Voices of the Past
A: Now what was your kind of feeling of people I guess were trying to not serve or not,
M: Contempt.
A: sacrifice?
M: Contempt.
A: Really, just because you were ah,
M: Well, yeah I mean I think that’s human nature somebody that’s a slacker and they have all the rights of being a citizen and then they go they not only don’t serve but then they go to the black market. Oh my father was so happy that these people got really gypped on the salt and sugar.
A: Yeah.
M: I mean he was a blunt man, he even told the kid, he said that’s good, and I hope you paid a lot for it, you know.
A: Just because people, you kinda saw yourself, I guess, and your community, as kind of collective and you were working together and
M: Yeah, yeah,
A: And when.
M: They didn’t even think that. They just thought you were a dirty coward.
A: Wow.
M: You know?
A: Yeah.
M: And you know most of them were immigrants, you know,
A: Yeah, yeah.
M: I’m first generation and so these people have suffered. They came over here with great sacrifice and,
A: left their family,
M: know the freedom and they loved our country and they just had contempt when people uh broke the rules.
A; Wow, wow, so then I guess really during the war, you almost felt more patriotic than maybe some people that had been here for a while, in some cases?
M: I think too that the only way I heard anything was listening to my parents. I mean they weren’t talking to me.
A: Right, ok.
M: It was overhearing it. That’s how I knew, well I didn’t think it out but,
A: Right, that’s kind of what gave you your attitude.
M: Oh right like Roosevelt I, I didn’t like daddy not liking Roosevelt.
A: Oh you liked Roosevelt.
M: I did
.A: Do you remember his uh fireside chats? That’s what they were called.
M: I was too young to be disciplined enough.
A: OK, yeah.
M: Uh uh, but I liked everything he did. I, I think it was just being a kid and my father used to rant and rave about Roosevelt, didn’t like him and I was rather ashamed, I thought he should love Roosevelt.
A: Why didn’t your father like Roosevelt?
M: He did not like Roosevelt.
A: But, why?
M: Oh, because he was dragging us into war and he was so close to the English, and my father did not have very good feelings about the English and in fact to this day none of us do, once you know the history.
A: Right, what’s the, right yeah yeah
M: Yeah,
A: The English were never,
M: I mean 800 years they ruled Ireland.
A: Yeah, um so once we were in the war you kinda talked about it a little bit, but how did you feel about the groups that were in this country but were the enemy like the Germans and the Japanese?
M: Oh those, I said that, because the Germans were treated terribly,
A: The Germans and the Japanese?
M: People that lived in our neighborhood, all over it wasn’t like they were grouped together. They were abused by people the Japanese because I didn’t know any really,
A: There probably weren’t too many here,
M: Oh that’s right, that’s right but it was horrible what they did to them because they were citizens and it was Roosevelt who did that, during the war.
A: Right,
M: Yeah, so,
A: So I guess what kinds of things did your community, did your community do to the German community?
M: Well uh uh, sometimes it was physical.
A: Really?
M: Yeah and they wouldn’t do business with them and really rough stuff.
A: Really? Yeah, yeah.
M: And of course too, uh we were neighbors, and uh, even neighbors, a lot of prejudice, I think it was worse then, than now. Unless I’m, not you know experiencing it. I don’t think I would because I think immigrants have a different mentality than politicians.
