World War II
This is it
Article By: Emma Fahey
“A plane in the formation right ahead of us that was in the exact same position as we were in our formation blew up, and we flew through some of the debris. I was at the controls when we were hit with flak over the target and the plane bounced all over the place and the nose dropped. I just figured, 'This is it,' and I hoped it wouldn't hurt too much.” — Daniel Nielson, a B-7 bomber pilot of the U.S. Army Air Force.
Your feet are moving at the speed of light as your eyes follow in the direction you’re heading. Your mind racing, all you can think about is reaching the shelter at the foot of the mountain, already brimming with weary soldiers. But every second that you, a distressed soldier, spends treading on the warfield, could potentially be your last moment.
World War II, durated for almost exactly six, horrific years (from September 1, 1932 through September 2, 1945), and left the world scarred, damaged, and penniless. Could you imagine how the brave soldiers who fought this horrifying war felt? The brave ones who endured stress, physical and psychological pain, and homesickness of war, were the ones who brought us to the end of war — and they decided our country's' fate. When you've lived multiple years, watching your back, constantly jumping at the noise of bullets and missiles, or waiting for the next signal of battle, you can finally experience the level of pain that these brave people went through to get where the world is today.
Young men who dreamed of someday being a hero for their country, were drafted to war. To their surprise, life on camp wasn't as expected... at all. The majority of their time was spent waiting for a battle occur; and after a battle took place, it was popular for the soldiers to turn to drugs like alcohol and amphetamines, which were also widely distributed during this time to keep the soldiers alert and “motivating their fighting spirit”, in attempt to relieve boredom, treat pain, and manage nerves.
Many men like 506th Parachute Regiment of the U.S. Army Man, Ted Dzeipak, disturbed by the violence of war, reported depression after their first kill, which caused some men to turn to these drugs and alcohol for an escape. He explained, “We had to watch our backs and fight to keep the highways open. This is the first time I killed a man… I had my sights on one fellow as we were pulling back. I felt I got him because he went down... He was dead… I wanted nothing to do with it--firearms--anymore.”
Another physical stress of World War II was pre-war training, where men had to build physical fitness, boost confidence, learn discipline and obedience, war tactics, and learn how to handle weapons and accurately use them. Fitness was a big component, and camps had very strict standards making training grueling and physically demanding despite the fact that many of the planned war tactics were not very successful. The death rate was extremely high, and wounded men had to be carried to hospitals immediately to avoid loss of more soldiers in battle.
As you can see, these soldiers lived a very unfortunate series of years while the war continued, and it was proved by notes, letters, journals, artifacts, and veterans themselves that they endured endless misery, loneliness, stress, and homesickness.
So... if their lives were so horrible, why would these men voluntarily withstand the physical and emotional pain of war ?
According to World War II veteran, Paul Fussell, “To get home you had to end the war. To end the war was the reason you fought it. The only reason.” Apparently, most other veterans agreed. Their main motivations to end the disastrous events were to arrive home and see their dearly missed families. But another reason that they chose to tough it out in battle was their pure patriotism—or focusing their duties to the devotion of their countries.
Either way, you probably now see the pain and torture the soldiers of World War II had to brave for six years. They underwent the physical pain of fitness training, the emotion pain of homesickness and disturbing sights of battle, and unfortunately, some were unable to forget the past events, leaving them with no escape… even after the war ended. World War II was one of the worst conflicts to date, however war and still is a concern to this day. Even in the future, we have to expect the worst, because maybe the next war will be the one to separate our countries for good.
http://pixshark.com/world-war-2-timeline.htm
Your feet are moving at the speed of light as your eyes follow in the direction you’re heading. Your mind racing, all you can think about is reaching the shelter at the foot of the mountain, already brimming with weary soldiers. But every second that you, a distressed soldier, spends treading on the warfield, could potentially be your last moment.
World War II, durated for almost exactly six, horrific years (from September 1, 1932 through September 2, 1945), and left the world scarred, damaged, and penniless. Could you imagine how the brave soldiers who fought this horrifying war felt? The brave ones who endured stress, physical and psychological pain, and homesickness of war, were the ones who brought us to the end of war — and they decided our country's' fate. When you've lived multiple years, watching your back, constantly jumping at the noise of bullets and missiles, or waiting for the next signal of battle, you can finally experience the level of pain that these brave people went through to get where the world is today.
Young men who dreamed of someday being a hero for their country, were drafted to war. To their surprise, life on camp wasn't as expected... at all. The majority of their time was spent waiting for a battle occur; and after a battle took place, it was popular for the soldiers to turn to drugs like alcohol and amphetamines, which were also widely distributed during this time to keep the soldiers alert and “motivating their fighting spirit”, in attempt to relieve boredom, treat pain, and manage nerves.
Many men like 506th Parachute Regiment of the U.S. Army Man, Ted Dzeipak, disturbed by the violence of war, reported depression after their first kill, which caused some men to turn to these drugs and alcohol for an escape. He explained, “We had to watch our backs and fight to keep the highways open. This is the first time I killed a man… I had my sights on one fellow as we were pulling back. I felt I got him because he went down... He was dead… I wanted nothing to do with it--firearms--anymore.”
Another physical stress of World War II was pre-war training, where men had to build physical fitness, boost confidence, learn discipline and obedience, war tactics, and learn how to handle weapons and accurately use them. Fitness was a big component, and camps had very strict standards making training grueling and physically demanding despite the fact that many of the planned war tactics were not very successful. The death rate was extremely high, and wounded men had to be carried to hospitals immediately to avoid loss of more soldiers in battle.
As you can see, these soldiers lived a very unfortunate series of years while the war continued, and it was proved by notes, letters, journals, artifacts, and veterans themselves that they endured endless misery, loneliness, stress, and homesickness.
So... if their lives were so horrible, why would these men voluntarily withstand the physical and emotional pain of war ?
According to World War II veteran, Paul Fussell, “To get home you had to end the war. To end the war was the reason you fought it. The only reason.” Apparently, most other veterans agreed. Their main motivations to end the disastrous events were to arrive home and see their dearly missed families. But another reason that they chose to tough it out in battle was their pure patriotism—or focusing their duties to the devotion of their countries.
Either way, you probably now see the pain and torture the soldiers of World War II had to brave for six years. They underwent the physical pain of fitness training, the emotion pain of homesickness and disturbing sights of battle, and unfortunately, some were unable to forget the past events, leaving them with no escape… even after the war ended. World War II was one of the worst conflicts to date, however war and still is a concern to this day. Even in the future, we have to expect the worst, because maybe the next war will be the one to separate our countries for good.
http://pixshark.com/world-war-2-timeline.htm
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Timeline of WwII
Learn More about World War II
- History.com: (http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii) Find interesting articles, photos, videos, and artifacts about the people in World War II.
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: (http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005137) Learn in depth of the events that occurred during WWII in Europe.
- Encyclopedia Britannica: (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/648813/World-War-II) Use fun interactives and quizzes to educate yourself about WWII.