I have interviewed many war veterans during my reporting work and am always fascinated by their stories. I see them as not just an interview but almost an attempt to have them help me and my readers better understand history. There is one veteran in particular that I remember well. I had interviewed several veterans for an earlier anniversary related to the war. While other veterans had told me war was, for them personally, not dangerous or scary, he was telling me that he was terrified at times. I believed him and thought the others were lying or had selective memory. Perhaps they were feeling macho or defensive. But how was I going to square the varying accounts of these veterans? So I asked him. And what was his answer?
“Shoes.”
It seems he took an art class once and they were each told to draw a picture of a shoe. He looked at his picture and it appeared perfect to him. He then looked at the picture of a shoe drawn by his neighbor and could not understand how their picture was supposed to be a shoe. He realized it was the same with other people's pictures – none looked like his. It dawned on him that the shoe assignment was like the memories of war veterans – each took away from the war something different, perceived and recalled in a unique way. I loved this analogy. He stared at me as I excitedly scribbled down his sage words. I think he may have been worried I was going to screw him over and make him look like a coward. At times during that interview, he acted like I was old and mature, mentioning obscure bits of war trivia that I barely understood. But then he'd say self-deprecating things like, "You're going to go back to the newsroom and say, ‘That man is crazy!’” He also gave me my favorite war quote, which I used as a lead paragraph for one of the stories for the Arkansas newspaper I worked for at the time. "The war was a learning experience," the veteran said. I learned, he said, "that I didn't want to do it again." When I told him I could have guessed that without actually going, he looked like he was going to hug me. I only spent an hour with him but he provided me with a fresh perspective on the war
Article comments
1 - Purple Tigress
Maybe we cannot truly understand what is was like, but it is somehow comforting to know that some people stood up for their neighbors while others let their neighbors be taken away just because they were Jewish, gypsies, gay or communists.
I think we should all question ourselves to see if we would have had the courage to stand up for others, for what is right as opposed to what is easy and what gives us the best deal.
In the world now, we have similar situations and we cannot, should not ignore them.
I recently saw a play called, iWitness, about a man who died because he would not join the army. He was thought a fool at the time but now he is considered a moral hero, almost a saint. He was Catholic. All he had to do was wear a Nazi uniform as other Austrians did, but he refused.
Quite impressive to die not because your life and your family's lives are threatened but because the lives of unknown others are. That's something that most people, no matter how religious, would not choose to do.
2 - Scott Butki
I should note that hate as well as Holocaust deniers still exist.
In fact, a local KKK group is holding a rally soon at the Antietam National Battlefield.
There is a good editorial on the topic in the local newspaper.
It points out that the location is ironic since it was a moment near the end of the confederary in the Civil War.
3 - Purple Tigress
Even the Northerners were racist and the Civil War did free the slaves but was originally fought over the right to secede from the Union.
Actually, I found this essay quite moving. One of the reasons I mentioned iWitness was because the production I saw used the imagery of shoes.
I also recall when I was younger that I, too, thought that just because I had read a book or two, that I could truly understand, but now that I'm older, I know I cannot.
4 - Barb
The moldy smell of the shoes at the Museum leaves an imprint on the brain of this visitor.
Unforgettable.
5 - Scott Butki
Definitely.
6 - Scott Butki
Have others been to this museum?
7 - Scott Butki
So how are others honoring the anniversaries?
8 - Scott Butki
I led a discussion tonight of Paper Clip.
Here's the link to the movie site:It a great discussion, spanning 3 or 4 generations, and I'll be writing up a review within
the week. I'm also working on getting an interview with those in making what I consider
the most inspiring movie I've seen in several years.
9 - Victor Plenty
The Civil War was fought over slavery. The "right to secede" was an effort to preserve slavery. Nothing more, nothing less. When people seek to distort the memory of historic events, some will resist and some will capitulate.
Did the Holocaust really happen? Dishonest people want you to doubt it really happened. Was the American Civil War really about slavery? Dishonest people want you to doubt it really was. I choose to resist both strains of ideological revisionism, along with many others.
Thank you for your continuing work to keep the memory of history alive, Scott.
10 - Scott Butki
You are welcome. I have another, related piece in the pipline as I write this.
11 - Scott Butki
Thanks. I'm glad you liked my piece. I'll check out your page shortly.