The Forgotten Generation: American Children and World War II

Preface: The Paradox of Children

ix Preface The Paradox of Children † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † It was a paradoxical alignment of principles and priorities, and the more Americans emphasized the importance of their own rights and goals, the less they regarded or respected the rights or even the lives of groups of people they considered to be “others.” —Kerry A. Trask, Black Hawk: The Battle for the Heart of America (2006) A child’s world always has had odd dimensions, as narrow as the backyard or a corner of the kitchen, but as broad as the imagination. —Reed Karaim, “A New Era in Play,” USA Weekend (December 14–16, 2007) † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † Children have always presented a paradox: time and energy, devotion and discipline, joy and grief, heartache and headache, money and still more money. And the writing of the history of children also presents its dilemmas—how to portray and respect a generation not only through traditional historical sources such as newspapers, magazines, government documents, educational reports, and census data but with an ear for children ’s own voices and an eye for particular young vantage points to capture and paint a true portrait of children’s historical lives. Children often have a skewed sense of chronology—certainly the days march on, but the order is easily mixed up. Linear time gets slightly out of order, becoming circles and spirals. (Swings. Teeter-totters. Merry-gorounds .) Children crave a rhythm of repetition, routine, and pattern, yet x Preface they also yearn for the height of holidays and crazy celebration, especially Christmastime. (Presents. Gifts. Rewards.) Children can have surprisingly single-minded and devoted focus to their tasks when motivated, yet free play must necessarily remain part of their lives for emotional and moral development. (Baseball. Tag. Hide and seek.) Playing not only encourages the imagination but provides an outlet to relieve stresses. (Kick the can. Cops and robbers. War games.) This wish for fun is a deep human need, not easily or wisely suppressed even in times of war. (Dolls. Bikes. Tea sets. Guns.) Children also respond particularly and easily to the verbal story along with the love of a pun or rhyme that delights and persists within the memory. (Sing-alongs. Radio shows. Comic books.) Children also crave attention—positive or negative. All of this I have tried to include and reflect upon within this history of the Second World War. Think back to your own childhood. Who were the most important people in your young personal narrative? When were you born? Where did you attend school and how would you describe the experience? Who loved, encouraged, cared for, neglected, frightened, hurt, or taught you? What images are flashpoints, forever memorable? What has been lost? What has been distorted or exaggerated? What still seems hazy or mysterious ? Where did you live? Where do you still long to be? Which foods do you crave? Where and when were you afraid? What gave you pride? John [nickname Jack], Martha [Payne], Lawrence [nickname Corky], and William Smith in front of their home in northeast Iowa. Courtesy of Martha Payne. xi Preface Whom did you respect? Whom did you hate and whom did you love? When did you leave home? How are you similar to other members of your generation? How have you changed? Why do we continue to refer back to our childhood in so many conscious and unconscious ways? Why? With those questions in mind, I and other historians have searched for sources of information about children’s actual lives during particular historical eras. Answers. Documents. Phrases. Images. Omissions. Myths. Truths. And still more questions. Startling discoveries and regular routines . Unique. Ordinary. Patterns. Whatever happened during our childhoods , good or bad, almost always stays with us deeply, consciously and unconsciously. Youth is by chance, yes, but childhood is important and forever. As abstract as children’s perceptions can be, children believe very deeply in concrete issues—definite ideas of right and wrong, black and white, us and them. The “other.” A wartime era only intensifies these characteristics . Feeling is far more important than knowing. Events and spaces can be much larger than reality. How did this complete paradox of experience affect American children’s perception of World War II? How did they become “the forgotten generation”? ...