Theaters of War: America’s Perceptions of World War II PDF
Preview Theaters of War: America’s Perceptions of World War II
Theaters of War This page intentionally left blank Theaters of War America’s Perceptions of World War II Vincent Casaregola THEATERS OF WAR Copyright © Vincent Casaregola, 2009. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2009 978-1-4039-6486-1 All rights reserved. First published in 2009 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-52846-2 ISBN 978-0-230-10087-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230100879 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Casaregola, Vincent. Theaters of war : America’s perceptions of World War II / Vincent Casaregola.. p. cm. 1. World War, 1939–1945—Literature and the war. 2. World War, 1939–1945--Motion pictures and the war. 3. American literature—20th century—History and criticism. 4. Veterans—United States—Biography— History and criticism. 5. World War, 1939–1945—Veterans—United States—Biography. 6. War in literature. I. Title. PS228.W37C37 2009 810.9(cid:2)358—dc22 2008055915 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: October 2009 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For my father, Joseph Casaregola, T/5, U.S. Army, 1943–1945, and for my mother, Concetta Isabella Casaregola, and for all of their generation—the ones who went, the ones who waited. May we never forget their struggles or their stories. This page intentionally left blank C O N T E N T S Preface ix Acknowledgments xiii Introduction: Faces of the War 1 One A War Warning 13 Two “Why We Fight” 27 Three How We Fight: Campaigns of Sacrifice and Service 55 Four “The Great Crusade” 79 Five “Saddle Up! Let’s Get Back to the War.” 107 Six Longest Days in the “Good War” 137 Seven Conscientious Objection 159 Eight Now It Can Be Told: Reopening Old Wounds 185 Nine The Once and Future War 213 Notes 239 Bibliography 259 Filmography (and Broadcast Sources) 263 Index 267 This page intentionally left blank P R E F A C E I started my research for Theaters of War over seven years ago, before the date September 11, 2001, held any special significance. While begin- ning to write about our cultural history of World War II, however, I have witnessed that same history become a source for narratives, imag- ery, and metaphors in our War on Terror, as well as in our specific cam- paigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is no surprise that, when Americans want to frame a war as necessary and just, they use World War II as an analogy. After all, it was the “Good War,” and in winning it, we defeated unquestionably oppressive forces, particularly those of Nazi Germany. To achieve that victory, millions of Americans left home to fight, and even more millions devoted themselves to the war effort at home. Never had war so unified our nation and brought such massive government spending and subsequent prosperity. Our standard narra- tive of World War II therefore suggests that wars make sense and, if pur- sued properly, they bring closure to international conflicts and potential economic benefits at home. As a careful study of our nation’s history suggests, these can be dangerous and self- defeating assumptions. Theaters of War has grown from my ongoing study of how Americans have come to understand and represent the history of their wars, partic- ularly those in the twentieth century. Because World War II is so central to that history, I have chosen to focus solely on it, and specifically on how we have represented combat in that war. Even within this nar- rower focus, my original plan proved too ambitious, and I have had to cut much material because there was neither space nor time. Also, some very recent films, such as Spike Lee’s The Miracle of St. Anna (2008), have appeared too late for me to study. Ken Burns’ comprehensive television documentary, The War (2007), certainly deserves mention as a major effort to provide a balanced exploration of America’s World War II expe- rience; unfortunately, it still came well after my manuscript was in the
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