![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Last week I finished watching The Pacific with episode 10, "Home". As episode 9 ended with soldiers on Okinawa hearing about an atomic bomb dropped on Japan, the combat is all over. This episode traces the stories of the viewpoint characters as they return home.
Eugene Sledge, Bob Leckie, and some of their immediate cohort don't return home until months after the conclusion of the war. The series doesn't address why this happened, just that it was. A viewer who didn't know otherwise may think it was just because it took months to demobilize and transport some of the men home. I know otherwise from family stories about my Great-uncle John, who served in the Pacific and fought in some of those horribly brutal battles.
Curiously the show addressed the legal basis on which this reintegration assignment rested with mentioning the reassignment itself. When soldiers enlisted or were drafted their term of service was "The war plus 6 months." Presumably that "plus 6 months" bit was added in case new hostilities flared up after the end of the war or military resources were required for rebuilding.
It was First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's idea, my grandma (John's sister) and my dad told me, to use the "plus 6 months" term to help transition soldiers who saw the worst back to civil society. My family also tells me that John hated it. He just wanted to be back with his momma sooner. 😅 Friends of mine I've shared this story with who are family of soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan told me they wished such a thing was done for their loved ones.
But back to the show and its story....
Leckie does mope a bit when he sees that his sweetheart, the across-the-street neighbor Vera who barely ever gave him the time of day that he wrote lots of letters to while fighting the war, is dating another soldier already. "He's an officer!" Leckie's mom her oh-so-helpfully points out. "And look at the size of his car!"
Leckie takes charge in that situation, too, going across the street to ask her on a date. Vera's mom is just as standoffish as Vera. "And whom shall I say is here?" she asks. "I'm Bob Leckie, the kid who's lived across the street from you for 20 years."
Leckie stands undaunted by her frosty reception. He's also undaunted by the arrival of the other soldier, the officer, who already has a date with Vera that evening. The officer tells Leckie to get lost. Instead Leckie is like, "How about tomorrow night, Vera?" The officer, a young 2nd lieutenant commissioned only after the end of the war, throws a snit fit, insults Vera, and leaves. Leckie takes her out for dinner. Crawl text at the end of the episode tells us they married and lived happily for many years.
Sledge, meanwhile, struggles to find his direction. He's not interested in the young adults' party scene, even though it's plenty active with all the young men home from war and the women eager to be courted again. Sydney encourages Sledge to put on his uniform and meet people, telling him his combat experience will make him more attractive in the dating scene than those who "flew a desk." But Sledge doesn't want to wear his uniform ever again or talk about it. He wears a nice suit and tie instead. And when people ask him about his service he says clumsy, off-putting things. The reason he doesn't want to talk about it is it hurts.
Sledge suffers even at home. His family has money and a nice house, his father being a doctor. So he's not under pressure to get a job to support himself. ...Which is good, because he suffers from things like night terrors. In one scene he's tossing in bed screaming while still asleep. His father, the doctor, sits quietly outside his door.
In another scene, Sledge is lounging under a tree in the yard when his mother comes out and criticizes him for being an idler. Sledge gives her a blank stare. His dad admonishes her to go easy on him. The reason for this gender role reversal, nurturing dad and get-off-your-lazy-ass mom, is hinted at in a scene several episodes earlier. Sledge explained to his squad mates that his dad is a doctor who treated soldiers returning from WWI. He saw the horrors of war and how they stuck with young men. That also casts a different light on his efforts to stop Eugene from enlisting in the first episode.
Sledge is the character who most makes me think of my great-uncle John. John never wanted to talk about the war or his service, never wore his uniform again even in situations where it would've been advantageous to, and took a while to find his direction after the war. Eventually John took a job with a big insurance company whose headquarters were in the nearby city. He worked there until the day he retired. Sledge, the series tells us, went to college, earned a Ph.D. in microbiology, and spent his career teaching. Oh, and Sydney Phillips earned an M.D. and worked as a doctor in the community.
Eugene Sledge, Bob Leckie, and some of their immediate cohort don't return home until months after the conclusion of the war. The series doesn't address why this happened, just that it was. A viewer who didn't know otherwise may think it was just because it took months to demobilize and transport some of the men home. I know otherwise from family stories about my Great-uncle John, who served in the Pacific and fought in some of those horribly brutal battles.
