WWII
September 1, 1939 – September 2, 1945
Paul
d k c o l b i n g a c l a C
II W O W H D I W D EN W M O H G N AR U W O E Y H T T C N E AFF UGHT I FO
HeartWorks Weekly Digest
HOW DID WWII AFFECT YOUNG MEN WHO FOUGHT IN THE WAR?
By Link
When hank entered into pearl harbor the U.S.S. Nevada and Oklahoma were still bleeding oil into the beautiful hawaiian waters as the remains of the Pearl harbor attack
by the Japanese Imperial Navy. World War II played an important role in American history because; it gained equal rights for black americans, it let us know that when there is a threat to the world, we can't ignore it, and it emerged the U.S. as a world power.
The U.S.S. Yorktown. A united states aircraft carrier
U.S.S Yorktown diagram by Link
WWII was important because it gained more equal rights and respect for black americans. During WWII the U.S. needed troops and it needed them fast. They had blacks and whites separated and treated differently, “We take a slow route back to the Yorktown when it’s nearing time to ship out. For as long as practical, we take the shoreline route, walking in the shallow water. ‘See this, even this?’ Bradford says after a long silence and puzzling me again. ‘What this is this? I ask. ‘Here in the beautiful Kingdom of Tonga, I am welcome on any beach I can find. Back when we were in Hawaii – which, if I’m not mistaken is an actual state in my own country – I went to try out the famous Waikiki Beach. Got kicked right out of the water.’ ‘Ah that never happened,’ I say, kicking water hard and splashy like I can kick away bad thoughts. ‘Of course it happened,’ he says, exasperated. ‘Police cars came, three of them, drove me and several of the other guys right out of there. Humiliating. Like we were the bad guys, like we were the enemy. Five serving members of the United States Navy!’ I am starting to really long for the ship now, for its order and its sense and its certainty. ‘Y’know, Bradford, nothing personal, but maybe you shouldn't even be in the Navy. I mean, all things considered.’ I am watching the lip of the south pacific now, focusing hard on it and its splashings around my footsteps. Until I become aware of walking alone. I stop, turn, and see Bradford about twenty feet behind me and staring, fists on hips. ‘Nothing personal?’ he says just loud enough for me to hear him over the waves’ low hiss. ‘Yeah. I mean, if so much is bothering you about the whole thing…’ ‘listen ,’ he says. ‘I wasn’t drafted. I joined this thing, willingly, enthusiastically. Because while the idea of a good people on one side and a bad people on the other doesn't make sense to me, I do know a bad thing when I see one. And I know we are fighting a bad thing here.’ ‘Great. Just like I did. Signed up to fight a very bad thing.’ ‘Yes, but nobody told you you couldn’t swim at Waikiki. They didn’t tell you you had to sleep at least four decks below topside, below the ammunitions storage. They
did not tell you you couldn’t be on the flight deck at all whenever anything having to do with the aircraft is going on.’ We stare, while Bradford catches his breath, and I kind of hold mine. ‘Unless,’ he adds, composing himself extra dramatically. ‘Unless, I am jumping to conclusions, which would be a terrible thing for me to do. Maybe they did tell you those things, McCallum, and I have been way out of line here. Did they tell you those things after you signed up to fight for your country?’ Even a dummo could work out pretty quickly that that wasn’t a real question.” -Dead In The Water, pg#90-92 by chris lynch. Just for clarification Bradford is black and McCallum the main character is not. This is a fairly accurate representation of segregation and mistreatment of blacks. This is an internal problem unlike paragraph two which is external.
WWII was important because it taught us that if there is a worldwide threat we can't ignore it The biggest problem I see in WWII is how long we ignored what adolf hitler was doing. Maybe it was because “…many Americans looked upon Jews unfavorably.”-History.com. Whatever the reason we just didn’t see the problem soon enough to save the millions that died under his terrible command.
WWII was important because it emerged the U.S. as a world power The United States is regarded as the country with the best military. If you look up world superpowers the U.S. is almost always in the mix while perhaps not the most economically stable it's hard to argue with a military that powerful.
Lexicon
● Airdale A member of the navy who takes care of the planes on an aircraft carrier ● Whites Fancy clothes ● U.S.S. Yorktown US Navy aircraft carrier pg #101 ● U.S.S. LEXINGTON US Navy ship pg #101