“The Good War”: An Oral History of World War II

Today an economics professor, Robert states that fighting in World War II was his “first steady job” (66). While in the Pacific, Robert remembers “tales of these yellow thugs, subhumans, with teeth that resembled fangs” (67). Also, Robert credits the GI Bill with allowing him to study at Columbia University. However, he observes that with the Korean War that started in 1950, “things began to sour and innocence end” (68).

A soldier from Kentucky, Maurice “Jack” Wilson recalls how a black soldier lied about his race to get into a Caucasian unit. Maurice also claims he was demoted in the army as punishment for threatening to expose a superior officer who had hoarded better food rations. At one point, Maurice and others were captured by the Japanese army. Facing starvation, the men in their prison camp killed and ate a dog and a cat. Although he was maimed as a result of the war, Maurice still supports the Vietnam War as a necessary struggle against communism and states he would fight in it himself.

Peter Bezich is a carpenter who fought in the infantry and was stationed in Australia and the Philippines. Beyond his experience in the war, he describes how one of his sons was drafted into the Vietnam War. His other son refused to be drafted, despite facing legal trouble. His son was supported by his neighborhood, which is mostly World War II veterans.

Anton Bilek, who runs a flower shop, was a member of the air corps in World War II (the US Air Force did not yet exist). During the war, Bilek was captured and forced to work in a coal mine. According to Bilek, while he “had nothin’ against the Japanese” (96), he does not own a Toyota or any product from Sony. Further, Bilek agrees that the atomic bomb was necessary and that “[w]e were too easy in Vietnam” (96).