Enlistment propaganda that displayed the societal norms of masculinity.[/caption]
The willing men who saw posters similar to image above were excited and ready to fulfill their duty as the men of their households and their country. In the U.S. , men had the pressured and assumed obligation to protect their homelands and their families. These men were expected to be prideful and were sent off as heroes fighting for the free world. The words, like the ones seen in the image “there’s a man’s job to be done”, rang over the men enlisting in war and outweighed the pressure, the sadness, and anxieties of going to war. The government, their families, and the entire social atmosphere looked to them as mighty and courageous fellows before the war. This propaganda shown and more from the time both consciously and unconsciously played on the role of manhood and expectations of masculinity that were hard to fulfill as the depressions and sicknesses of war crept in. There were contradicting sentiments and actions by the government, the military, and society when it was time for the soldiers to return home.
This energy before the war gave veterans the sense that they were irreplaceable and indestructible.This is what they remembered and what they expected when they returned home. The power behind propaganda, the genuine need for soldiers, and high morale created a feeling of eliteness and entitlement. This eliteness was even seen through the pre-evaluation process of armed services. Prior to deployment , the military conducted health and mental evaluations which supposedly ruled out any “weak” candidates that would be susceptible to mental health issues. The “tough man” persona made it acceptable for only the best men to be chosen for the job and expected them to be the same when they returned home. Even high-ranking military officers also assumed this was the case. This view of masculinity though similarly occurring other countries, created hard society for the veterans to live in and get treatment for their mental health issues. This caused issues with the veterans admitting their handicaps while also trying to be seen as indestructible. In addition, these views made it difficult to understand and implement initiatives that would actually help their veterans- the same men they showered with praise before the war. The veterans did not feel the same appreciation after the war as far as legislation and benefits expected from their elite status before the war. The entitlement lead them to demand more from the government and unite in their efforts – soon establishing legitament “group” in the eyes of the government.
This was in the United States but generally around the world, “Victory or Defeat Predict So Little” was a true statement in determining post-war effects of the countries who fought in war -specifically World War II. The culture of each country determined what life was like after the war in terms of economics, politics, and social norms. The lives that were impacted the most from these spheres of influence were the veterans. Veterans regardless of where they considered home, all struggled with the effects of both internally with the psychological issues such as PTSD and externally in dealing with war injuries. The external impact even spans further to the environment in which they surrounded by. Veterans in the U.S.S.R. , the U.S. , and Australia experienced the effects of war which allowed them to ban together on their home turf to demand the benefits that they felt they earned by serving in war. However, some governments were democracies, some were tsarist societies, and for some war had never touched their soil or impacted anyone around them personally. This created an experience that was unique to each veteran. However, every veteran felt a sense of entitlement to be helped or taken care of after their tours. These were the “men who had given birth to or saved their nations” (J Crotty & K Edele pg. 17).
Image: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/recruitment-poster
The quote you used, “Victory or Defeat Predict So Little”, because I think it really summarizes what happens with veterans as well as others effected by the war. Regardless of what the result of the war was, there is still the issue of veterans, their physical and psychological injuries, and how to treat them upon their return.
I would agree with your assertion that “The “tough man” persona made it acceptable for only the best men to be chosen for the job and expected them to be the same when they returned home” was one of the reasons why it was so tough for Veterans to reintegrate back into society. I would make the assumption that many people felt that there would be backlash if they seemed help because it’s not what a “Man’s man would do”. I also feel as if this expectation of male toughness is still something that persists today.
Today’s narrative truly does harp on the nationalistic aspect of war. It is almost heresy today to say that troops and veterans are anything but “heroes” ; however, this very attitude does truly perpetuate an aggressive masculinity. Troops should be able to feel that they can receive psychiatric help without being seen as weak or defective, and as such it is important that we focus on the mental aspect of war. I wonder how different it is, the cultural shock, that occurs when a deployed group returns home to a nation relatively unaffected by war. Breaking down the idea of male toughness, I believe, will truly help veterans recover from war and cope with what they experienced.
I loved that you focused on the “Victory or defeat predict so little” quote because this also really stuck out to me from the article. I know that for me personally, if asked about the veteran experience after returning home from the war, I would have assumed that there would be widely varying results in their treatment, largely depending on which side their country fought on; however, this reading really shifted my perspective and I have a deeper appreciation for the universality of this experience.
You stated “every veteran felt a sense of entitlement to be helped or taken care of after their tours” however many did not receive that treatments. Poor whites, African Americans and Japanese Americans had to fight for rights that rich white veterans got.