I was five years of age when the United States entered World War II. I have vivid memories of funerals with no coffins…there was only a photograph of a smiling young man on a small table in front of the alter. I recall at least three of them and I lived on a farm in rural Central Texas. I knew each one of those young men and their extended families. I recall one, standing in a yard in uniform, preparing to go to war, beside a young lady, who called me from the gravel road I was traveling. I recall that he and the pretty lady smiled and talked to me and said something about having a little red haired, freckled faced boy like me some day. He never came back from the war.
A farewell party was held for one of my cousins, affectionately called “Big Boy” and we enjoyed eating laughing, talking and music made by family members and guests who could play musical instruments. Not long after that, I rode along with Daddy and waited while he entered the house and offered condolences for the loss of a beloved family member when his transport ship was sunk. His body never came home. And when I started to high school, I saw a plaque on the wall honoring a young neighbor who had been killed when his fighter was shot down in North Africa in 1942. Little banners with a single blue star hung in many windows, indicating that someone from that household was at war. Some had more than one. If the blue star was replaced by a gold one, it meant that the young man had been killed. At least two of the three who died and were known by me, had one or more brothers in the war who survived and returned home. My father’s youngest brother, Uncle “Snooks,” landed on Okinawa just after the war ended. The invasion of Japan had been rendered unnecessary by the development and use of atomic bombs.
Many homes had empty chairs at the table and un-used bedrooms after the war, but most had their beloved sons home and alive. They left home, full of patriotism and eager to fight the enemiey. They were still just kids. Those “kids” never came back, even those who survived. All had changed to some degree, some more than others. I recall that some came home much more religious than before, but most seemed dedicated to making up for the loss of their youth by partying and having fun at every opportunity. Unfortunately, some died shortly after surviving the great war in automobile accidents while “living it up.”
Eventually, the veterans that I knew, settled down, married and began families (the act of procreation took on a “make up for lost time” atmosphere, too). The returning veterans fathered many children upon their return which created the “baby boom” of which we hear so much.
The veterans seemed to want to ensure that their children would not be deprived of their youth and the joys that went with it. Certainly, there were exceptions, but nationally, the baby boomers (the children of the veterans) were, unintentionally in many cases, spoiled rotten. They did not have to work like their fathers had done and they did not (again, with exceptions) intend to go to war. Their parents bailed them out of trouble (free love had emerged with “the pill” and mind altering drugs and alcohol were permitted, along with demonstrations against war such as love ins (“make love, not war“). Draft cards were burned and many went to Canada to avoid the military draft (and war). For many, it was fairly easy to avoid the draft because of the influence of family and friends holding politically powerful offices and the many draft exemptions approved by congress. Enrollment in a school of higher education could get an exemption, for example. Some attended college long enough to have obtained several degrees and got as many as five draft exemptions.
The unprivileged and a few others were drafted and went to Viet Nam, a somewhat foolish war and very unpopular in America (primarily because of the draft dodgers and their powerful families and friends). Thousands of our youth died in place of the privileged baby boomers. Thousands more suffered life long injuries and or emotional trauma. The military draft was no longer fair and since the government didn’t have the will (some of their children were at stake) to fix it, congress suspended the military draft….one of the greatest mistakes made leading to our dysfunctional government under the current administration. If the politicians and power brokers children were subject to a fair military draft, I truly suspect that we would not have invaded Iraq. We would possibly have invaded Afghanistan ( with power and awe ) and captured the perpetrators of 9-11 and gotten out long before now.
