entry 5 - "The Good War”: An Oral History of World War II (1984) Peggy Terry, “hillbilly” E. B. (Sledgehammer) Sledge, Marine

When Peggy Terry said, "Now we'd have money to buy shoes and a dress..." it reminded me of when i got my first job. I was able to live normally before i got my job, but when i got it i was able to buy myself thinks that i desired. But, i certainly dont have a job that works with Tetryl, explosives, or detonators. i found it interesting, yet incredibally wrong that companys threatened workers that if they quit they would "blacklist" them and no other companys would hire them.
i love how E.B Sledge puts the war as two parts, "There was the war of the guys on the fronts lines... Then there was the support personnel." The men that we dont hear from are the ones in the front lines because most of them don't live to tell their stories. The men who died on the front lines were the true heros, not saying that all the other men wern't heros because they were. E.B went to war "to get it over with, so we could go back home and do what we wanted to do with our lives." nobody was their for the long run or to mess around. The way that E.B put fighting the Japanese it would seem almost impossible to be able to go back to normal life.

“The Good War”: An Oral History of World War II (1984) Introduction + Bob Rasmus, rifleman

Bob Rasmus's war stories hit me as very exhilarating, compelling, and to me it showed bravery within him. He talked many times about going to battle or into enemy country's in the front line as a rifleman. He said that he knew they likeliness of him dying at battle and yet he still had to guts and man power to go to battle, fight, and survive. Many times when i read stories from war vets i think about whether i think i would be able to do what some of these men have done. While reading this interview, i knew that there would have been no chance that i would have been able to go to the front lines and try to defeat a well trained enemy. As i was reading, i was also emotionally hit when Rasmus said that he had to leave his platoon because he had the flu, and later on they were hit hard and died. For myself, knowing that the flu kept me from dying in battle would make me go crazy. Then i thought, would i rather die by in a platoon with my friends at the Battle of the Bulge, or die in a different platoon in a big battle such as D-Day? After pondering this question, i could not come up with an answer. But, i do know that im thankful for the soldiers who fought in the war becuase i would rather be safe, and alive at home.

Jane Yoder, daughter of a WPA worker and Tom Yoder, Jane’s son

These stories really made me think long and hard about what i have today, and how much i take all of it for granted. Its things like clothes, having a hot dinner every night cooked, having a safe home, having my own bedroom to myself, and being able to take vacations across the United States and sometimes outside of the country. In Jane Yoder's story, she talks about how much she wanted a blanket or a coat to stay warm. When she finally got her coat, she treated it like it was worth $1,000. She also said, "I can think of the WPA... my father immediately got employed in this WPA. This was a godsend." To Jane and her family, getting a job ment survival. Tom Yoder talked about how it sounded foolish when his mom told him that her brothers would go hunting with rifles in search for food. If no food was found, then they would not eat that night. Now, we would only think that happned centuries ago or it was just something that boy scouts would do. Sadly, this happened in our country's past not too long ago. I conclude this by asking, do you think we will ever need to go back to this kind of survival in the future? Near future?