Response 4

Introduction response

            The introduction was quite interesting because I was really able to explore why so many people wanted to fight in the war.  Was it because there was nothing at home? Was it for the adventure?  I believe that the real reason why so many people were excited for the war is because it gave them something that they had to do.  It’s interesting because Studs Terkel said, “It appears that the disremembrance of World War Two is as disturbingly profound as the forgettery of the Great Depression: World War Two, and event that changed the psyche as well as the face of the United States and of the world,” (Terkel 161).  He is saying that World War Two is forgotten offensive because it had a huge impact on the world.  The part that I find most interesting about that quote is that it compares it to the forgettery of the Great Depression.  Once World War Two came up, almost all of the people forgot that the Depression had occurred.  I believe that the reason is because the war gave people that had no jobs something to do.  People were either going off to fight for its country, or they were sent to the factories in order to make supplies for the troops.  It is almost as if World War Two unified the country when it was in tension.  The war created a sense of pride in the country after a time of depression.  Everyone had to do their part, unlike in the Great Depression when nobody really had a part to do.  The amount of roles that the war brought to the citizens is the reason behind the sudden change in thinking of Americans.

Robert Rasmus

            My first thought on this story was that it was going to be a typical story about another soldier who went to the war to fight for the country.  After getting into the story, I realized that the stereotype of the soldier can be completely different.  While explaining his story, Rasmus says, “When I went in the army, I’d never been outside the states of Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan.  So when I woke up the first morning on the troop train in Fulton, Kentucky, I thought I was in Timbuktu.  Of course, I was absolutely bowled over by Europe, the castles, the cathedrals, the Alps.  It was wonderment.  I was preoccupied with staying alive and doing my job, but it seemed, out of the corner of my eye, I was constantly fascinated with the beauty of the German forests and medieval bell towers.  At nineteen, you’re seeing life with fresh eyes.”  He grew up living a boring life, and the war was a new adventure for him.  I believe that so many people went to fight in the war because they were able to experience a whole new place.  It was a place where change can occur after the Great Depression.  People can go from being a nobody, and transforming into a lieutenant in a battalion.  The soldiers only wanted to live life in a new aspect that was different from the typical citizen that came from Timbuktu.  Rasmus showed me that the soldier did not only fight in the war in order to give back to the country.  The soldier fought because they want to witness the adventure and thrill that war can bring.