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For those of us who grew up on the Hollywood pap of super patriots John Wayne and Ward Bond winning WWII, there was another side of the story that of the antihero like Lew Ayres, who became a virtual pariah among his fellow actors for his refusal to be a combatant in WWII. Later, Ayres convinced the service to let him serve as a medic. Ayres went on to earn three battle stars for heroism under fire.
Another unlikely hero was noncombatant Desmond Doss, a slightly built fellow, who served in the Pacific Theater and is credited with saving 75 of his comrades. Doss was the first noncombatant in WWII to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
I was going to post this link too. I remember watching this a few years ago, and thinking "No one could have protested WWII?!" But they did, though some still wanted to serve (PBS - THE GOOD WAR: Alternative Service) just didn't want to kill.
I have had the chance to crawl around inside one at an air show, most likely the same group that Grandstander saw as they had several other WW2 planes as well including a B24, B26, P51 and P38.
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Looking at their schedule, they will be back my way in June. I think I may go have another look around, perhaps wearing protective padding this time.
I note that they have dropped their price for a ride since they were last in my area, now it is only 425 clams for a fly around on one of the bombers.
And for those who are having trouble getting rid of their money:
Quote:
Flight training in the TP-51C "Betty Jane" will be at most locations on the Wings of Freedom Tour. Flight training in the P-51 is $2200 for a half hour flight, and $3200 for a full hour. All participants will get the chance to feel what it was like to fly one of the most legendary fighters of WWII.
"You see, Tatoo, like most corporate bond salesmen, Mr. Williamson's phaaahn-tasee is to engage in mortal air to air combat against....."
All that I know of on my side, that were of age, served in either the Coast Guard, which meant nothing because my dad was on a Destroyer Escort that did North Atlantic Convoy duty. My mothers brother was Coast Guard but found himself on an LST supporting the landings at Iwo Jima, and was part of the occupation forces in Japan after the war.
My FIL couldn't get into the military because he had polio as a kid and had a short leg, but my MIL severed in the Army Air Corp as a photographer. Always felt that my FIL was bitter about being rejected, especially in light of he would have been fit enough for just about anything except infantry. He had a great mechanical aptitude and maintaining tanks, trucks, or airplanes would have been a good fit, and he knew it.
Referring more to men with deferrments(ie factory/farming). I have wondered how they were treated. Also how they must have felt about the whole thing. Especially men who were younger,30 or under.
Frank Sinatra (25) and John Wayne (34) didn't do to badly.
I found my grandfather's draft card for WWI and WWII. He received a deferment for both, because he was doing essential war work on the homefront. WWI--he worked for Detroit Shipbuilding, WWII, he worked for Motor Products.
In 1940 Frank had answered a Government questionnaire, “What physical or mental defects or diseases have you had in the past, if any?” and he answered “None”. In November 1943, the New York Times reported that he had been passed 1-A for military service by the New Jersey draft board. A few weeks later, he was downgraded to 4-F, which is “unacceptable for medical reasons”. The stated reasons were the chronic perforation of his left eardrum, chronic mastoiditis and emotional instablity. The FBI smelt a rat and asked him to attend again, but his 4-F status was confirmed. Captain Weintrob confirmed to J. Edgar Hoover that the classification was correct. He said, “During the psychiatric interview, the patient stated that he was neurotic, afraid to be in crowds and afraid to be in an elevator. He had been very nervous for four or five years and he was run down and under-nourished.” Not the way most people would describe Frank Sinatra.
It was suspected that Ol’ Glue Ears had paid backhanders to the examining doctors but nothing could be proved. The under-nourished Frankie returned to performing in public, making films and presumably taking the stairs whenever he was working in high buildings. As one headline put it, “Sinatra 1-A with US girls, rated 4-F by army doctors.”
Frank Sinatra’s evasion of war service rankled servicemen, though not, it must be said, their girlfriends. The Stars And Stripes newspaper intimated that he was a coward. Sinatra did consider entertaining the troops but thought better of it, realising that a new battleground might be himself against the soldiers.
In February 1944 Frank had another date with the draft board. This time he was classified 2-A but the army had decided that he was in a job “necessary to the national health, safety and interest”. This was even worse PR and led to headlines like “Is crooning essential?” The draft board relented, admitted to a mistake and said that Frankie was still 4-F. Possibly, Frankie could have played the Italian card, but that would have been risky and he might have been interred like many Italians in the UK.
Sinatra thought factory work beneath him but he agreed to some concerts following the German surrender. The concerts went surprisingly well but foolishly, he criticised the organisers. Marlene Dietrich, a veteran of such shows, chipped in, “He could hardly expect the overseas tours to be like the Paramount.” Dietrich both endured and enjoyed her tours. She would kiss men who were going into battle and she said in her autobiography, “The war gave me the opportunity to kiss more soldiers than any other woman in the world.” So she was doing what she would have done anyway.
^^^ I am old fashioned and do not place faith in Internet sources and only use them as a guideline for research. What I stated is from the Homefront USA volume of Time-Life Books History of WW2.
No vetting exists regarding information presented in a non-forum,(AKA webpage), where debate allows the author to defend his views. In a printed work there is the reputation of the printing house, an editor, the author is credentialed, and finally that wonderful creation-detailed footnotes. Yes, some duds still get throught that process and it appears more frequently now than 30 years ago unfortunately.
For example, the Internet allowed the infamous Titanic was Olympic theory to grow into quite a body of "evidence" with substantial adherents. Pure BS but there it is.
Both of my grandfathers were of age, and neither served. My father's father was farming, with 2 kids by the time the war broke out. My mother's father was farming and running a threshing crew. Neither ever got any guff from their friends and neighbors who served during the war, as far as I ever knew. One of my nearest neighbors was in the OSS as a paratrooper commando, served in Europe and Indochina, was a POW, and was one of the nicest guys I've known. I knew a lot of WWII vets growing up, and not a one ever had a bad thing to say about guys who deferred because of farming. A lot of guys did so (defer) and for good reason.
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Ol' Blue Eyes
