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October 5, 2007
War and Peace, Part 2
rom "Frank Capra: The Name Above the Title," the fantastic autobiography of the man who directed "It's a Wonderful Life" pp 356-357:
He was Army. In a driving rainstorm, I photographed Supreme Allied Commander Eisenhower delivering the commencement address to the 1943 graduating class at Sandhurst (British equivalent to our West Point). The gist of his speech:
Gentleman, in the middle of a war, you have just graduated as professional officers in the profession of war. A profession, my fellow officers, that is the most archaic, brutal, senseless, destructive, bestial, de-humanizing profession ever invented by man. It should have been abolished long, long ago. But we have a job to do, a dirty, brutal job. There is an evil loose in the world that glorifies war; that would destroy by war all that we hold dear. It must not prevail!
He was Navy. He stood slim, straight, white-thatched. He was Commander in Chief of the Pacific (CINCPAC). He stood alone in the doorway of his office at Pearl Harbor. He was four-star Admiral Nimitz.
I was coming downstairs from Admiral "Bull" Halsey's office. I would have to pass right by Admiral Nimitz. Was he waiting for me? Would he renege on the all-important Special Film Coverage directive I had written for him, and he had signed? Had MacArthur nixed the order to integrate all combat photography? Had the Air Force? The Marines?
I hesitated, then saluted, and walked by him.
"Oh, Capra! Can you spare a moment?"
I went limp. "Of course, Admiral."
Behind his desk, his back to me, he faced a window that looked out on our sunken warships. "Sit down, please," he said, huskily. "I apologize for calling you in here. It's just this--this--goddam sonofabitch of a war!"
His hands clasped and unclasped behind him as he rocked slowly back and forth on his heals. Then, out of the depths of an overwhelming hurt, he cried out: "They cheered me... Three thousand of them... Eighteen-year-olds... Legs gone, faces gone... They cheered me... I sent them there... They cheered me..."
Then he turned, sat heavily in his chair, and with tears streaming down his face, he beat the table with both fists: "GODDAM SONOFABITCH OF A WAR! GODDAM SONOFABITCH OF A WAR! What am I going to write to their parents? What can anybody write to their parents?..." He grabbed his wet face in both his hands. He was sobbing now. A father weeping for all the sons in the world. "Eighteen-year-olds... kids... boys... three thousand of them... back from Kwajalein... I went to the hospital... legs gone... faces gone... They cheered me... I sent them there... they cheered me... GODDAM SONOFABITCH OF A WAR!... goddam sonfa--" His handkerchief was out now. Not once had he looked at me, directly.
I sat as if transfixed. Tears had started down my cheeks. The white-thatched admiral blew his nose, composed himself, then looking at me with a shy little smile, he said pleasantly: "Thank you, Capra. Thank you."
He had wanted to share his great pain with another human being--someone that was not Navy. I rose to my feet; tried to mumble something. I couldn't. So I smiled back and walked out. I had witnessed something rare. Something awesome--the inside of a tormented human soul.
Posted by witnit at October 5, 2007 10:52 AM
Comments
Great post, Wit.
While working in my garden yesterday (something I rarely do) a thought came to me. Of all beneficiaries of government welfare programs, none are as deserving as war veterans. We owe a debt to them for their service and sacrifice.
On another note, I saw how wars seed the welfare state. They create the conditions where governments begin to finance care for the vets and of course, no one but the most callous of us objects. Care for the vets then lead to care for other needy ones - poor children, handicapped, single moms, drug addicts and the list goes on. Come election time, politicians campaign and debate over these programs. New forms of welfare emerge - school lunches, medicare, medicaid and on and on. I'm not saying that people with special needs shouldn't be helped, but wars begin the cycle of dependency. They legitimize statism and the blowback (unintended consequence) places burdens on free market activity.
Posted by: Broadlighter at October 15, 2007 3:36 PM
