Hollywood Was Expendable

by Ed Mattson

When I decided to write about what Tom Brokaw called “The Greatest Generation”, referring to the nation that became focused for a common cause following Pearl Harbor, little did I realize that there were many readers out there who held convictions that the US involvement in World War II was another in a long history of unnecessary wars trumped up by the military-industrial complex. I also didn’t realize that several people living here in the U.S. felt that the war effort in Europe against the Germany/Italy part of the Axis, was none of our business; that Germany’s intentions were misunderstood and that U.S. help wasn’t needed to defeat Germany.

History has a way of allowing people to conjure all kinds of thoughts and theories and when it comes to war, there will always be those with hindsight, conjecture and hypothesis with “facts” and “proof” pulled out of thin air and substantiated by less than credible sources. Having done much research on the subject of World War II, I can’t see how anyone could believe what they believe. I don’t profess to have all the answers and/or “proof” regarding the many theories that abound about our involvement in the war, but having 7 uncles and 2 aunts who served in combat, and my father who was an executive with the War Production Board, I learned to believe in their accounts. To go through all the facts step by step would take volumes and have to be footnoted about every paragraph, and though I would love to do it, I don’t have the time.

The purpose of my writing this series of articles was to validate Tom Brokaw’s assumption that the World War II generation was the greatest because of the collective action of the nation. Never at any time prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, was America so united in a common goal of survival other than the unanimous vote on the Declaration of Independence. There was always considerable debate and dissension during other critical times in our nation’s history. We can get lost in a debate about rumors the government knew of the Pearl Harbor attack but President Roosevelt allowed it to happen to get us into the war. I am not fan of Roosevelt, but speculation about such a thought does not make it fact. It is the nation’s reaction to the attack that needs to be studied to show how different our citizens are today than just 70 years ago.

Last night I received an email reflecting on the perils our nation is facing today and that if the Brokaw-Perception might have to give way to today’s generation if miraculously they are able to save the nation from its race to drive over the economic cliff. While my mind wants to believe such is possible, I have serious reservations given the quality of education being taught in our schools, the lack of self-reliance (looking to the government for all the answers), lack of self-respect (glorifying one’s body with piercings and tattoos), and the lack of respect for family, but if the nation can be saved, then perhaps the torch should be passed.

Now…on to the heroes of the Greatest Generation.  95% of all Americans in the decades of the Forties and Fifties, were focused on America’s survival; during World War II and up to meeting the global threat of Communism (remember the “fallout shelters” and “air raid drills” we did in school?). We were a nation of people rowing the bow in the same direction.

During the war, the able-bodied went to do the fighting (men and many women), while at home the War Production Board (WPB) ramped up manufacturing as never before seen anywhere else in the world with women doing the yeoman’s job only a woman could do. Everybody stood vigilant, everybody accepted gas, rubber, and other rationing, and nearly everyone bought war bonds. There was never anything like it, and nothing tells the story better than Hollywood.

Of those in America, those who didn’t work under the WPB or grab a weapon and go fight, many made films and plays promoting participation in the war effort with anti-Nazi films and plays. Women also wrote some of them: Lillian Hellman’s 1941 play, The Rhine, warned of the rise of the Nazis, and throughout the 1940’s and 1950’s she continued to write plays and increase her political activism. Her writing of “The Searching Wind” (1944) directly criticized America’s failures to address and fight Hitler and Mussolini in their early years.

Carole Lombard made her final film as a satire about the Nazis, To Be or Not To Be, which was in post production at the time of her death. The film also starring Jack Benny and was a satire about Nazism and World War II. Ms. Lombard died in a plane crash after attending a war bond rally in Indiana and President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared her, “the first woman to die in the line of duty in the war”. Her new husband, Clark Gable, enlisted in the Air Force after her death. A ship was named in Lombard’s honor.

Humphrey Bogart – U.S. Navy … Enlisted in World War I, but never saw action until after the armistice, when he was hurt transporting a German prisoner who smashed Bogart in the mouth (they say that’s why his mouth always appeared crooked in his movies). To his credit, he ended up shooting the prisoner who tried to escape but when it came to WWII, he tried to enlist after Pearl Harbor but was turned down because of his age.  He became a movie idol, and supported the war effort with movies like Sahara and Casablanca.

