My father, as a young man in his 20s, enlisted in the Army in 1941. He was 23 when he enlisted in 1941 and served until the World War II conflict ended in 1946.
Like many from that generation, my Dad didn’t speak much about his time in the European Theater. What I know of his experience comes from researching the 1252nd Engineers Combat Battalion. Their duties were to construct bridges, clear mines, repair roads, perform demolitions, and when needed provide battle support as well as fight as infantry.
As I’ve come to know my family’s history, my Dad’s service in the US Army Corps of Engineers, tells much about how he would view the rise of fascism and authoritarianism in the United States. Dad’s battalion was in France, Luxembourg, Germany and Austria as part of Allied efforts to quash Nazis and fascists.
Eighty-plus years later, we see an administration aided and supported by those in Congress with the mindset of staying in power no matter the cost. It doesn’t matter if one is a citizen, a refugee with legal standing and protection, or a five year old child, the rights we assumed were guaranteed and granted under the US Constitution are being trampled upon. I suspect Dad would think this a stunning downturn. I know I do.
My Mom, who was a college student during Pearl Harbor and the United States’ participation in the war, agonizes over the world that will be left for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She likens this era to the period depicted in William Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. If you’ve read it, you may agree that the similarities can be stunning. As philosopher George Santayana once wrote, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” .
With each passing year, fewer of the Greatest Generation are here to bear witness to the rise of fascism and what it took to stabilize our world. And so,I wonder. What would my Dad and his generation make of this time in US History?
After An Educator's Journey 