World War II

In my deepest heart of hearts I suspect I have a secret desire to receive a letter from the past. These tales of the postman delivering a yellowed envelope with a three-cent stamp in the corner and “Buy War Bonds” emblazoned somewhere on the paper draw me in every time. This story, however, does not come from the United States, but rather from Japan.

It involves a postcard, written by a Japanese soldier during World War II that reached an 80-year-old retired man in Kochi, a state in the southwest of Japan just recently. The card was written by his friend Nobuchika Yamashita in 1943 from Burma, the same year the young soldier died at age 23.

The postcard never reached its destination originally, because it went into the pocket of a U.S. soldier who died 25 years ago. Then his son held on to the card until he passed it on to a Japanese exchange student in Hawaii. The student, Yuko Kojima, now a sophomore at Mukogawa Women’s University, spent two years looking for the intended recipient Shizuo Nagano. It took two years . . . well, really sixty-four . . . but Nagano finall received Yamashita’s card.

Each time I read a story like this I am amazed by the ability of small, fragile objects like a postcard to survive for decades, even finding their way back to their owners or to someone who will treasure the scrap as it were an extension of someone they loved. The orginal story from ABC News (which can be found here) doesn’t mention what the card said. Probably a take on the standard, “How are you? I am fine.” But the message overwhelmed Nagono who never expected to connect with his friend again and that alone makes the words, whatever they were, precious.

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Want to look around the 451Press neighborhood some more? Try this post on the government’s Empty Pockets over at CurrentEventsWatch.com or learn why Seasonal Decorating is for the Birds at BackyardBirdingBlog.com.

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WWII, World War II, Japan, postcard

Today I want to share a link to a USAToday article “Learning About ‘The War,’” which puts some finishing notes on the airing of the 15-hour documentary on PBS.

Tonight most PBS stations will begin the second airing of the series, which will continue weekly for seven weeks. It’s a good opportunity for people like me who missed a couple of episodes to catch up with something much less than the marathon intensity of the original airing.

I’d also encourage everyone to have a look at the article “PBS Affiliates, Schools Add to Veterans History Project.” We have to face the scary statistic that more than 1,000 WWII vets die every day — and take more than 1,000 personal stories with them. The airing of “The War” has jump-started a grass roots efforts to collect that material before it disappears forever.

You can visit the Veterans History Project directly and learn how to participate. There are five steps:

- registering with an online form
- downloading a field kit
- preparing for the interview
- conducting the interview
- submitting the collection to the Library of Congress

This project is open to first-hand accounts from:

- World War I
- World War II
- Korean War
- Vietnam War
- Persian Gulf War
- Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts
- civilian supporters

The last category includes war industry workers, USO workers, flight instructors, medical volunteers, and folks who contributed to a war effort in similar ways.

The Veterans History Project accepts video and audio in several formats (see the site for specific details) but the submission must be at least 30 minutes in length. They also collect original narratives such as diaries or journals provided they are more than 20 pages in length, letters (ten or more in each collection), original photos, and artwork. (Again, see the site for full explanations.)

They will not accept photocopies, physical memorabilia (like medals or uniforms), and framed materials but do offer an extensive list of repositories that will accept such items.

Regardless of any controversy the documentary may have generated, if it stimulates renewed interest in World War II studies in our public schools and encourages the active collection of World War II material and first-person accounts, Ken Burns has performed a real service.

If you’re interested in reading my previous posts about “The War” in the order in which they appeared on the blog, here are the links:

- Ken Burns, The War - It’s Hard to Watch
- Let’s Wait to Criticize Ken Burns
- Debate about “The War” Continues
- WWII, Ken Burns, and a Word on Historiography

My final word on the experience of “The War” is positive. As I indicated in my previous comments, you have to take the documentary for what it is and not expect it to be a perfect, encyclopedic treatment of a vast and complex subject. In a massive body of World War II treatments, “The War” is a good addition — not the last word, but a good word in a dialog that will continue through many more generations.

WWII, World War II, Ken Burns, The War, Veterans History Project

A thoughtful piece by David Smollar appeared in The Salt Lake Tribune on August 7. In it the author described reading the 300-plus letters his father wrote home while stationed in the Philippines, especially those penned after the dropping of the Hiroshima bomb on Aug. 6, 1945.

Through his Dad’s letters Smollar was given an opportunity to see war as a weary soldier saw it. His father was an Army field hospital doctor who described distinguishing the dead men from those who were wounded by the undisturbed flies on yellow skin and mangled extremities.

Of the bomb itself, Smollar’s father wrote, “There is still something frightening about the new bomb, a weapon that truthfully is not pleasant to contemplate and that bodes danger for our future if human beings don’t quit acting like apes. The world had better come to its senses after this one.”

The doctor describes being ordered to establish a whore house for the men, censoring the letter of other soldiers, and of receiving a dozen fresh eggs from a grateful Filipino woman — and he writes of his heart’s desire. “I am emotionally limp, so long have I hoped for the end to this wasteful existence called war. I will think of nothing but our soon-to-be reunion.”

This one is a must read to catch a glimpse of World War II from a soldier’s eyes. Would that we all had such a treasure trove of insight into your parents’ youth.

WWII, David Smollar, Philippines, letters

At Florida State University, the Institute on World War II and Human Experience works to preserve World War II memorabilia and artifacts it receives through donations from the men and women who served in the war and from their families.

Too many of these items are thrown away when the individual to whom they were meaningful dies. If you inherit these kinds of materials and have no one to pass them on to, consider donating them to the Institute or a similiar museum or preservation effort. (Click here for donation information for the FSU Institute.)

Don’t let the memories of the greatest generation be carried out with yesterday’s newspaper. The Institute will consider just about anything. Some of the items they’ve already received since the beginning of the program in 1997 include:

- personal papers
- letters and diaries
- scrapbooks
- memoirs
- photographs and films
- maps and flight or ship’s logs
- military documents
- unit histories
- uniforms
- books and works of art including cartoons
- newspapers
- business records
- oral history interviews

While it may be difficult to part with momentos that belonged to your loved one, make sure that the items will be properly appreciated, preserved, and cared for. If that can’t happen within the family, look to outside sources like the FSU Institute. Their webpage bears the famous “I Want You” poster of Uncle Sam and the words beneath the image say it all, “I want to save your memories of the war that saved the world.”

FSU, Florida State, Institute of World War II and Human Experience, WWII artifacts, memorabilia