The World War II, which occurred towards the end of the first half of the twentieth century, is important for the history of the United States. The consequences of the war had an impact on the political affairs of the world and resulted in a major change of the course of the history of the world.
The majority of the powerful nations in the world participated in the combat that was categorized into two conflicting military coalitions: the Axis and the Allies. During World War II, there was a massive engagement of army recruits and at the end of the war, there were many casualties, consisting mainly of civilians.
As such, the war was the most extensive and severest battles in the history of humankind. Because of these, the memories of the bloody battle still linger in the thoughts of most individuals who participated in the combat in one way or the other.
Specifically, in my interview with a former United States soldier, called Andrew Livingstone, who was engaged in the battle at only eighteen years old, I have learnt a lot about the history of the country during this period of battle.
Similar to the account in most historic books, Andrew told me that the war began on September 1, 1939. In my interview with him, I asked him if he knew any causes of the historic conflict. He said, “I cannot really remember many reasons that spurred the conflict to start; however, the major one I remember was due to the Prussian militarism that developed for close to two hundred years.”
He explained that this power made Germany to be influential and gave the opportunity for a madman and a gimmick in politics, like Adolf Hitler, to have a domineering influence in the affairs of the world, especially after the Germans were conquered in the First World War.
As a result, he was the man behind the start of the Second World War as he had the motive of increasing the territorial boundaries of Germany so as to enable his country to rule the whole world. In the same way, Raum, in the book World War II: an Interactive History Adventure, also say that the evil intentions of Adolf Hitler are what led to the war. Nonetheless, Raum also notes that Hitler had developed hatred for the Jews since he considered them to be weak and thus he wanted a way of getting rid of them (10).
Andrew (now deceased) was compelled to join the war on 10 January 1942, which was about one month after the U.S. joined the war. He said, “I opted to join the war because I was under pressure from my family and friends to engage in service to my country.”
Andrew’s father served the U.S. military as a soldier and although he died in the battlefield, he played a crucial role in ensuring that his son takes part in the battle, especially when Japan carried out a surprise attack on the U.S. on 7 December 1941 at Pearl Harbor.
Because the threat of the Japanese was huge in the war, every citizen was urged to do what he or she could perform to ensure that the foreigners did not annihilate the U.S. Thus, with the desire to serve his country, Andrew willingly accepted the call to be of service in the military so as to defend his country. Similarly, Isserman and Bowman also note that there was intense mobilization for the war.
They say, “In the early days of 1942, a spirit of unity gripped the nation. It was best summed up by the slogan “Remember Pearl Harbor” (36). Additionally, Isserman and Bowman note that the U.S. was under threat because it had not engaged in any conflict since the end of the First World War; thus, it was compelled to search for recruits to strengthen the army.
After joining the military, Andrew learnt that the Japanese were incapable of matching up the strength of the U.S. in war and that they had started a conflict that they were not able to win. Andrew later learnt that the renowned Japanese military leader, Admiral Yamamoto, had cautioned his country against starting a war with the U.S. but the extreme militarist management of the army failed to heed to his advice.
One major occurrence that still lingers in Andrew’s mind is the battle of Midway in which the Japanese experienced a major loss. Taking place a half a year after the battle of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese army lost the majority of their aircraft carriers force during the historic battle of Midway (Yoshida and Boyd, 76).
Even though Andrew was not allowed to take part in this conflict because he was considered inexperienced in matters of war, he was endowed with the responsibility of taking supplies to the soldiers who were in the battlefield. Sadly, he lost his dad who was among the casualties that the United States experienced in the historic combat of Midway.
A question I raised to Andrew is to explain to me how some countries formed the Axis and the others the Allies. I realized that his explanation was similar to that given by Raum. He said, “Germany, Italy, and Japan came together to form the Tripartite Pact, which resulted in their forming a military coalition referred to as the axis.”
