes, but they failed to connect and penetrate the Navajo tribe during those years(Aaseng 19). Thanks to this, the Navajo code talkers became one of the most well known and effective code units during and beyond the end of WWII. It is estimated that as many as 3,600 Navajo tribe members served overall during the years of WWII (Aaseng 10). Out of those 3,600 members, about 540 of them enlisted in the marine corps and about 420 became qualified as Navajo Code Talkers (Paul 117). These Code Talkers played a huge role in many of the biggest battles against Japan in the Pacific arena. A quote from communications officer Major Howard M. Conner of the fifth Marine Division states that if “Were it not for the Navajo, the Marines would have never taken Iwo Jima”(Davis
Initially, Japanese strategists assumed that the tiny island would be overwhelmed in a matter of hours. However, they underestimated the fighting spirit of the military personnel and civilians stationed on the island. For sixteen days these brave men fought against overwhelming odds, but demonstrated both to the Japanese and to their fellow Americans back at home that the Americans could and would put up a courageous fight.
Aside from what I was taught in school, and how I loved the colors they incorporate into their traditional attire, and how beautiful I thought the women were, I never understood the struggle and the widespread discrimination that they faced. The feelings of physiological distress that any have felt because of the historical trauma definitely makes me view them in different light. Jack Lawson also mentioned that all Native American are affected by alcoholism because of many cultural loss and problems relating to economic issues. This statement definitely encouraged me to do my own research on how and why these statics is so almost thing group of
Jeffries, John. Wartime America: The World War II Home Front. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1996. Print. American Way.
The bombing on Pearl Harbor impaired America, which brought an increase to racial tension. However, this impairment brought all nationalities together. “Thirty-three thousand Japanese Americans enlisted in the United States Armed Forces. They believed participation in the defense of their country was the best way to express their loyalty and fulfill their obligation as citizens” (Takaki 348). Takaki proves to us that the battle for independence was grappled on the ends of enslaved races. The deception of discrimination within the military force didn’t only bewilder Americans that sensed the agony of segregation, but also to the rest of world who honored and idolized America as a beam of freedom for
23 .Roger Daniel, Prisoners Without Trial: Japanese Americans in the World War II 1993, Hill and Yang.
Utley, R., Wilcomb, W. The American Heritage History of The Indian Wars. New York: American Heritage.
In the early days of World War II the everyday people of this country already sensed the great change to come. Interviews taken from the Library of Congress, in the collection labeled “After the Day of Infamy,” offer a window into the past. Into the America that existed in the early days after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entrance into the war. Inside the collection, the pulse of the nation is revealed. Ordinary people, some of whom do not reveal their names, are given a chance to record their opinion of the war, the Japanese people, and the race relations within the union. In these open letters to the president and the “Man on the Street” interviews, the American public reveals their prejudices and their concerns in the most candid of fashion.
In order to success on the home-front and to be able to support the troops, African Americans and women were given identities to help with victory. In order to success on the warfront, rapid effort of expansion in both industrial and military power was needed. On both the home and warfront, victory highly depended on the continuous provision of warfare such as ammunition, guns, tanks, naval vessels and planes as, “The necessity of winning the war opened the economy to millions of black men and women who surged into defense plants” (African Americans and the Military: World War II and Segregation). Without the support of other ethnic races and involvement of typical household women, the American Dream would not have been achievable. For the sole purpose of achieving that well desired dream alongside the American pursuit of happiness, Americans allowed discriminated individuals to support their victory as it would not have been possible without them. Through unequal opportunity presented by Americans within the union, the nation was physically and physiologically left disrupted and shattered by varying opinions through discrimination and
The ways in which the author could strengthen the book, in my opinion, is instead all the descriptive, to me meaningless points as how they were coloring themselves, the author should have put a little bit more facts in there to make it more documentary. Anyhow, overall the book has strength in letting the reader understand the history from both sides, whites and Indians. Many people have different views on the persecution of Native Americans, some think that it was all Indians’ fault and that they caused their own suffering, which I think is absolutely ridiculous, because they were not the ones who invaded. And Native Americans had every right to stand up for the land that was theirs.
"Reader Responses to Soldier's Home." Literature and Composition. 10 Feb.,2003. David Toth. 14 Feb., 2003. .