Ref: mat2_b05 |
Part B-5 |
5. Why some didn't want to fight
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Excerpts & Historical Context: Parallel Lives in perspective |
Resistance to WWII : Some Organized, Some Farcical The resistance took many
forms. Some was well organized and some boarded on the farcical. For example,
in the Spring of 1935, on-campuses of
women's colleges, the Association of Future Gold Star Mothers called for free
trips to |
JJK: There was a lot of dissent up till that point [ –Jack Keefe |
|
Enlisting Overseas Once War Declared 74.
JJK I remember when I was in –Jack Keefe |
¾ of Quakers declined CO Status The depth of the personal
dilemma of conscience was obvious in the response of many from the traditional
pacifist religions. For example “three quarters of all the Quakers drafted
declined to claim CO status, despite the official antiwar position of their
church. For most of them it was a conflict in values, as when earlier Quakers
in the Civil War shed their pacifism to fight for the defeat of slavery. Now,
in this war Quakers decided they had to fight to overthrow fascism”. –Milton Meltzer, Ain’t
Gonna Study War No More: The Story of the American Peace Seeker |
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Table of Contents 5. Why some didn't want to fight.............................................................................................................. 1 War Resisters........................................................................................................................................................... 2 NGOs support for alternative service and Actions in
Pre-War Years........................................................... 2 Women’s Peace Movement: Building on Service................................................................................................... 3 American Friends Service Committee- assist victims
of War................................................................................ 3 Between the Wars - Building for Peace.................................................................................................................. 4 Conscientious Objectors who served in WWII [Good
War]............................................................................ 4 Moral Delima – ¾ Eligible Decline Conscious Objector
Status............................................................................. 5 Why individuals Fought:...................................................................................................................................... 5 Soldier Volunteers for World War 2....................................................................................................................... 6 74. JJK I remember when I was in Trinidad [West Indies]? And
the Pearl Harbor assault came on a Sunday. And there were a lot of guys there
that did not want to go into service. But the next day as soon as war was
declared, they were down at the Navy and the Army trying to enlist right in
Trinidad. No, people were different then because they felt that this was a
just war. There was no quibbling about it. The congress got behind it 100%.
The people got behind it 100%. How could you quibble with this nut Hitler...................... 6 Pearl Harbor Solidified the Country...................................................................................................................... 6 76. JJK That just solidified the whole country. There was a
lot of dissent up till that point. You had people called "America
Firsters" and they didn't want to have anything to do with the European
War. I thought back in 1939 that they were altogether wrong. And they were
still fighting until Pearl Harbor. And then when Pearl Harbor came along,
they adjusted their thinking and got into it. Yeah times were different then. 6 Hierarchy of Patriotic Service................................................................................................................................ 6 Deferment................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Deferred but volunteering to Support War in related
Work.................................................................................. 7 Request Deferment be Ignored and allowed to serve............................................................................................. 7 63. JJK Oh definitely, I'm working on it. Yeah. It is
called "you are never one of the boys". And it starts really about
how I tried to get into the Canadian, British and the French service in 1939
at the declaration of war. But I made my first appeal to the United States.
It was to Captain. Dan Callaghan, who later became an Admiral. And I wrote to
him. He was the President's navel assistant and he wrote me back at some
length. Then of course going over the war, [I had correspondence with], Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, Admiral
Nimitz, Admiral Halesy and so forth............................................................................................................................................................ 7 |
To those
born after 1940 it may seem that it was a foregone conclusion that
After
the First World War, many people were committed to not repeating the
experience. Much study was done as to the causes and the hidden economic and
other forces that benefited from the war. There was passionate resistance to
not committing
Even before the Second World War America had a long established tradition of Anti-War and Pro-Peace movements. The Women’s Peace Movement [1915-1945] and the American Friend’s Service Committee [1917-1947] are examples of non-governmental organizations which supported individual acts of conscience as well as the development of institutions or instruments to avoid wars and maintain peace. [B05-N02]
The
International Congress of Women in 1915 at
The American Friends Service
Committee was begun during WWI when the draft exempted members of historic
peace churches such as the Quakers, Mennonite and the Brethren from combat duty
but not alternative service. Young members of the Quakers [Friends] requested
assignments in assisting the victims of war.
Many Friends and others were trained at
During the
1930’s and 1940’s many organizations began or expanded what they believed was
possible to accomplish. They were sometimes useful to liberal government
planners who could count on the organizing skill and dedication of some NGO’s
to arouse support for reforms being considered by congress. “They promoted
disarmament and peace education. They saw that simply being against the use of
violence was not enough, they had to work for a society whose structure allowed
no place for violence ……before world War I they had believed that peace was
morally right and practically desirable. Now they knew that modern science and
technology, rapidly accelerating and uncontrollable, had made peace necessary
if mankind was to survive.” [B05-N03]
After the attack on
The second
WW caused a terrible moral dilemma for many that were active in building for
long term peace. The depth of the
personal dilemma of conscience was obvious in the response of many from the
traditional pacifist religions. For example “three quarters of all the Quakers
drafted declined to claim CO status, despite the official antiwar position of their
church. For most of them it was a conflict in values, as when earlier Quakers
in the Civil War shed their pacifism to fight for the defeat of slavery. Now,
in this war Quakers decided they had to fight to overthrow fascism”. [B05-N04]
Two other internationally minded
Non Governmental Organizations which began after WWI and have had an impact to
the present day are: The League of Women’s Voters [1920], the War Resisters
League [1923]
As the extent of the Nazi atrocities
began to be recognized by the American Public the feeling towards intervention
grew. Those who had been supporting non-intervention, were becoming more
concerned for the practical impact of the growing Fascist menace in
Jack speaks about some of his
friends who were eligible for deferments but volunteered to serve in the Armed
forces. After the attack on
Soldier Volunteers for World War 2[excerpt below,
for full see jk00ap16.doc, paraZ] 72. JJK Like Vinnie Dunleavy, was a 73. AKK So that was one of the reasons it
was so different in a sense than the Vietnam war? People were trying to get
in. 74. JJK I remember when I was in |
|
Jack, who by this time was already
overseas, has an interesting story of how he heard of the Attack on pearl
Harbor and how rumors spread.[See part B-4 “Early Sense of War”]
Schlessinger mentions a short story
-dealing with the inferiority of any person in support of the War might feel
when they compared themselves to others in the service. There was a gradual
hierarchy that only death could top. The civilian could be compared to
inductee, to those in basic training, to those embarking for
Great majority of wartime men did
not go to war - or even to the armed forces. One in every three between the
ages of 17 and 35 served in the military during WWII. [Total of 16 million in
all served] Deferments were given for
key industrial & agriculture work, college students and at first for
fathers. There were also rejections for variety of physical and mental reasons.
