Entry #9 Larry Heinemann & Jean Gump

I chose to read about Larry Heinemann because I really liked the Vietnam War unit in class and I felt like his story would expand my knowledge of the war. Heinemann is a Vietnam Veteran that is still shook up from the war. He describes both his memories during the war and after the war. In class, we didn’t focus much on the post-war for soldiers so it gave me a new perspective on things. In describing his experiences after the war, Heinemann said, “When I got back here, I was scared and grateful and ashamed that I had lived, ‘cause I started getting letters: So-and-so got hit, So-and so burned to death. My good friend flipped a truck over an embankment and it hit him in the head. I had been given my life back, I felt a tremendous energy. At the same time, I felt like shit” (Terkel 417). Heinemann showed his true emotions towards the war. He was glad that he was returning home. However, at the same time, it was bittersweet because he kept getting letters from people saying that a close friend had died. Heinemann showed that whether he was in Vietnam or in America, the war still impacted him greatly.

I chose to read about Jean Gump because I thought it would be a good contrast with a Vietnam Veteran. Jean Gump appears to be a normal grandmother. In reality, she had a very interesting past. Raised by a family of Christians, Gump first believed her role in life should be to follow the rules of her religion. This soon changed when she started to protest war by disarming missiles that would be used to kill innocent civilians. Gump later got arrested for her protests. In response to this, Gump said, “You know, I have never been so hopeful. If I can change my way of thinking, anybody can. I don’t want to be singled out as anybody special, because I’m not. We have to have a future for our children and we’ve got to make some sacrifices for it, okay” (Terkel 427). Gump encouraged the readers to change their way of thinking to save the future.  Gump expressed her belief in fighting for what you believe in, which means a lot from a religious woman.

Entry #8 Dolores Dante, Waitress & Roberto, Acuna, Farm Worker

Dolores Dante had been a waitress in the same restaurant for twenty-three years. She first became a waitress because she needed money fast. Since then, she has made the best of her experiences. When describing why she wanted to be a waitress, Dante said, “I have to be a waitress. How else can I learn about people? How else does the world come to me? I can’t go to everyone. So they have to come to me” (Turkel 330). Dante showed her optimistic view of being a waitress by showing the benefits that come with it. She learns about people, and she enjoys how she gets to know many people. Dante was very interesting to read about because she showed the bright side of work that may not appeal to people.

Roberto Acuna was born into poverty. He was raised in the fields by his hard working mother.  Acuna was very embarrassed of his poverty. “What really hurt is when we had to go on welfare. Nobody knows the erosion of man’s dignity. They used to have a label of canned goods that said, “U.S. Commodities…”” (Turkel 338). Acuna was really shook up from going on welfare and felt like he lost his dignity. Because of this embarrassment, Acuna joined the Marine Corps. “I joined the Marine Corps at seventeen. I was very mixed up. I wanted to become a first-class citizen. I wanted to be accepted and I was very proud of my uniform” (Turkel 342). Acuna felt like he was accepted more in the Marines and it was a way to lose his embarrassment. It was very interesting to read about someone who made the best of their job (Dante) and someone who escaped from their job (Acuna).

Division Street: America (1967): Dennis Hart and Tom Kearney

Tom Kearney is a very interesting man. He has been a policeman for “twenty-three hard years”.  He is a Chicago native. One key idea I learned from his interview is that the Depression changed people’s lives completely. Tom Kearney lived a completely different life because of how much the Depression affected his family. He said, “If the Depression hadn’t come along, my father would have been able to do more educational-wise for us. He couldn’t provide. There was no money for two years” (Turkel 263). Because of the Depression,  Kearney’s family had no money and no way of earning money. Another thing that struck me about Kearney is that he witnessed many protests by people. One group of people that he witnessed protest was nuns and priests, which surprised me a lot.  Kearney witnessed very interesting things in his lifetime, which many people may never see.

To some people, Dennis Hart may seem like just an ordinary cab driver. After reading his interview, my thoughts about him changed completely. I learned that Hart has very wise thoughts on war and freedom. In his interview, talking about dropping the Bomb, he said, “Freedom is the most important thing in your life. We’re facing an enemy today that’s gonna annihilate us unless we retaliate in one way or another. We have to face up to it, Bomb or no Bomb. Otherwise, we’re a bunch of cowards” (Turkel 238). Hart is saying that the U.S. can’t be cowards and instead needs to make a clear decision to drop the bomb or not. Otherwise, our freedom may be in danger. Hart is very insightful in what he believes in and isn’t afraid to speak his mind.

Entry 6: Peter Ota, Nisei and Betty Basye Hutchinson, nurse

Peter Ota, Nisei: Peter Ota, a fifty-seven-year-old Nisei, experienced a lot during the war. His family was taken into concentration camps. At age fifteen, he was sent to a different concentration than his parents, and soon after, his mother passed away. Ota described his experiences in the camps as inhumane. He said, "I can still picture it to this day: to come in like cattle or sheep being herded in the back of a pickup truck bed" (Turkel 206). When they were being moved to the camps, they would be treated like animals rather than humans. If I could choose one word to sum up this interview I would pick the word irony. What was ironic about Ota's experiences was that he had to fight in the war for the U.S. while the rest of his family was being help in poor conditions. He said, "It's ironic. Here I am being drafted into the army, and my father and sister are in a concentration camp waiting for the war to end" (Turkel 207). It disturbs me how poor people of Japanese descent were treated in the U.S. at the time of the war. Betty Basye Hutchinson also experienced a lot during the war. When Hutchinson heard about the war, she immediately decided to become a nurse to help the soldiers. She never realized how hard being a nurse could be. For example, when she first started her job, she witnessed an injury she couldn't handle. "As soon as we got back to the nurse's station behind glass, I went to the bathroom and threw up" (Turkel 214). In addition to seeing disturbing injuries, Hutchinson also saw disturbing actions taken by the government. "Two little Japanese girls, sitting in front, who had come into class like me- why in the world are we saying goodbye to them...But I knew those girls should have been nurses" (Turkel 211). Hutchinson saw two girls that she had worked with being taken to concentration camps and she knew that they had done nothing wrong. While Ota experienced inhumane actions taken by the government, Hutchinson witnessed the actions take place and was upset. It was very interesting to read about two people who went through a great deal of disturbances in there past.