Yesterday I talked about how and why we entered WWII. I
would hope everyone reading this already knows who won but recently I have come
to realize the young people of this great nation have little to no clue about
American History. This is why I have decided to talk about a few of WWII’s
major turning points for the United States and our Allies.
As a matter of fact for some great reading you should check
out these battles and learn what our military and Allies had to go through
during this time. There was the Battle of Midway fought in 1942, the invasion
of Italy fought in 1943, the Allied invasion of France in 1944, the battle of
Leyte Gulf in 1944, and unfortunately the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan
in 1945 bringing about unconditional surrender.
Eleanor Roosevelt played a strong roll in U.S. history.
During WWII for a brief period she was the director of the Office of Civilian
Defense but she felt it was too much controversy and did more harm to the
agency then good so she resigned. She played a role in getting refugees out of
Europe, especially Jews. Her work was frustrating to say the least but she was
a fighter and didn’t give up. On American soil she gave speeches to encourage
those at home working in defense plants around the country. She battled for
civil rights and civil liberties. Her argument was more than logical. How could
we be in a war over seas fighting against racism and yet tolerate it on our own
soil? Her work was directly responsible for ending segregation in the military
recreational areas and transportation services as well as giving African
Americans more opportunities in the military. She also fought for the rights of
women to work in war related industries during war time but she also encouraged
women to continue in the workforce when the war was over if they so needed to work.
Eleanora Roosevelt was a bit ahead of her time with starting social programs
such as day-care centers to help ease the burden of the women workers. This is
only touching on her contribution to our history. Please feel free to find out
for yourself how amazing she was and how she fought for the betterment of the
American people no matter what their race.
By now I would hope everyone reading this realizes the
Allies won the war when the Axis powers surrendered. On May 8th,
1945 Germany surrendered and a week later Adolf Hitler committed suicide. May 8th,
1945 became known as VE Day which stands for Victory of Europe celebrating the
end of WWII in the Europe arena. Japan announced their surrender on August 15th,
1945 which became known as V-J Day which obviously means Victory over Japan
Day. They formally signed their surrender on September 2, 1945 bringing WWII to
a final end. End of WWII and end of today’s history lesson on the battles and
the trials of so many nations during these hard times.
Back home on American soil, we had many young men who wanted
to go and fight the Germans. They wanted to help put an end to the war. We had
so many arenas of battle going on at one time and Patriotism was riding high and
strong in America.
So here is a story about my father, Dominick Gamarro, who
always loved a good fight. He was a boxer in his day and he decided it was time
for him to leave school and join the Navy. The only thing is he was underage
and was told he needed his parents to sign in order for him to enter the
service.
Well he knew there was no way he could get his mother to
agree to him joining the Navy or any other branch of the service so he devised
a plan. You see his father came here for Italy and although he could read
Italian he didn’t know how to read much in English even though he spoke it with
an accent. My father decided to tell grandpa that he needed this paper signed
for school so he could go on a school trip. Since my grandmother usually did
all that my father waited for her to leave for work before asking his father to
sign it. Being rushed to go to work himself my grandfather asked my father to
wait till his mother got home in the evening. Of course Dominick, my dad, had
already figured on this and told grandpa he had to have the paper in that
morning. So my poor grandfather signed the paper giving my father permission to
join the Navy.
That evening when my grandmother got home from work, as she
prepared dinner and waited for grandpa to come home, my father proudly walked
through the front door, with a smile on his face and announced he joined the
Navy. Of course my grandmother told him there was no way because he was still
in school and they couldn’t take him without her permission. Then he dropped
the bomb and threw my grandfather under the bus by saying, “No Ma, Pop signed
it for me this morning.” He said she turned five shades of red and he had to
quickly explain to her how he tricked his father into signing the paper. As
much as he wanted to join the Navy, and all the planning he put into getting
his paper signed, he never stopped to think for a minute grandma would be upset
with grandpa.
Of course she gave my grandfather a rough time for a few
minutes but when she saw how upset he was over the events of the day she knew
my father was the one who was totally to blame. My poor grandfather was so
upset with my dad but not because he wanted to fight for his country, he was
disappointed because my father didn’t tell him the truth. So my dad asked him, “If
I told you the truth Pop would you have signed the paper?” Shaking his head my
grandfather said “No because he wanted my father to do better than he did in
life and so he wanted him to finish school before joining the service.”
My dad was so cocky that he joked around with his parents
and siblings that there was nothing to worry about because once Hitler found
out he was in the Navy the Germans were going to surrender. Yep that was my dad
very sure of himself at all times. While in the Navy they put his fighting
ability to work with him in the ring. He loved boxing so he had no problem with
that. He served in the Navy for 4 years and during his time in service the war
came to an end.
There were many nights I sat and talked to my father over
the years at the dining room table and listened to his stories. He saw some
fighting, lost some friends in battle, but never really talked about that part
of it. He did talk about fighting in the ring, how much he loved boxing, and he
admitted he was wrong for tricking his father into signing the papers for him.
One thing he always talked about was his love for this country and that is what
drove him to push his father to sign the papers. He said he knew his father
wouldn’t want him to leave school with only a few months left but he also knew
he had to do something. He couldn’t just let his friends and family keep going
off to war while he stood home.
So many will never understand the dedication of that
generation. The pride they had in this country. The desire to improve their
lives and be a part of a great nation. Even Hollywood jumped on the Patriotism
train. Roosevelt commissioned Hollywood to emotionalize the conflict and to mobilize
public awareness by doing what they did best, producing movies that showed
support of the war effort.
There was entertaining the troops with films, stage shows,
men and women in uniform entertained the troops both at home and abroad. There
were films delivered at every U.S. military base, command post, battlefront and
outpost. However they could get them there they did using jeeps, parachute, PT
boats and any other convince they had available. The films were a way for them
to see what was happing back home, they helped build morale. Some of the films
made were shown to the military before they even opened in movie theaters in
America.
Some felt Hollywood became a military camp in that studio
trucks and drivers transported army troops and equipment. No matter what was
going on around the world, Hollywood knew more than anything people needed to
laugh. Universal Studios developed a line of WWII comedy starring none other
than Bud Abbott and Lou Costello who were known for their slapstick comedy. Let’s
not forget the Andrew Sisters who could not only make you laugh but could
really sing and dance with songs like “Boogie Woodie Bugle Boy from Company B.”
Another amazing Patriot and supporter of our military was none other than Bob
Hope. Also let’s not forget the Congressional Medal of Honor recipient George
M. Cohan who wrote so many Patriotic songs and plays such as “Over There,” “When
Johnny Comes Marching Home Again,” and of course “Grand Old Flag.” He was also
the only man to every tap dance down the stairs at the White House. Of course
these are just a few of the many actors, actresses, and comedians that answered
the call to keep the nations spirits going. They even helped sell war bonds.
These entertainers helped many soldiers, sailors and even
civilians smile during a time when they were surrounded by sadness and just
needed something else to think about, something that would put a smile on their
face and a song in their heart.
Of course as time went on and we entered a police action in
Viet Nam Patriotism not only in Hollywood, but around the country, was
different but that’s a story for another day.
May God Bless America and all those who have served this
great country no matter what their call was.
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