Peggy Terry, originating from Kentucky, has lived in Chicago for the past twenty years. Peggy offers a much different perspective on the war than I had ever heard of before. Mostly, we had studied and read the accounts of people who were heavily involved and familiar with the war. These people were either soldiers or families of soldiers who were serving over seas, all of whom knew the details of the war. These people had radios, watched newsreels, and knew as much about the war as anyone. Peggy, on the other hand, had no radio, and all she knew about the war was that there was one. She sums up her attitude pretty well when she says, "When you are involved in stayin' alive, you don't think about big things like a war" (190). Peggy's only real concerns pertained to her own security and monetary situation. Because of this, she focused solely on the necessities; the war was never an issue. Not even when she was working, assembling shells that would be used to kill people, was she aware of her country's present situation. When she would be exposed to chemicals that would cause her hair to turn orange, her safety wasn't a concern, rather she was only worried of what others would think of her dyed hair. Later on, when she moved to Paducah, Kentucky, her eyes were opened to a whole new world. She was introduced to racism and the propaganda that everyone had been experiencing for quite some time. She says, "I believe the war was the beginning of my seeing things. You just can't stay uninvolved and not knowing when such a momentous thing is happening. It's just little things that start happening and you put one piece with another. Suddenly, a puzzle begins to take shape" (193). One can tell the drastic effects that the war had on people by Peggy's account. Peggy went from a woman who didn't even know who was in the war to a woman whose husband was now having nightmares of people dying on the battlefield. Peggy notes how the war also changed the overall attitudes of the government and its citizens. Usually, she notes, killing is frowned upon and those who commit it are punished. During times of war, however, those who commit killing are awarded with medals and ribbons.
Eugene B. Sledge was one of those who was awarded for his actions as a marine during the war. However, Sledge notes, he really doesn't feel like the hero he is perceived as. He notes how Hollywood really glorifies men of war but that deep inside, he was just a kid who was fighting so that he could go home and return back to his normal life. He didn't like violence at all, and wasn't interested in seeing how many people he could kill. He says, "I don't like violence, but there are times when you can't help it" (198). Sledge was in a situation where you couldn't take a humanitarian approach. He learned this lesson when he and a buddy attempted to help a wounded Japanese. After attempting to fetch medical help for him, the Japanese soldier reached for a grenade and tried to detonate it in order to kill himself and the two American soldiers who were trying to help him. From this, Sledge really learned how one's own morals and values have to change when placed in a war situation like this. He says how one has to develop a sense of insensitivity on the front line as it is the only way he can cope with the horrors around him. He recalls his friends, who were really just kids at heart, thrown into a situation far above their maturity level, eventually becoming sick, twisted men. "This was just a mild-mannered kid who was now a twentieth-century savage" (201). This account shows a completely different way in which the war affected Americans. Terry's story showed the effects on the people on the home front while Sledge's story well demonstrates the effects on the soldiers overseas. These Americans were tested in a cruel way, forced to make decisions regarding how to react during times of war. Terry was tested socially while Sledge was tested mentally. Sledge sums up the change very well when he says, "We had all become hardened. We were out there, human beings, the most highly developed form of life on earth, fighting each other like wild animals" (202). This fighting didn't only occur on the battlefront; it was occurring on the home front as well. Both stories help to show the ways in which Americans were tested during the war. Some passed the test, while others failed miserably.
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