Neville Brand – U.S. Army … Known for his screen roles in Tora! Tora! Tora!, Captains Courageous, and Five Gates to Hell”, he’ll probably be most remembered for his role on the TV series, Bonanza. Brand was a real war hero, but not a lot was known publically about his war record.  After five weeks of infantry training, and an unsuccessful attempt at Officers Candidate School, the former shoe salesman departed for the European Theater of Operations on December 9th, 1944, and arrived on December 16th. He spent nine months and nineteen days overseas, but his official military records reflect that Neville Brand participated in the Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central European campaigns, and received the Silver Star which for gallantry in combat which was awarded while he was in the 21st General Hospital recovering from wounds. His other awards and decorations are the Purple Heart, the Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Service Ribbon, the European/African/Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with three Battle Stars, one Overseas Service Bar, one Service Stripe, and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. In a rare 1966 interview in which he consented to speak of his wartime service; Brand recalled how he earned his Silver Star when his unit came under intense fire from German machine guns located within a hunting lodge. “I must have flipped my lid,” he said…  “I decided to go into that lodge.”  Disregarding his own safety, he worked his way around to the rear of the lodge, burst in through the back and single-handedly killed the enemy within. (Arnold Hano, TV Guide, June 25th, 1966. pp. 20-24)

Jackie Coogan – U.S. Army Air Corps … Coogan is best known for the child roles he played in silent movies and later as Uncle Fester in the Addams Family TV comedy series. Coogan enlisted in the Army on March 4, 1941 and requested duty in the Army Air Force (AAF) as a glider pilot because of his civilian flying experience. He was sent to glider school at Lubbock, Texas, and Twentynine Palms, Calif.  Upon graduation, he was made a Flight Officer. He then volunteered for hazardous duty with the 1st Air Commando Group being formed by the famous Col. Phil Cochran. In December 1943, the unit was sent to India where, using Waco CG-4A gliders, it airlifted crack British troops under Gen. Orde Wingate during the night aerial invasion of Burma (March 5, 1944), landing them in a small jungle clearing 100 miles behind Japanese lines.  Coogan returned to the United States in May 1944. His flight jacket is on display with the Celebrities in Uniform exhibit in the World War II Gallery at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

James Daly – U.S. Army and U.S. Navy    He was set on acting from an early age, strongly encouraged by his parents, though neither were in the profession.  His father was in the fuel business and his mother at one time a member of the Office of Strategic Services which became the CIA. He studied dramatic arts at various midwestern colleges, and graduated from Cornell in Iowa. Daly’s acting career was best noted for his role as Dr. Lochner in Medical Center, Gunsmoke, Star Trek, The Virginian and the movie Twelve O’Clock High. In civilian life he was awarded an Emmy for best supporting actor for his work in the Hallmark Hall of Fame in 1966. His acting career was  put on hold when he entered the military. He served in the Army and Navy with the last four years spent in the Navy as an Ensign.

Sammy Davis, Jr. – U.S. Army … Sammy Davis, Jr, was a unique individual, that despite the racial bigotry that prevailed in the military during WWII, he was able to overcome. He was drafted in 1943 and assigned to Special Services Command to serve in a Special Forces unit. In his own autobiography, Sammy: An Autobiography, he describes in detail the racial prejudice he encountered during his years in the army. When he entered service he was only eighteen and was sent to basic training in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The boot camp experience was devastating. Although he was befriended by a black sergeant who taught him how to read, he was mistreated relentlessly by the white troops with whom he had to share a barracks. He was transferred to an entertainment regiment, and eventually found himself performing in front of some of the same soldiers who had painted “coon” on his forehead and taunted him. Davis had the last laugh when he discovered that his energetic dancing and singing could “neutralize” the bigots and gained respect for his superior entertaining skills. It also led the way to his Hollywood fame which included being called “The Greatest Living Entertainer”. As one of the stars of “the Rat Pack”, along with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford, he became an accomplish actor as well, showing his prowess in Oceans Eleven, Robin and the Seven Hoods, and Sergeants Three.  As in every life situation someone always enjoys the famous “Last Laugh”…in Sammy’s case it was when his hit record Candy Man rose to the top of the record charts.

The USO Tours which enlisted volunteers to entertain troops in the US and overseas drew many women entertainers, too. Rita Hayworth, Betty Grable, the Andrews Sisters, Ann Miller, Martha Raye, Marlene Dietrich, and many lesser-knowns as well, to provide a welcome relief for the soldiers. Several “all-girl” bands and orchestras toured, including the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, one of the rare racially-mixed groups. Nearly every negative aspect, politics, family struggles, and bigotry on the home front took second stage to the war effort.

Ed Mattson

Following his service in the Marine Corps Ed Mattson built a diverse career in business in both sales/marketing and management. He is a medical research specialist and published author. His latest book is Down on Main Street: Searching for American Exceptionalism

Ed is currently Development Director of the National Guard Bureau of International Affairs-State Partnership Program, Fundraising Coordinator for the Warrior2Citizen Project, and Managing Partner of Center-Point Consultants in North Carolina.

Mr. Mattson is a noted speaker and has addressed more than 3000 audiences in 42 states and 5 foreign countries. He has been awarded the Order of the Sword by American Cancer Society, is a Rotarian Paul Harris Fellow and appeared on more than 15 radio and television talk-shows.