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Marine Officer Records Thoughts Bred On Far Flung Battle FrontsOne man’s ideas of how another war may be prevented appear here in an account written by Lieut. Walter H. Johnson, Jr., of the Marine Air Corps. His writing not only reflects his own thinking but the thoughts of his comrades who waged a war to establish permanent peace.Lieut. Johnson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Henry Johnson of 25 Sagamore Road, enlisted in the Marine Aviation Corps in August, 1944. Embarking for the South Pacific Theatre in January, 1945, he was essigned to duty as Staff Officer in the Logistics Section of the 3rd Marine Air Wing. His experience as superintendent of shipping for American Air Lines, prior to entering the service, served him in good stead in this post where the Air Wing served as a supply and replacement organization for all Marine aviation units in the Pacific Theatre.Holder of the Bronze Star Medal for outstanding work in Logistics, Lieut. Johnson returned to the United States December 1 and is now on terminal leave.The following is the first in aseries of six articles Lieut. Johnson will write for The Bronxville Reporter.One of the most frequent things a man does out in the Pacific, is think. Secondly, he discusses what he is thinking about with his friends—the men in his outfit, and the men in other outfits. Men who never before were interested in other nations, international politics, economics, or morality among nations find themselves ten thousand miles from home; they are anxious to search out the reasons, the remedies for and the results of their positions. They have astonishingly articulate ideas on every possible subject: international relations, our own government, labor and management, veterans’ rights, the support of the people at home, planning for peace, and a hundred other things.As a lieutenant in the Marine Corps I talked to hundreds of men in every branch of the service. I talked to them in the Solomons, Marshalls, Gilberts, Mariannas, Philippines, Japan, China and an assortment of odd islands and I resolved that if I returned IFlowersFor Your ValentineWin her heart with flowers — beautiful blossoms that will tell her more elegantly than words that she is your Valentine. Place your order with us today for a beoutifuliy arranged bouquetWe Telegraph FlowersBR. 2-4264 — 2-417195 PONDFIELD ROADwould let as many people as possible know what I and others thought about the things that were affecting our lives. This is the first step of that resolution.Perhaps one of the greatest things that has come out of the present war, if it can be said that wars produce great things, is the vivid realization on the part of most returning servicemen that the United States of America, its welfare and its future, is irresistably bound by racial, religious and political ties to every nation of the world. The eight million Americans of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, who lived and died in the stinking jungles of Guadalcanal and New Guinea, on the bloody beaches of Normandy, in the mud of Italy and on the lonely sands of Pacific atolls, can be expected to have firm and aggressive views on our participation in world affairs. They are impatient and ofttimes enraged by the complacent, let-George-do-it attitude that they find at home. Fired by days and nights of endless discussion, when discussion was their only pleasure, they find the average American citizen perfectly content to allow the foreign policy of the United States to be established and administered by a small governmental inner circle with no apparent regard for the wishes of the people who, by the laws of the land, are the source of all governmental authority.The most maddening result of the whole war to many veterans is the apparent lack of coordination between our tremendous moral, economic and industrial war effort and the leadership that is demanded of us in foreign affairs as a result of our victory. We have bought at the cost of one million American casualties and a staggering national debt the right to uphold the principles for which the struggle was waged. However, for some unaccountable reason, we have yet to raise our voice when the same principles for which we fought are violated.We fired the hope of oppressed nations everywhere when we signed the Atlantic Charter, but we have yet to raise our voice in blunt outspoken protest when one of our Allies violates every provision guaranteed by our victory.The first nation to oppose the might of Nazi Germany was Poland. Its gallant, but futile, resistance perhaps saved Europe, by giving England time to assemble the woefully inadequate forces with which she held the Nazis at bay. The Polish government in exile fought with every weapon at its command the Fascism that had conquered its homeland. But when the victory was won—did Poland once more raise her free head amongst the nations of Europe? No! Betrayed by her Allies, her leaders imprisoned and executed, she was delivered into the hands of another tyrant. Delivered by the nations that had sworn to protect her freedom. Our betrayal was not confined to this one country but to all the countries of Eastern Europe.All over the world Americans enjoy, the reputation of being hard headed, outspoken businessmen; blunt but honest. Must we dip into the slimy past of ean intrigue and treachery find our method of doing business with other nations? The average veteran does not think so because he has learned that fighting sideCONTEST CHAIRMANLee Allan Swem, chairman of the American Legion Public Speak-Contest which will be held in the Bronxville School auditorium on February 19 under the sponsorship of the Leonard Morange Post.by side with a man gives you the right to question him bluntly when you find his hand in your pack.The United Nations Organization has been established to preserve the peace that was so grue-somely purchased, but mere membership in such an organization does not relieve any nation of the moral responsibility of raising her voice loudly and incessantly in defense of the freedoms she has sworn to uphold.Not long ago the Acting Secretary of State, Joseph Grew, in a Washington press conference said, “We are bending over backward to avoid offending Russia.” Why should this nation, committed to a policy of uphe-d-ing freedom and the rights of man, bend over backward to avoid offending any nation that threatens this freedom? It makes no difference whether that nation is Russia, England, China or any other country of the globe. Our policy should be the same.The outspokenness which characterizes our commercial activities in world trade should also characterize our activities for world peace. But for us to be outspoken in the family of nations, we must have a clear, concise policy in foreign affairs. One that is open and above board, honest in its criticism, prompt in its approval and relentless in its pursuit oi the principles that we have sworn to uphold.There should be no need for secrecy between the State Department and the people of theUnited States. The people not only have the right to know; the State Department is their voice and not the voice of the pressure groups and radicals who seek to propound their political and economic theories in the name of the people.All over the Pacific Ocean I found intelligent Americans who did not know what the foreign policy of our country was. These men were thousands of miles from their homes, families, and normal occupations. They were engaged in the dirty business of war—committed to surrendering their comforts, their health and even their lives in the defense of an intangible, called freedom. Yet they were daily faced with indisputable evidence that their efforts were being betrayed in the fields of international politics. They watched with bitterness our appeasements, our silence when we should have roared with national indignation, our wavering and our lack of diplomatic strength. What does it avail us to pour the wealth of our youth, our factories and our farms into a bloody assault on a foreign shore if we abandon it to a new form of tyranny over a conference table?The men with whom I talked knew that the guilt lay not with those whose leadership had failed us, but on the shoulders of the people who were unwilling to assume the obligations of victory as they had assumed the obligations of war.There is a tremendous debt to be discharged to those who will never return. The price is the constant vocal participation of every American in the function of his government, to demand that the freedom so bitterly purchased be granted to every corner of the earth.People all over the world look to us for leadership. The Chinese, the Pole, the Hindu, the Moslem, the Jew, all know us as the symbol of the freedom they seek. Our dead will have spilled their blood in vain if we drift back into our selfish complacency and allow new shackles to be forged upon half the peoples of the globe.-R-BUY OR SELL IT WITH AREPORTER CLASSIFIEDttYt1JckIcti£1rCCt1YtY ( C7-
Newspaper Details
Bronxville Reporter
Bronxville, New York, US
Thu, Feb 07, 1946
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Dustin J.
USA 05 Jun 2023
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