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Monday, May 29, 2006
On This Day
Today is my dad's 86th birthday (Isn't he cute?). Last year, on his 85th birthday, he had heart surgery - surgery that probably bought him this last year of life and will continue to help keep him around for who knows how long.Today is also Casey Sheehan's birthday. He would've been 27, but he was killed at the age of 24. He died on 04-04-04 in Iraq. He didn't live long enough to get married and have children and grandchildren like my dad has been able to do.
My dad fought in World War II. He was in a submarine in the South Pacific. I remember my mom talking about my dad's bad dreams that would cause him to make loud and scary noises in his sleep. And I can remember hearing him yelling during one of those nightmares more than 20 years after the war had ended.
It's funny how the mind works. When I was young, I thought that the United States was the greatest country. We fought a noble war that saved the world, and my dad was part of that. He had these nightmares as a result of the trauma caused by being torpedoed while in a submerged submarine. That would certainly give me nightmares! But I never put it together that my dad was a part of a crew that was also bombing other men in other subs. I don't know if the men on my dad's submarine were responsible for the deaths of fathers and brothers and husbands. I would guess so. I can't ask him at this stage of his life. Many parts of his experiences during the war have been too emotional all along. If something doesn't come out naturally, now is not the time to push.
I don't know what the world would be like today if we would not have entered World War II. Everything is much more complex than the information given by the history books. Why is an American a hero for killing, but a German or a Japanese person is the enemy for doing the same thing? They are all pawns of the powers that caused the wars in the first place. I am not sure that hero is a word that applies to anyone in war. Victim comes to mind. Then again, we are all complicit and can't claim victimhood.
Today I think of Cindy Sheehan and the pain that she must be feeling as she knows this is the third of a long line of Casey's birthdays that she won't be able to celebrate. Meanwhile, we will go to my Dad's in a little while to celebrate his long life. One man died young at the hand of the "enemy" while another man lived long by defeating another "enemy".
posted by Carol at 9:01 PM
2 Comments:
Carol, I appreciate your reflections. I, too, find it puzzling that the label for the killer depends on which side of the fence you sit. I find myself noticing more and more how soldiers and veterans are honored at public gatherings for their efforts to achieve peace, yet peaceworkers such as Peace Corps members, Christian Peacekeepers, PeaceForce members and others who are working toward peace in other ways get no public recognition. Is it any wonder that children grow up wanting to be soldiers because the public hallows them so?
Janet K. Littleton
Good points, Janet. Re: "Is it any wonder that children grow up wanting to be soldiers because the public hallows them so?", we've got to do something about that. Can't wait for our "leaders" to do it.
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