In the debate about war crimes in the course
of the Vietnam conflict, Jerry West writes:
"Ergo the British and Americans that landed on
Normandy beaches and Sicily beaches and other
places were war criminals since they were
invading someone else's country. I think that
things are a little bit more complicated than
your simplistic black and white universe, Jeff."
West appears to be trying to discredit accusations
of war criminal behavior by US military personnel
with the notion that if they are guilty of such,
then so are the World War II GIs. I think this
comparison is flawed.
To make the point, I'll tell a story about my
father, a warrant officer and radio specialist
in the 753rd Tank Battalion, which participated
in the invasion of Sicily, the Anzio campaign,
and the invasion of southern France. Amidst
the confusion, when Allied planes were strafing
their own positions, he recalls grabbing
a shovel and digging in for dear life on the
Sicilian beach.
Sicilian "mafiosi," who had earlier been
driven underground by the Mussolini government,
assisted the Allied commanders in their
successful effort to drive the Germans off
of the island.
Later while in southern Italy my father had
the opportunity to visit the small village of
Corleto Monforte, province of Salerno, where
my mother's parents were born. He took
photos of her aunt and uncle and cousins.
Thirty-four years after his visit I made
a trip to Corleto, and took these photos
with me. I showed them to an old gent
from Corleto whom I met on the bus en route
to the village. His name was Giuseppe
Aurecchio, and he was delighted to know
that my father had been a GI, and recognized
every individual in the old photos.
I also met an old gent named Vito Bambino,
my grandfather's cousin. Later I obtained
a rental car for driving back to Battipaglia,
the nearest town with a train station. On
the way out of the village, I saw old Vito,
and he waved at me. I stopped to say good-bye,
but he wanted me to delay my departure and
have a drink with him. The reason? He
had learned that my father had been a GI
in Italy, and wanted to commemorate it.
You think the Italian peasants saw the GIs
as war criminals? Ask Vito! Ask Giuseppe
Aurecchio !
As for France, the situation there in 1944
was very different from Vietnam during the
1960s. France was under occupation by German
invaders, who had set up a puppet government
of collaborators. There was a Free French
Army of patriotic resisters who welcomed the
Allied landing at Normandy, and Allied troops
marching into Paris were welcomed in a mood
of celebration.
You had these elements present in the Vietnam
situation of the 1960s -- an invader army (the US),
a puppet government (the RVN), guerilla resisters
(the NLF). The only problem was that the US was
on the wrong side.
~~ Michael Wright
Norman, Oklahoma
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jun 22 2000 - 20:49:36 CUT