John Narburgh's Essay 'Keep Em Crossed'

Well-known nonfiction author Laura Hillenbrand, in her best-selling biography, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, describes the chilling reality faced by those living in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps. As the title suggests, this is not the typical World War II tale of hardship that ends in liberation; rather, it follows the main character, Louis “Louie” Zamperini, through his childhood, Olympic performances, and military career leading up to his captivity, as well as his later marriage and many years of healing. Hillenbrand's purpose is to impress upon her readers the scale of this tragedy as well as remind them of the horror that so many nameless soldiers endured. She adopts an emotional yet straightforward tone in order to get readers to sympathize with the characters and truly understand what they went through. To do so, she manages to make the unique story of one man represent the thousands of others going through the same tragedy.

The first nine years of his son’s life seemed like that may be true. Lawrence Junior started going to Palisades School for Boys when he was six years old and he was flourishing. Lawrence Junior was very bright and had fantastic potential. He learned how to ride a bike at seven years old and his father bought him his very own bike because he was so proud of him. Lawrence Senior and his wife were nothing, but optimistic about their future as a family until the year of 1914. That year everything changed. Lawrence Senior’s wife was in an automobile accident on her way home from the grocery store and was killed on impact. He was grateful his wife felt no pain in her passing, but the same could not be said for him and his son’s feelings. That day

My grandma didn’t know how to speak English at all. Jim had taught her a little English, but not much. As soon as my grandma came to America she realized that there were a lot of other men so she left Jim. Lise had met a man named Steve. They got together and had my dad, Jordan. My grandma at the time was still trying to learn how to speak English. Jordan growing up as a kid would go to school, then come home and teach my grandma more of the English language. She also learned English by watching Sesame Street. Lise still struggles today with speaking and writing English words.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said in his essay, Circles, that all of the truly great moments in history have involved “the facilities of performance through the strength of ideas.” Emerson argues that all great moments have come from equally great ideas, and in Laura Hillenbrand’s novel, Unbroken, and Art Spiegelman’s graphic novels, Maus I and Maus II, his statement is put to the test during one of the most horrific events in history. However, Emerson’s argument proves to be valid as survivors of World War II describe the struggles they faced before, during, and after the war and their ability to overcome them whether it be because of skills and habits developed before the war or finding motivation to live when all seemed lost,

An older man is slumped in a rigid metal chair. He is barely visible over the multiple rows of people surrounding him. His hands clasp his seat, trying to steady the rest of his body. A few tears trail down his rough cheek. The final notes of taps echo across the gymnasium. My brain takes a while to adjust to the fact that I had just seen my grandpa cry. I had never seen this tough yet loving man break down like that. I wanted to rush over to hug and comfort him. He located me in the crowd and shook his head, smiling. This was his moment. He finally acknowledged the sacrifices he had made, and was feeling true appreciation for his service. A simple middle school Veterans Day program was what it took to break through some of the pain of his

Beginning my love of reading an early age, I was never the type of child who was drawn to fictional stories. As an 8 year-old child in West Virginia, I was recognized by the local library for my love of biographies, autobiographies and recollections of world events. This love has continued throughout my adult life, desiring to read novels such as “We Were Soldiers Once…and Young” by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore rather than watch the major motion picture “We Were Soldiers” starring Mel Gibson. Even though the motion picture received multiple awards, when reading the recollection of Mr. Moore’s accounts, the feeling of loss, distress, anxiety and fear can be felt in each word that he has written while reliving this horrendous war.

Memoirs of war often reflect the positive or negative experiences endured throughout battle. Considered by many to be one of the best memoirs of World War I, Hervey Allen’s “Toward the Flame”, recalls his own experiences of battle. His recollection of events shows that he had a negative image of war and that there was nothing glorious about it. What started out looking like a man’s greatest adventure turned into a shell-shocking reality that war is actually horrible and trying. Allen’s experiences with consistent hunger, mustard gas, and artillery shellings led to his disillusionment with war, and left him with a permanent hatred of battle.

