http://fathersandfamiliesblog.org/?p=194 What does Pearl Harbor Tell Us About Society’s Attitude Towards Fathers? Some Surprising Historical Facts. December 7th, 2007 by Ned Holstein, MD, MS December 7, 1941 was a day that will “live in infamy,” in the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Approximately 2,400 people were killed in the surprise air raid on the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii. The great majority of those killed were men, but few were fathers. Why? Because society held a strong belief that fathers belonged at home, supporting their families and helping to raise their children. Hence, fathers were discouraged from volunteering for military service prior to World War II, and most servicemen on December 7, 2007 were not fathers. The strong belief in stay-at-home fatherhood soon collided with the huge manpower needs of World War II. The military draft, which had expired over twenty years earlier, was reinstated. But even then, fathers of children born before July, 1942 received a special deferment from the draft. It was only in October, 1943 that the draft boards were forced to turn to fathers as a source of manpower. This measure was unpopular. Senator Burton Wheeler of Montana introduced legislation to postpone this provision. A poll in the fall of 1943 disclosed that over two-thirds of Americans believed it was preferable to draft single men employed in military-critical industries than to draft fathers. The public also preferred to draft single women for non-combat military service in order to avoid drafting fathers. Still another proposal to avoid drafting fathers called for drafting seventeen-year-old boys instead of fathers. As pollster George Gallup commented, “. . . drafting fathers would lead to the breaking up of too many families where there are children.” When the war ended, both the public and the soldiers believed that fathers should be high on the list for early discharge. What a change in attitudes! Today, society seems to consider fathers dispensable, except for the cash they earn. (Acknowledgments to David Blankenhorns’ Fatherless America, which provided many of the facts reported above, and which can be consulted for additional details and references.) Ned Holstein, M.D., M.S.
Thanks for that post, It seems the history of Pearl Harbor and other Poignant events in history have become forgotten year after year with politicians pushing their agendas, and Hollywood propaganda, The Men and Woman of past wars deserve better than being forgotten
Makes you think sometimes.... being active duty, I can definitely tell you things have changed for the better in a major way. We still need to do a lot better for the Vets of past wars though.
Some things today are much better than they use to be and some things today are much worse then they were back in the day. We are supposed to learn from the past to better our future, but it doesn't happen all the time! It scares me to think of what kind of world it will be for my grandchildren much less great grandchildren. What we do today effects tomorrow..................................
Soon the greatest generation that ever lived will pass, and too a great deal of history. Pearl Harbor day doesn't get the coverage it deserves, nor the attention it used to get. Veterans day barely gets a nod, as a child I remember going to home town parades, watching active and discharged soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines marching in and watching the parade. The streets were lined with flags flown from front porches and cities cared enough to mount them on light poles and such. Some how I can't but think the way the boys coming home from Viet Nam were treated were the death knell for parades and public displays of support for our soldiers. It wasn't the boys fault the war wasn't popular, they went where they were told like the generations before them. They may not have liked it but, they followed orders. If I live long enough we'll probably see Pearl Harbor relegated to a foot note in a elementary school text book. The revisionists are busy changing history to suit their needs/ideals.
