 |
| German damage to the Statue of Liberty |
“I didn’t want to serve in the war,” Private Leonard Allred expressed
with heaviness in his voice at the Dead Soldiers’ Debate on BYU campus. Sorrow and brokenness weighed down his tone
as he expressed the pains he experienced in war: body lice constantly biting
him, rats and bugs, the stench of death, trekking over hills, the moaning of
wounded men. He hadn’t wanted to be a
part of any of it, but he’d been drafted, “involuntary servitude” he labeled
it. This was infringing on their rights
protected in the 13th amendment.
Was this the nationalism he wanted to be a part of?
And the affects didn’t end when he left the battlefield. Private Allred’s wife welcomed home a veteran
who was abusive and beat her, driving her to attempt suicide. He lived as an outcast for years before
spending the last part of his life in a veteran’s hospital with others who had
the same psychiatric case. Where was the
help he needed? Where was his nation now
after he’d served them in war?
On the other hand, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Young was an
African American born shortly after the end of the Civil War. He’d led several cavalries and had experience
in combat. He wanted to serve the United
States of America and express his loyalty to the country in which he hoped to
experience liberty. However, the African
American soldiers were initially denied military service. Eventually they were allowed to fight but
still experienced measures of segregation: they weren’t allowed to fight
overseas, and their units were segregated by color. Colonel Young wanted so bad to demonstrate
the loyalty he felt to his country yet was constantly being rejected that opportunity.
Both accounts illustrate nationalistic feelings. Private Allred wanted the America he already
supported—the one that protected his rights.
Colonel Young wanted to be part of America not only because of where he
physically lived, but he wanted his people and his sacrifices to be seen and
accepted as his loyalty to the country. Did their participation in the war do more to preserve or hurt nationalism?
Image credit: German damage to the Statue of Liberty (via Spartacus Educational)
I think that by helping to win the first world war Allred helped to destroy nationalism in the long run. Nationalism was a huge cause pf World War 2 as well, but between both of the wars, I think that nationalism has largely been decreased. The difference between the two was physically being on the front line. I think that Colonel Young had only seen the shorter less harsh wars, and was ready to fight for his country, but Allred knew exactly how horrific the trenches could be and saw that nothing was worth that
ReplyDeleteI think those are two very interesting situations and reactions to war. War is a very touchy subject for many, it seems like people are either proud of it or ashamed of it. I am not a fan of nationalism if you define it as thinking your nation deserves to take over the world. However, is fighting for the sake of millions Jews dying in concentration camps not a worthy cause to suffer in the trenches? I think the difference between the two was who they were fighting for. One was fighting for freedom as he came from an oppressed background, the other thought he was fighting for a country.
ReplyDeleteI too, saw the contrast between these two soldiers' attitudes towards the war. One's participation pushed for the America he was fighting for, the other's was a testament against the America he loved. I think that is so interesting. I definitely saw Young's nationalism as more Romantic because of how forward-looking it was. There is so much idealism in looking for the America that could be rather than pining over the America Allred thought it was.
ReplyDelete