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RALPH HOLSINGER WRITES:Too Many on Home Front Giving Only Lip Service(Editor's Note: This Is another in (he scries of interesting letters by Ralph Ifolslnger, of Covington, vilh the armed forces in Italy.)Anzlo Beachhead May 20, 3944In a reply to my letter on the soldiers' attitude toward the home front, my good friend Joe Augus-Une has come to the defense of you home folks.He very ably pointed out that thegreat majority of you are doing all you can to hasten the end of the war, that you are giving up things without complaint, and that only the selfish few are falling to cooperate. He was the first to tell me of Ohio's new voting law. Andhe closed by asking us soldiers not to hate civilians. His criticism has led me to write a letter of clarification.The original letter did not contain my opinions alone. I was trying to report the attitude of the average soldier. 1 know as well as you do that most Americans are doing as much as they can to help win the war.However, I am sure that you also know that there are those who are merely giving lip service to the war effort, who are content to coast, and who are using the war as a means of gaining position and profit for themselves. I have read that there are those who actually FEAR the coming of peace and the return of those of us overseas.Had Right Spirit I, too, did not approve of theGreen-Lucas Bill. It was poor law but it was inspired by the right spirit. Its backers wanted us to vote. I still have nothing but contempt for those who talked good law and really opposed the bill for political reasons. They didn't want us to vote.We in Ohio and In a few other states are fortunate in having leaders who do want to see us enjoy the privilege of voting however we may use it.Boiling it ail down, I think the most justified criticism can be aimed at the lack of liberalism, selflessness and cooperation that marks the present American way of doing things. Maybe it’s always been the way of Americans to complain and bicker and to build mountains out of mole hills through a refusal to be reasonable.Front line AttitudeMaybe we wouldn't notice all that were it not for another spirit whichis found jn every area where the proximity of death brings men close together. Red tape may rule the Army rear areas but at the front an willingness to cooperate marks all ranks and branches of service. Out here help is given where help is needed. Quitters and reformers are few (I. put them together because both are equal handicaps). The only striking is saved for the enemy.And those who have seen risk death or terrible injury to help a stranger can’t keep from becoming disgusted by the haggling that fills our newspapers. There's little ground for worrying about soldiers hatirig civilians. Remember, we are only civilianswho were selected to wear uniforms. Our biggest desire 3s to return as quickly as possible to a family, ourfriends and a neighborhood or home town.Fair WarningI do know some men who vow that they are going to punch certain particular noses and there are others who are reserving a Sunday punch for the first civilian who complains about how tough he had it during the war.One man is threatening dire consequences to anyone who says “You lucky boy. I wish I could have been overseas.**But I rather think that most of us will be too busy picking up the severed threads of normal life and seeking happiness to waste much time on hate.Under the proper conditions thespirit that rules over here can be brought back with us. Under other conditions that spirit can be perverted Into something pretty terrible.If we are kept in the Army indefinitely because there is no place for us m the economy, if the troops who are doing the fighting must do the occupying, If, as one selective service official recommends, the last ones into the Army are released first, then there can. be trouble.And, above all, if places are not made to provide abundant economicopportunity for all, there are those who may feel called upon to make their own opportunities. And their ways might not be the best.Somehow or other, the spirit of cooperation we have learned must become the spirit of America.
Newspaper Details
Piqua Daily Call
Piqua, Ohio, US
Tue, Jul 11, 1944
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Richard E.
OH, USA 28 Jun 2023
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