The American Ideal In World War II

World War II was a devastating event and plunged Western civilization into a constant state of threat and attack. The United States did not officially enter the war until 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. This was a huge motivator for a push to join the war. It was also a primary motivation of civilians to join the war effort. It was innocent patriotism, glory, justice for their country and their fellow countrymen that drove the millions of soldiers to fight in the two theatres. For one, it was the prospect of finding work and food, while for another, it was a way to prove their masculinity. After seeing action, however, this motivation changed. It became the need to bring about a quicker end to the bloody war and a sense of

The move to fighting to find an end to the war and standing by their units came around after seeing true action in one of the two theaters. To put it simply, soldiers enlisted in the war effort for what can be named as the American ideal. The American ideal is patriotism, glory, and justice. Americans were united to give up their money, time, and possibly their lives to fight for the safety of their country (Corbett 796). After the events at Pearl Harbor, anti-Japanese and anti-German propaganda propelled Americans to join the draft and go overseas. Feature films at the time only aided this patriotic idea; war films starring famous actors of the time glorified soldiers and the war (Corbett 803). For example of this is Eddie Costello called himself “a creature of [his] country’s propaganda machine,” implying that the propaganda efforts were extremely successful for the draft (Terkel, Location 3926). Patriotism and nationalism were what drove an overwhelming majority of soldiers to join the war. Chicago cab driver Johnny DeGrazio said being in World War II was “real patriotic” (Terkel, Location 3082). The war was glorified and made many soldiers think that it was an adventure, just like how they saw in the

Motivations became trying to stay alive to go home and see their families and to help their units survive. Garcia, stationed in the Pacific Theatre, said the war was a fight to stay alive. He “shot and ducked,” nothing more (Terkel, Location 518). E. B. Sledge, also stationed in the Pacific, said “we were in it to get it over with, so we could go back home and do what we wanted with our lives” (Terkel, Location 1176). The war was dragging on, and it was not what these soldiers expected. The loss of life was also extremely traumatizing to soldiers. The US concurred lighter losses than those of Russian, Chinese, and European troops; however, the death count was still high (Wolf, Slide 14). Richard Leacock remembered having friends die in his arms, burying them respectfully, and moving on (Terkel, Location 6911). The constant threat of death made soldiers fear it much less than they would have back on American soil. They understood death was inevitable and maybe hoped that not fearing it would bring the Allies that much closer to victory. The unity the soldiers felt for each other was what kept most of them in the fight. These were strangers who trained together, lived together, and fought together. Seeing the same horrors and feeling the same emotions created a strong bond between them. Sledge said, “the only thing keeping you