On page 728 of his THE SECOND WORLD WARS, Victor Davis Hanson wrote, “The Axis Bit Three – Hitler, Tojo, and Mussolini – all died violently as a result of their defeat. Allied leaders passed away peaceful of old age and infirmity.”
As much as I admire Hanson, I’m inclined to quibble with this statement.
Over the years I’ve read several books about World War II. I might be said to have grown up alongside it. I was born October 12, 1934 and recall waiting outside our house for my mother to take us to Sunday School at church when my father stepped out on the porch and announced, “The Japs just bombed Pearl Harbor.”
My imagination was captured and I followed the war in our local Wilmington Press Telegram. The war was over in 1945, but in 1950 the Korean War was in full swing, and I was resolved to get into that one. I was a great admirer of the Marine Corps and read several books about it from the local library. Still being a kid, I wanted to make sure I made it through bootcamp, so I maintained a heavy workout program and entered boot camp in July 1952 shortly after graduation from High School.
I was in Korea for the last two Korean War battle seasons, but then the truce was signed, to my great disappointment. I was a sergeant by the time my enlistment was up and was offered an increase to Staff Sergeant if I would reenlist, but I wasn’t impressed with the Peace-time Marines, especially at 29 Palms and so decided to go to college on the G.I. Bill instead. I majored in English, and wouldn’t have thought there was a need for such a skill in Aerospace, but engineers were notorious bad writers, and the Air Force officially complained during the Skybolt Program, so I was welcomed aboard that program in Santa Monica in 1959 and continued working for them as they morphed into McDonnell Douglas and eventually submerged in to Boeing. I retired after 39 years with them in 1999 and have engaged in a variety of activities during retirement including a number of study projects, World War II being one of them. I had read about the major battles from time to time, but being an admirer of Hanson finally got around to his summing up – in various ways. No doubt the fact that I am now 91 affected my impression of the Hanson passage I quoted. I suspect my initial interpretation was not one he intended.
I thought of a male lion in the African jungle too old and infirm to go ahunting with the rest of the pride. A pack of hyenas gather around and start eating him as he feebly attempts to fend them off.
Which is not unlike my current experience, doctors gathered around as I feebly fail to fend them off as they strive to medicate me to death.
I can usually figure out what Hanson means but from my current perspective, dying in battle seems preferable to the “old age and infirmity” Hanson prefers.
Oddly, my children favor Hanson’s view on this matter.
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