The aggressive Japan army attacked Asian nations, causing extensive damage to infrastructure and several individuals ended up losing their lives. The government of Japan then was very ruthless. In order to support its war engagements, it forced its people to endure long working hours, deprivation of necessities, economic difficulties, and other forceful malpractices.
And, as a major axis power in Europe, the Germans also carried out inhumane treatments to people that resulted in massive loss of lives. Notably, the German forces carried out the holocaust in Europe that involved the slaughter of approximately six million Jews and subjecting several others to brutal conditions in the camps. The Germans tortured, starved to death, and even shot their victims who were serving as internees.
On the other hand, the United States, the Great Britain, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics came together to form the keys allies of Word War II. In my conversation with Andrew, he made me understand that the allies decided to engage in the combat due to their previous invasion or because they considered the advancement of the axis powers a threat to their superior status in the world.
Specifically, he mentioned that extensive mobilization efforts to compel people to participate either directly or indirectly in the conflict established the beginning of the U.S. participation in the global warfare. As pointed above, this is the reason why he himself participated in the war.
After the U.S. was provoked to enter into the conflict, it encouraged several dedicated men and women to participate directly in the war abroad. Similarly, those left behind struggled to provide them with assistance through providing necessary resources for their sustenance in the battlefield.
During his engagement in the war, Andrew observed that the economy of the U.S. was getting back on track after about one decade of suffering from depression. Several of the Americans who had been without jobs quickly found means of earning income so as to sustain them and pay off previous debts.
The United States government feared that the Japanese could attack its West Coast; therefore, they detained several of the Japanese Americans who dwelt in the country in internment camps. Following the end of the confinement program, three years after the war, several of the Americans who came from other countries had served as internees.
A vivid memory that Andrew still retained appertained to the last scenes of the combat that resulted in the collapse of the axis and victory to the allies. “Following bloody years of battle, on June 6, 1944, the western allies eventually were prepared to invade Western Europe with the intention of taking up Germany from the West that matched up with the advancement of the Russians from the East,” Andrew said.
He explained that the attack by the French forces was on the D-Day but this played a little role in changing the outcome of the conflict, since the German forces had started giving up. Eventually, the culmination of the bloody conflict came in 1945 when the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Japan. World War II resulted in the demise of over 400,000 United States soldiers and several others suffered severe injuries (Dickson, 1246). As the war ended, the allies were declared victorious and the axes were compelled to surrender to them.
Because he lived through the major part of the second half of the twentieth century, Andrew observed how the war was significant in shaping the relationship between the United States and other countries around the world, especially Japan.
Following the Word War II, Japan distinguished itself as one of the close associates of the U.S. in international relations and trade. And, this close association between the two countries turned attention from Japan’s responsibility in the war and has assisted it in improving its economic growth from the devastations that were caused from the Second World War. After the war, Japan began to imitate the free world’s ideologies in societal norms and even in governance structure.
After admitting defeat, the U.S. established a democratic system of governance in four of Japan’s islands, established a new constitution that reduced the powers of the Emperor in the new democratic government, and assisted in the addressing of human issues in the country. This is an example that Andrew gave me to illustrate that the Second World War indeed has been of great economic and societal significance to the people in the world.
In conclusion, my talk with Andrew assisted me to know the history of the United States and its role in the Second World War. As one of the major conflicts of the twentieth century, the war played a critical role in defining the position of the United States as the world’s superpower. Similar to Andrew whom I managed to interview, the events of the war are still vivid in the memory of most people who participated in the conflict either directly or indirectly.
Works Cited
Dickson, Keith D. World War II almanac 1. New York: Facts on File, 2008. Print.
Isserman, Maurice, and Bowman, Stewart J. Word War II. New York: Facts on File, 2003. Print.
Raum, Elizabeth. World War II: an interactive history adventure. Mankato, Minn.: Capstone Press, 2009. Print.
Yoshida, Akihiko, and Boyd, Carl. The Japanese submarine force and World War II. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2002. Print.