Defining the Peace: World War II Veterans, Race, and the Remaking of Southern Political Tradition

Acknowledgments

   good people who helped me along this journey requires more space than is available here. However, a few do stand out. First of all, my deepest gratitude and continued respect go to my mentor and major professor , Dr. James C. Cobb. His simple suggestion to a rather bewildered graduate student casting about for a dissertation topic that World War II veterans might be a subject worth looking into ballooned quickly into a large and rich project that has carried me through the past nine years. More importantly, his support for my work, from the time I entered the graduate program at the University of Tennessee to the publication of this book, has never faltered. Though any mistakes , miscalculations, or wrong turns in this book are solely my own, much of my understanding of the dynamic relationship between political, economic, social , and cultural change in the modern South derives from Dr. Cobb’s rich, eloquent , and pioneering work. I was fortunate enough to arrive at the University of Tennessee at just the right time. I am indebted to Professor Clarence Mohr at the University of Alabama for taking the time to peruse and comment on an earlier version of this manuscript. Many thanks go as well to the University of North Carolina Press reviewers who offered meaningful criticism that helped me to expand this work beyond what I initially envisioned it to be. I would also like to thank Dr. Dan Pierce at the University of North Carolina, Asheville,for reading and commenting on a chapter and Dr.Donal Sexton of TusAcknowledgments culum College for absolving me of committee duties at opportune moments. Tom Silva, my favorite artist, made the process of obtaining photographs a far less onerous one, and he labored with generous devotion to meet the deadlines I usually forgot to mention until the last possible moment. Dan Jansen and Lydia Reid, my friends in Silver Springs, Maryland, and Rich Felsing, my cousin in Madison, Wisconsin, provided hearth, home, and pets to sustain me on longdistance research trips. David Perry, at the University of North Carolina Press, offered his invaluable confidence, perseverance, and wise counsel as this work progressed through the rigorous review process. Paula Wald and Bethany Johnson shepherded the manuscript through the copyediting and production phases with inspiring skill and efficiency. The librarians at Tusculum College searched without complaint for my interlibrary loan materials, no matter how odd the request. This proved crucial to completing new chapters for the manuscript, and I am especially thankful to Charles Tunstall for his diligence. The Appalachian College Association graciously provided a Stephenson Fellowship, which allowed me to take off one semester to complete the research for the chapter on union veterans. Tusculum College provided faculty development funds to support research trips to local archives in Georgia and elsewhere. Though I have heard of archival horror stories from my peers, I have been fortunate to have none to tell myself. Indeed, the archivists I encountered in a myriad of libraries and special collections proved to be unfailingly helpful, cheerful , and interested, and they proved essential to the successful completion of this project. Special thanks go to the staff at the Georgia State University Special Collections and Southern Labor Archives, particularly Peter J. Roberts; the Richard B. Russell Library at the University of Georgia; Special Collections at the Atlanta University Center; the Hoskins Library Special Collections at the University of Tennessee; the National Archives and Records Administration II, in College Park, Maryland; and the State Historical Society in Madison, Wisconsin. I am especially grateful for the willingness shown by James Mackay, former U.S. congressman from Georgia, to answer the many questions I had, and to his fellow World War II veterans Calvin Kytle, Dave Burgess, George Stoney, and Don McKee for completing survey questionnaires regarding their perspectives on the ’s postwar organizing drive in Georgia. Their courage in and commitment to working for a better day, both at home and abroad, in peacetime and in war, stand as an inspiring example of good citizenship for us all. To my brothers and sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews, and friends, I extend my heartfelt thanks for their wisdom in only asking about the book at the right x :   moments. My parents, Charlie R. and Shirley H. Brooks, continued throughout to be a source of inspiration and support. They are the bravest people I know. Most of...