The month of May has drawn to a close with the punctuation of a national holiday — Memorial Day.
It seems that May is riddled with memories for me. My late parents, who retired to Avila Beach in 1984, were married May 19th, my father's birthday was May 29th and his WWII service is recognized on our national holiday. So it isn't surprisingly that I revisit the month with mixed emotions.
My son, an Atascadero High School graduate and UC-Santa Barbara history major was given my father's framed military metals a decade ago. Recently he's become interested in researching which war "campaigns" my father fought in under General Omar Bradley. We learned that he enlisted with the lst Infantry, 46thBattilion on December 18, 1941, serving in North Africa, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe.
He participated in the Normandy Invasion, the Liberation of France, reached the vaunted Seigfried Line in September, 1944, liberated the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and also had the distinction of being part of the first American unit to reach German soil.
While researching military records, I recalled that Los Osos resident Jim Hayes, CalPoly Professor Emeritus in Journalism, has a WWII short prose piece in the next issue of my literary journal, ViVACE 3. It is called "Saving Sabu" and is about an incident Hayes experienced while serving in WWII. Here's a brief excerpt:
"No wonder the man squatting at the concrete laundry trough in the Army Air Corps jail looked familiar. In the early years of World War II his image—a small, brown boy wearing a turban, a loincloth and a perpetual smile—was on thousands of posters billboards and magazine
covers…."
Speaking of covers, 32 years ago, the album cover of British rock group Pink Floyd's "The Wall" stirred up anti-Vietnam sentiments. The lyrics of a metaphorical wall that is gradually built by the selling of the Vietnam War to youth is relevant today.
The important point to remember is that the rock music of the '60s and '70s was often metaphors disguising themes.
The music was so relevant that Pink Floyd's Roger Waters tuned into tech visuals. Waters developed an arena concert experience unlike no other. On May 19th in Los Angeles his metaphorical wall was gradually built on a three story high screen through the course of the evening at Staples Center. Even if you were in the "nose bleeder" seats 200 yards away, you could see the screen.
So, in conclusion, take it away Pink Floyd and bring us back to reality of how war affects all of us from the Great Generation to the Baby Boomers.
Pink Floyd's — "The Wall" — Official Video
