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Mike Moore: War stories trickle, then flood to next generation
By Mike Moore
James Paulson couldn't get his grandfather to say much about the war.
The boy grew up knowing Gene Paulson had served on Navy landing crafts during World War II, and that things had been rough on the tiny but critical island of Iwo Jima. Gene would give him that much before changing the subject.
"When I started pointing at the ships and wondering which one he went on ... that's when he started opening up," James said.
That was a few years ago. Gene's stories suddenly brought his photos, clippings and medals alive. He told of battles more raw than James had pictured. Prouder. Rainier.
"I would've never thought of the stuff that he went through," James said.
Gene let his grandson interview him for a paper in his Case High history class. With a source to top any reference book, James got a perfect score.
Out of that quest came his book and now movie, "Flags of our Fathers," on his dad and the other servicemen who involuntarily became famous in the flag-raising Iwo Jima photo. From what I've read, though, it's less of a war movie and more on a topic that's always both fascinated and frustrated me: how hesitant combat veterans are to bring up their experiences. In my own family, there was a guy who came ashore in possibly the most famous battle in American history, Normandy, yet none of us learned enough to see it through his eyes.
It's their story to tell whoever they're comfortable telling, of course. Often, that's only other service buddies. Everyone else sees only a stoic show of strength.
"It's kind of, like, a respect thing," Andy Hendrickson said.
He works with returning combat troops at the Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee. What finally cracks that front and triggers the memories? Could be a battle's anniversary date, Hendrickson said, or some other reminder.
Some hate to be paraded around for what they see as simply doing their jobs, as Bradley found out in his book research. Hendrickson has seen that with the current wars. Though all who serve deserve praise, the cooks will blow it off because they weren't on the front lines. He also mentioned a plumber who'd been at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq after the photo mess.
"When he came back, he felt like he didn't deserve any recognition or any kind of services," said Hendrickson, who nudges returning veterans toward therapy or whatever help they need.
What will my generation's veterans do with their stories? While holding it in can be unhealthy, letting it out is no snap, either, as James Paulson noticed with his grandpa. Usually the comic relief, Gene would slip into deep-thinking mode when he told war stories.
You can understand a man waiting until a boy is old enough to handle stuff like that. But Gene had another reason to open up when he did. He was aging, too.
"As he got older, he wanted to make sure the heritage got passed on," Bob Paulson said of his dad.
The military is known for survival instincts, and that should apply to their stories, too.
Mike Moore can be reached at (262) 631-1724 or mike.moore@lee.net
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