Peace and Freedom

I was born in 1951, in a small town and then on our rural farm.  It was a grand time.  The veterans came home in after the war, and wanted a time of peace for their children.

Peace. Freedom.  We road bikes around the town, played all those games that kids play, watch all the westerns on TV.  We all got measles, chicken pox, and mumps, which was normal at that time.  We all went to our local elementary school, moving up grades 1-8 with the same kids.  

Thing was that we weren't  afraid of the world or our country.  We had Ike! Eisenhower was the man who won the war and brought our men home. He could be trusted and was loved. 

Our fathers were all veterans of WW2.  Some were in infantry to defeat the Nazis.  Some were in Army Air Corp, and others were in the Navy. Army and Marines fought some intense field battles in Europe. My dad was a bay gunner on a Superfortress B-29. They flew the CBI (China, Burma, India) hump everyday with a need to refuel in in China.

We felt safe with our Veteran fathers, and no foreign powers could land on our shores. Ike and our dads were our soldiers. They knew how to fight.

Time passed quickly when we were kids. 

Now, for the first time in my life, I am afraid of our country.  Unsafe, vulnerable, threatened--that is how I feel now.  Will the Federal Bureau of Investigation descend on our house? Will SWAT force their way into my house? Will this post get me in trouble?  Will what happen if I  speak my mind in public? What will happen if I pray on a football field? What will happen if I try to defend our home from rioters?  What will happen if... if...

This is not the country I knew back in the 50s.  Our fathers fought for the safety of our and other countries, but now we aren't safe. Are there any  military that will keep us safe? 

What will happen now? Dear Lord, come soon.

 

 "Before he left office in January 1961, for his farm in Gettysburg, he urged the necessity of maintaining an adequate military strength, but cautioned that vast, long-continued military expenditures could breed potential dangers to our way of life. He concluded with a prayer for peace “in the goodness of time.” Both themes remained timely and urgent when he died, after a long illness, on March 28, 1969." whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/dwight-d-eisenhower/

 

Veterans of Steel, Homes of Steel

Lustron homes, a novel home for a unique time in history

After WW2 ended, veterans came home wanting normalcy in their lives.  They wanted wives, children, jobs, and a place to live.  #1, #2, and #3 were readily available, but finding affordable homes was not.  

But then American ingenuity kicked in. The Greatest Generation had struggled through the Depression and then WW2. What they needed would be created and now.

Lustron Corporation, a division of Chicago Vitreous Enamel Corporation, was founded in 1947 and began to construct 15,000 homes in that year and then 30,000 (according to this info above) in 1948. The houses cost between $8,500 and $9,500

These houses were unique, to say the least: all steel. 

The houses are made of steel, top to bottom. Cabinets, closets, kitchens, doors, walls, door jams, support beams---everything is steel.  (Notice the built-ins throughout the house in the YouTube video below.) Houses were pre-fabricated and assembled on site, in two weeks. Steel slates are on the roof. Enameled steel square panels cover the exterior. No repainting, roof repair, termite damage are in these houses.

4 minute video

 Sears and Roebuck had perfected the mail-order houses and Lustron houses were equally well-designed. To try to describe the process is impossible in just a few words. So the reader may find the information at the site above.

Only about 2,500 or so homes remain, some on the Registry of Historical Houses.

What amazes me is that my hometown of 3,000 has seven or more of these houses in Illinois.  They are all occupied and enjoyed by people whose names I know. Five of the seven are shown below.

Construction

  

Newspaper article from hometown newspaper

Newspaper article from hometown paper

And these are the houses in my hometown:

North of the town in a more rural area

This house was occupied by State Congressman Paul Findlay in the 1960s

Note the square panels, made of enameled steel. Most houses have replaced porches, since they are of wood which decays.  

On North Franklin St.

The Johnson family lives here.

These homes have lasted for nearly 70 years. 

Pretty amazing. A need arises and then some creative individuals come up with a solution, American ingenuity at its best in an incredible time.

P.S. The largest number of homes are in Ohio (a plant that built the Lustrons),  and Illinois.

   

Welcome Home: Belated Honor

The Wall at the center

Sometimes cleaning out boxes of photos and snips of newspapers deliver surprises.  Articles usually about hometown news have grown brown and brittle, written about old friends now dead, long ago.

But, this one article made me sit down and read the entire article.  It was from the Quincy Herald-Whig, dated November 14, 1982.  

The headline read “150,000 cheer Viet War vets”, as they dedicated the Vietnam Veterans Memorial "The Wall", inscribed with the names of comrades who were killed or missing during this very controversial war:

"On a wintry day, over 8,000 veterans including families, disabled in wheelchairs or crutches, and those still grieving for the terrible loss, or those returned who had experienced rejection---now were honored and welcomed home.

It was a time of reunion for comrades who had survived and not seen each other since the Vietnam War ended.  

It was also a time for survivors to seek out family members to tell them “Your son saved my life…I was in Quang Tri in 1968…He was a good man…” To be able to tell loved ones about this special person now gone, left both in tears and hugging.

They walked down the Mall in D.C., joined by Ret. Gen. Westmoreland, and later by President Reagan.  He had been asked to be the keynote speaker, but declined, leaving that honor to someone else who had been in Vietnam."

What caught me was the closing paragraph in the newspaper article:

“William Peyton talked about becoming a policeman when he returned from Vietnam, but never got the chance. The helicopter crew chief was killed during the 1970 invasion of Cambodia."  His mother, Minerva Peyton was moved to tears by the new memorial. “Our boys deserve the recognition,” she said. “They did the best they could, under the circumstances.”

My cousin Billy was remembered that day by my Aunt Minerva.  On this day I remember and honor Billy Peyton as well.

Source

Wednesday Words were posted on Tuesday's blog.  Head over to "Older Post/Blog" to engage in the adventure of writing.

Old Men in Caps

Source: RWLinder

Old men in caps

Canes, walkers, wheelchairs

Old men.

USMC ret. WWII

Army WWII

Vietnam Veteran

Korean War

USNavy

Army Air Corp—

Women who served,
but hidden.

Men and Women
not on the front lines,
but serving nonetheless.

Gold embroidered

On black.

Old men in caps.

Walking away,

Walking on ahead.

Veteran of Iwo Jima, many battles in WWII

Community Communing

Just saying “Memorial Day” sets off a slide show in my head.   Flowers on graves….flags…Veterans in parade…community dinner…people sitting together…laughter...gossip…tractors…pick-ups…Those are all part of a very long slide show.

Oh, I could write about feeling like an indentured servant as a teenager serving desserts and cleaning up.

But, mainly the message here is one of community and communion: Together, worshiping, sharing memories, passing on traditions, and meeting as one.

This song comes to mind: Let Us Break Bread Together

Community communing.  Something worth defending.

Day of Remembrance

Covered by the Flag

Drums beaten, flowers laid. 

Words spoken, music played.

Choruses sung, veterans praised.

Fewer veterans, heroes all,

Some stood in place of fallen

Answer  "Here! Sir!" at roll call.

Like their comrades before

Fading into history and lore,

A grateful nation heartfelt calls

To the warriors, once strong and tall: 

Thank you, thank you, thank you…

Susan Kane, 28 May 2012
A re-post