John Cox

The War

I am a big fan of Ken Burns. I can watch his documentaries for hours at a time and feel like I am smarter than when I started. I am not much of a TV snob (I do watch trash TV), but the best shows are always the ones that you feel that you are getting the novel treatment from. From the novel treatment, I mean that as you don't feel that imagery from a novel could be much better than what you are seeing.

I have been looking forward to The War for months now, and after the first night, I have to say it was well worth the wait. While the first hour dragged a little more than the first hour of The Civil War, the first night was just as captivating for me.

I absolutely love the fact that the story is focused on four cities in the US. I also absolutely love the fact that it is unabashedly told from a US view point. I have to admit that I tire from reading all of the US bashing from our friends in the EU (and further), as well as from within the US. This is unapologetic in the perspective. It would be very easy for Mr. Burns to tell a story of how our corrupt military industrial complex started the imperialistic decline that we see today, but that would not be true to the story of America which he tells. This story is not on the focus of the political mistakes, nor the military blunders, but rather from the average American of the time.

While most Americans understand that we incurred many less casualties in the grand scheme of the war, this does not make the sacrifices of my grand parent's generation any less significant. Our lessons that we learn in grade school don't really state the impact or scale of casualties for others that the land was bled upon, but our lower education is always slanted to the understandable rather than concepts that are difficult to grasp. That's why we do not teach sociology in high school. None the less, 450,000 US souls of many colors and backgrounds died in foreign lands during this war.

My Maternal Grand Father served as a medic in the Pacific. My Paternal Grand Father served in the Army in the European Theater. A very good friend of the family was a part of the Bataan Death March and spent a good portion of the war in a Japanese Prison Camp. While both of my Grand Fathers died when I was very young, I have never heard a first hand tale from anyone in the war. This documentary is just as much for my generation (and the younger ones), as it is for theirs I believe.

Perhaps what made me think the most was a statement as to why so many joined the war effort at the time. Sure, we were attacked in Pearl Harbor, but it just as much the sense of adventure rather than the sense of duty (paraphrasing by a long shot) that drove countless men to join the arm services. Another interesting point was the war bond effort for paying for the war. Taxes (while I am sure that there were many new and improved tax laws) and deficit spending didn't seem to be the focus of the fund raising efforts.

The younger generation now has their own war, with much different circumstances and environmentals to consider. I wonder if in 60 years our story will be as poignantly told and in the same light. Not from the political mistakes, nor the military blunders, but from the average American voice.