[B05-N08]
David Kennedy pointed out that
those deferments were sought not just to support the war effort in other ways.
Some just didn't want to go and were willing to try farm work - which was
exempt or even get married and have children which was exempt for the beginning
years of the war. “Deferments were
coveted, and their distribution traced a rough profile of patterns of political
power, racial prejudice, and cultural values in wartime
Bad eyesight kept A. Schlessinger
out of the draft but he had a back up plan to find a job in
In support of the war effort, Jack did go overseas, but his saga of trying to enter into the active armed service is a story in itself.
[excerpt below,
for full see jk00ap16.doc, para Y, 62] 62. AAK Are you still thinking that
you might try to put together some of those things into a book? 63. JJK Oh
definitely, I'm working on it. Yeah. It is called "you are never one of
the boys". And it starts really about how I tried to get into the
Canadian, British and the French service in 1939 at the declaration of war.
But I made my first appeal to the |
Jack has preserved 11 pieces of
Correspondence to document the responses he received between
Item number |
Title |
Author |
Date |
comment |
JJK1941-001 |
Letter from Capt. Sheridan,
How to get into proceed |
Capt Sheridan, Navy \Friend
from NY Athletic Clubc |
|
Recommending what J.Keefe
should do to get into navy |
JJK1941-002 |
Letter telling what have to
do to get into USA Navy |
Captain, Later Admiral Dan
Callagahan, Naval Assistant to |
|
Response to JJK request for
special consideration. |
JJK1941-003 |
Travel Orders from |
Lt Colonel core of
engineers, D.A. D. Ogden |
|
Returning after stint from
Sept 1941 |
JJK1941-004 |
Letter response to request
for Navy, Rejection |
Frank Knox, Secretary of
Navy |
|
Reason Given was physical
condition |
JJK1941-005 |
Letter steps which have to
take to get in Merchant Marine. |
L.F. Livingston, US
Maritime service, Personnel Officer |
|
In response form JJK asking
for information |
JJK1941-006 |
Letter, in response to request
of active duty, amphibious training center of army |
Brigadier General, Frank A.
Keating, US Army |
|
Rejected because of Physical |
JJK1941-007 |
Letter from War Dept to J
Keefe |
H.B. Lewis, Brigadier General,
Acting The Adjutant General, War Dept |
20 May 1943 |
Telling why could not let
in Army |
JJK1941-008 |
Letter, from The Citadel in
|
Assistant to Winston
Churchill, |
|
Response to Request
Military Duty with British Forces, Said would hear further |
JJK1941-009 |
Letter Military Duty with
British Forces |
Office of the High
Commissioner, |
|
Because of Physical
Condition could not serve in Military of British. |
JJK1941-010 |
Letter - Application for Commission in Marine core
reserve. |
Walter S. Alessandroni, |
|
Sent to |
JJK1941-011 |
Answer to letter to
President Roosevelt. |
Surgeon General C.R. Uphoff |
|
Sent an application to fill
out, that would determine which positions best qualified to fill. |
[See
Document reference jk00mr26.doc]
[For Jack's statements on the Civil War, the
Vietnam war and discussion of sons who did or did not serve in the armed forces
see 15 April 2000 interview doc jkap16.doc]
End Notes Part B05
End Note [EN] Part-Sect-Note |
Author FFF p.633 |
Source & Link to Bibliography in Part G |
Abbreviated reference to Source |
Page |
B05-N01 |
Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. |
AL20C |
Pp 125, 210, 242 |
|
B05-N02 |
Meyer, Robert S.. |
POPP |
pp |
|
B05-N03 |
Meltzer, Milton. |
Ain’t Gonna Study War No More: The Story of
American Peace Seeker |
AGSW |
pp |
B05-N04 |
Meltzer, Milton. |
Ain’t Gonna Study War No More: The Story of
American Peace Seeker |
AGSW |
pp |
B05-N05 |
Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. |
AL20C |
Pp 245 |
|
B05-N06 |
Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. |
AL20C |
Pp |
|
B05-N07 |
Jeffries, John W.. |
WA |
Pp 172 |
|
B05-N08 |
Jeffries, John W.. |
WA |
Pp 171 |
|
B05-N09 |
Kennedy, David M. |
Freedom From Fear: The American People in
Depression and War 1929-1945 |
FFF |
Pp 633 |
B05-N10 |
Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. |
AL20C |
Pp 263 |
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