My father didnt serve in WWII. Why not? He was drafted, accepted, and pulled out of basic training at Fort Monmouth because he was more valuable as a civilian worker, superintendent of production at Cleveland Labs, a pioneering firm in the chemical textile industry who coated the cloth used in the trainer planes for fighter pilots. Unwillingly stuck on the Home Front, he pitched in--air raid warden, district supervisor for the Boy Scouts, and other community activities. My mother was working as a volunteer librarian at the Peapack-Gladstone, NJ library until my brother was born in 1943, and knowing her, she was doing lots of volunteer work through the Jr. Womans Club as well. So please, today, think about the many who helped as they could, even though they were not in combat--families who participated in buying bonds, in scrap drives, in rationing, working in a host of occupations they never considered before that. People of conscience, who, although they would not take up arms because they believed it to be wrong, instead organized aid, took care of mental patients without training but with compassion and care, and had the courage to follow their beliefs.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 03:13:13 +0000
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