"...Plus 6 Months"
Soldiers like John arrived home 6 months later not because, oops! their ship across the Pacific got lost and had to stop for directions or somesuch. The military held some of the soldiers on bases for a few months before allowing them to return home. In the months-long battles in places like Okinawa, Iwo Jima, and Peleliu the soldiers lived like savage animals. The base duty was for reintegration. They'd get re-accustomed to getting showers and hot meals, putting on clean clothes every day, not jumping out of bed and grabbing their rifle in the middle whenever something went bump in the middle of the night, etc.Curiously the show addressed the legal basis on which this reintegration assignment rested with mentioning the reassignment itself. When soldiers enlisted or were drafted their term of service was "The war plus 6 months." Presumably that "plus 6 months" bit was added in case new hostilities flared up after the end of the war or military resources were required for rebuilding.
It was First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's idea, my grandma (John's sister) and my dad told me, to use the "plus 6 months" term to help transition soldiers who saw the worst back to civil society. My family also tells me that John hated it. He just wanted to be back with his momma sooner. 😅 Friends of mine I've shared this story with who are family of soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan told me they wished such a thing was done for their loved ones.
But back to the show and its story....
Some Swing Quickly into Post-War Life...
Sledge and Leckie are among those who arrive home later than most other soldiers. Leckie is a character I thought might struggle with returning to civilian life. Instead he walks back into the newspaper office where he used to work and demands his old job back, plus a raise. He makes the case with such clarity and confidence the editor agrees.Leckie does mope a bit when he sees that his sweetheart, the across-the-street neighbor Vera who barely ever gave him the time of day that he wrote lots of letters to while fighting the war, is dating another soldier already. "He's an officer!" Leckie's mom her oh-so-helpfully points out. "And look at the size of his car!"
Leckie takes charge in that situation, too, going across the street to ask her on a date. Vera's mom is just as standoffish as Vera. "And whom shall I say is here?" she asks. "I'm Bob Leckie, the kid who's lived across the street from you for 20 years."
Leckie stands undaunted by her frosty reception. He's also undaunted by the arrival of the other soldier, the officer, who already has a date with Vera that evening. The officer tells Leckie to get lost. Instead Leckie is like, "How about tomorrow night, Vera?" The officer, a young 2nd lieutenant commissioned only after the end of the war, throws a snit fit, insults Vera, and leaves. Leckie takes her out for dinner. Crawl text at the end of the episode tells us they married and lived happily for many years.
...Some Struggle to Get On with Life
Eugene Sledge returns home to Mobile, AL to find his best friend, Sydney Phillips, already enthusiastically adjusted to post-war life. Sydney, who was discharged quickly is already engaged. To Sledge's amazement it's to a woman all the young men in town had considered the most eligible bachelorette.Sledge, meanwhile, struggles to find his direction. He's not interested in the young adults' party scene, even though it's plenty active with all the young men home from war and the women eager to be courted again. Sydney encourages Sledge to put on his uniform and meet people, telling him his combat experience will make him more attractive in the dating scene than those who "flew a desk." But Sledge doesn't want to wear his uniform ever again or talk about it. He wears a nice suit and tie instead. And when people ask him about his service he says clumsy, off-putting things. The reason he doesn't want to talk about it is it hurts.
Sledge suffers even at home. His family has money and a nice house, his father being a doctor. So he's not under pressure to get a job to support himself. ...Which is good, because he suffers from things like night terrors. In one scene he's tossing in bed screaming while still asleep. His father, the doctor, sits quietly outside his door.
In another scene, Sledge is lounging under a tree in the yard when his mother comes out and criticizes him for being an idler. Sledge gives her a blank stare. His dad admonishes her to go easy on him. The reason for this gender role reversal, nurturing dad and get-off-your-lazy-ass mom, is hinted at in a scene several episodes earlier. Sledge explained to his squad mates that his dad is a doctor who treated soldiers returning from WWI. He saw the horrors of war and how they stuck with young men. That also casts a different light on his efforts to stop Eugene from enlisting in the first episode.
Sledge is the character who most makes me think of my great-uncle John. John never wanted to talk about the war or his service, never wore his uniform again even in situations where it would've been advantageous to, and took a while to find his direction after the war. Eventually John took a job with a big insurance company whose headquarters were in the nearby city. He worked there until the day he retired. Sledge, the series tells us, went to college, earned a Ph.D. in microbiology, and spent his career teaching. Oh, and Sydney Phillips earned an M.D. and worked as a doctor in the community.
