Studs Terkel #4

   My first thoughts on the stories I read were that they seemed like fond memories. Most of the recollections were of the good times and not of the bad. One veteran were horrified to see that the dead Germans he had just killed "were boys like us". This was a war of boys killing boys. They lost their innocence in battle. At home, the economy was booming during and after the war but it raised the question of is prosperity worth the price of soldiers' lives? Bob Rasmus' story really showed how naive these teenagers were of battle. They were excited to be thrown into battle. Soldiers soon matured and Rasmus says that "you look forward to the glamour and have no idea of the horrors". These stories connect because enlisting in combat is often emphasized and glamorized without the knowledge that battle is gruesome. Even today, joining the military is a way of bringing pride to one's family, yet the horrors are more clearly outlined and better known.