Hillenbrand tells the life of Zamperini’s humble beginning in Southern California from being a dangerous young kid and becoming an Italian-American Olympic runner, with help and encourage of his brother Pete Zamperini. After the Olympics, Zamperini join the Army Air Forces, where he became a pilot. He went on to fly on several combat missions, until 1943, when Zamperini’s B-24 bomber crashed into the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Him and two members survived, the pilot Russell Phillips, the tail gunner, Francis McNamara. McNamara died on their 33rd day at the sea, and on the 47th day Japanese sailors picked up Zamperini and Phillips. Over two-and-a-half years Zamperini was a P.O.W. until he was rescue by Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After his rescue he became and alcoholic, until he had the strength to forgive what he had suffer.

In the decades after the “Good War,” many attempts have been made to extol this generation in the media. Myth and the Greatest Generation: A Social History of Americans in World War II by Kenneth D. Rose, attempts to shine light on how life actually was for the generation that survived World War II, and came to be known as the greatest generation, rather than how that generation appears to us today.

The American Olympic Champion and inductee of the National Track and Field Hall of Fame Gail Devers once said, “Sometimes we fall, sometimes we stumble, but we can't stay down. Everything happens for a reason, and it builds character in us, and it tells us what we are about and how strong we really are when we didn’t think we could be that strong”. In Laura Hillenbrand’s book Unbroken, the determined Louis Zamperini exemplified Devers’ words when, against all odds, he survived his bomber crashing into the Pacific where he was marooned for 47 days during World War ll. It goes without saying, it was Louie’s own will to survive that Hillenbrand refined to tell his distingué story.

“Veteran Stories - The Memory Project. “Veteran Stories – The Memory Project. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. http://www.thememoryproject.com/stories

Louis Zamperini was a man with a pretty unique story. Laura Hillenbrand, author of Seabiscuit, decided it needed to be transformed into a book. In doing so, Hillenbrand brilliantly captures the trials and tribulations of American soldiers during World War II. Her 7 time award winning novel, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, not only gives us a detailed perspective of Zamperini’s life, but also a look into what hardships World War II soldiers, particular airmen, faced on a daily basis. These hardships include not only the horrors of battle, but deaths and injuries caused by simple machinery malfunctions, the severe abuse suffered in prisoner of war camps, and the nightmares, anger, and stress still felt years after the war had ended.

This study will investigate the question, “To what extent did WWI impact the mental health of the Lost Generation?” The Lost Generation is the term used to describe the people who were directly impacted by the war. At that time a lot of amazing and influential artwork and literature was being released, but that release quickly ended. Currently, in history, we can look back onto those works of art and capture a glimpse into what life was like for them just after the war, and it doesn’t look pretty. Mental health is a serious issue considering that it can affect every single aspect of everyday life. The articles I have chosen to examine and analyze are that from two different perspectives after the war: a first-person account of a soldier in

My grandmother’s parents immigrated to Johnstown, Pennsylvania from a small town in Poland close to Warsaw. As a young child she spoke two languages Polish at home and English when she went to school or with friends. Life started out very difficult and never really got any easier.. Her life continued to get worse when she lost her husband in a mining accident and her eldest son to a car accident. My grandma used to tell me the stories of their deaths, and how it taught her how strong she really is. She turned the hardships in her life into something beautiful, something joyous, and something sentimental. These moments shaped her into who she is, but they do not define her. These moments that she shares allow me to move on and find something joyful about every situation even if they are not be ideal. When my grandfather passed away my grandmother gave me the strength to look on the brighter side of the situation instead of the sad side.

The next stories that I heard a lot about were war stories from my grandpa; these particular stories made me realize just how lucky I am and how good I really have it. Although he did not like to tell these stories, my aunt would badger him until he would. Once he got started though you could tell he enjoyed passing on the experiences that he has had. These stories made me realize that life is never predictable; he was my age when he was in Germany to fight for our country, and I’m sure he never planned on something like that happening to him just as I never could either. I could not even imagine carrying out the missions he was assigned, but it was still interesting to hear about all he has gone through.