Less Known History

There was a worthy story in the Des Moines Register yesterday. Those of us who live here say that a lot less since Gannett took over the paper a generation ago. However, it tells a story of the world then and the world now and how it is interpreted.

Service in wars is almost mythological in the Midwest, especially in this state. Iowa had an incredible volunteer rate in both the Civil War and the First World War. In the second it is the home state of the Sullivan Brothers, all five of whom volunteered for service in the Navy less than a month after Pearl Harbor with the stipulation they all serve together. Famously, they all died less than a year later off Guadalcanal when their cruiser was sunk. The story of the Sullivans inspired the story of 'Saving Private Ryan', needing to save the sole surviving Iowa brother in the wake of D-Day.

But other families also served, such as the Patten family of Lake City, Iowa. A family that had 8 brothers AND their father enlisting in the Navy. Seven, including the dad, in advance of Pearl Harbor -- six served on the USS Nevada and all survived. In fact, all nine survived the war despite many serving on two ships that were sunk (the Nevada and the USS Lexington).

This gives rise to one of my pet peeves of post-hoc historical revision, the old bromide that before Pearl Harbor the nation was uniformly against entering the war. By early December 1941 that was not the case at all. The 'America First' movement had all but shot its wad by this time. Pearl Harbor was just the catalyst to sway the remaining portion of the populace that was still opposed or on the fence.

While the sentiment at the beginning of the Second World War was uniformly opposed to intervention, the tide began turning with the fall of France and the attacks on Great Britain. When Hitler's military entered into the Balkans and then attacked the Soviet Union the political potency of America First began to substantially subside. By the the late Summer of 1941 the nation was coming to believe that military intervention was likely inevitable, the military build up was proceeding rapidly. It was then that Charles Lindbergh, easily the most famous of America First's members made his infamous speech (ironically in Des Moines) on September 11, 1941 (more irony).

It is not difficult to understand why Jewish people desire the overthrow of Nazi Germany. The persecution they suffered in Germany would be sufficient to make bitter enemies of any race. No person with a sense of the dignity of mankind can condone the persecution the Jewish race suffered in Germany. But no person of honesty and vision can look on their pro-war policy here today without seeing the dangers involved in such a policy, both for us and for them.

Instead of agitating for war the Jewish groups in this country should be opposing it in every possible way, for they will be among the first to feel its consequences. Tolerance is a virtue that depends upon peace and strength. History shows that it cannot survive war and devastation. A few farsighted Jewish people realize this and stand opposed to intervention. But the majority still do not. Their greatest danger to this country lies in their large ownership and influence in our motion pictures, our press, our radio, and our government.

Thus making Lindbergh a charter member of FoxNews -- "damn that liberal jewish media" theme. This was the death shriek of 'America First'. Even then, Lindbergh's statements produced outrage and turned the tide further against isolationism. Of course, the Pattens are further analogous evidence of the same.

Modern war-boosters often use a combination of the 'America First' movement as well as Chamberlain's 'appeasement' of Hitler as justifications for war now. But perhaps the proper analogy is to look at how the 'America First' movement was propelled most substantially by the American Right, and that Chamberlain was a Tory (i.e. 'conservative'). Maybe we should propose that conservatives are consistently WRONG on the subject of war? Nevermind which side of the political spectrum a certain corporal, and fascist, from Linz, Austria fell upon.