Types of War Stories: Civilians vs. Combatants
Although the effects of war permeate society as a whole, civilians and combatants have very different experiences of it. In general, the most common problems civilians can face in wartime are grappling with a loved one being deployed to war or being displaced from their homes due to the outcome of war; most civilians do not directly encounter the threat of death on a daily basis as soldiers do. However, my parents’ retelling of my grandparents’ experiences in World War II (1939-1945) revealed that they were part of the exception to this generalization. My mom’s parents lived in the Philippines when it was occupied by the Japanese (See “Piecing Together the Past” for a description of their wartime experience). My dad’s parents lived …show more content…
My parents’ stories seemed to have a moral and gave me a sense of closure. For instance, these stories illustrated how quick wits could save people’s lives during wartime and confirmed that there were altruistic individuals amidst war. In addition to that, these stories do not seem implausible in the context of war. In such dangerous times, people had to do whatever they possibly could to stay alive, even if it meant pretending to be dead amongst decomposing bodies or accepting an employer’s offer of shelter in his basement. Perhaps I only felt a sense of resolution from these stories because I know that things ended well. Or perhaps a “true” war story has a different definition for civilians who live through a war than it does for soldiers who fight on the battlefield; after all, although inhabitants of war-torn countries were undoubtedly traumatized by their experiences, they did not have to take another person’s
Although the effects of war permeate society as a whole, civilians and combatants have very different experiences of it. In general, the most common problems civilians can face in wartime are grappling with a loved one being deployed to war or being displaced from their homes due to the outcome of war; most civilians do not directly encounter the threat of death on a daily basis as soldiers do. However, my parents’ retelling of my grandparents’ experiences in World War II (1939-1945) revealed that they were part of the exception to this generalization. My mom’s parents lived in the Philippines when it was occupied by the Japanese (See “Piecing Together the Past” for a description of their wartime experience). My dad’s parents lived …show more content…
My parents’ stories seemed to have a moral and gave me a sense of closure. For instance, these stories illustrated how quick wits could save people’s lives during wartime and confirmed that there were altruistic individuals amidst war. In addition to that, these stories do not seem implausible in the context of war. In such dangerous times, people had to do whatever they possibly could to stay alive, even if it meant pretending to be dead amongst decomposing bodies or accepting an employer’s offer of shelter in his basement. Perhaps I only felt a sense of resolution from these stories because I know that things ended well. Or perhaps a “true” war story has a different definition for civilians who live through a war than it does for soldiers who fight on the battlefield; after all, although inhabitants of war-torn countries were undoubtedly traumatized by their experiences, they did not have to take another person’s