West Point professor of English Elizabeth Samet argues, in Looking for the Good War, that Americans have fundamentally misremembered World War II. The standard narrative, she says, proclaims:
1. The United States went to war to liberate the world from fascism and tyranny.
2. All Americans were absolutely united in their commitment to the war effort.
3. Everyone on the home front made tremendous sacrifices.
4. American are liberators who fight decently, reluctantly, only when they must.
5. World War II was a foreign tragedy with a happy American ending.
6. Everyone has always agreed on points 1-5.
While it is obviously wrong that “Everyone” shared those views, her evidence is strong that many Americans did disagree with each of the points. Opposition to intervention was strong until Pearl Harbor, at which point revenge on Japan was a far greater motivation than fighting Hitler or fascism.
Many on the home front got rich in the booming economy. Far fewer made personal sacrifices.
Samet also documents atrocities by American troops and notes the opposition at the time to the bombing of civilian targets.
I agree that we have overdone the praise of the “greatest generation,” just as I cringe at the blanket label of military personnel as “heroes.” We should keep the distinctions differing Medal of Honor heroism from ordinary honorable service. World War II should be remembered in its complexity and contradictions.
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