World War II

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