The “Good” War 11.19.19

I found this photo in a box along with hundreds of others when my aunt in San Antonio passed away in 1993. I don’t know anything about the men in the photo; there’s nothing written on the back of it indicating who they might be, where it was taken, etc. I’m certain that it was taken during WWII and I think it’s fairly safe to say that my aunt probably knew at least one of them (none of them were family members that I’m aware of), but past that everything else is a mystery. Where were they from? Where was the photo taken? Did they see battle? Did they come home, marry, have children? So many questions.

In the instant that this photo taken the reality of war was suspended for at least a brief moment and that’s the romanticized image that many of us have about WWII in particular, that it was “the good war.”

My father served as a Marine in the PTO. He never talked much about his military service except to retell a hilarious story of him coming face-to-face with a komodo dragon while scaling a cliff on the island of Tarawa. I don’t think he ever felt as though he did anything extraordinary and if you were to tell him that he did he no doubt would have waved you off, probably with a cigarette in his hand (a habit he picked up while serving unfortunately). Humility was a hallmark of The Greatest Generation and it is sorely missed these days.

Today we honor all the veterans of all the wars. We thank them for their service whether we have a personal connection to them or not. And there are probably still a few crusty old birds who will say that it was no big deal but it was sir, it was.