The acquisition of an education, to the veteran, is more than a desire-it is a must! The veteran\u27s opportunities for observation of society, perhaps more numerous than those of the non-veteran, enable him to instantly conclude: education is the foremost prerequisite to life

Johnson, Robert B.

English

Digital Commons @ Butler University

lA.v.,.. third time, there was a gleam of respectin Miller's eyes.I suppose that, in the last paragraph,I've given the impression that Shamuswas a superman. He wasn't. In all thetwo and a half years I knew him, that wasthe only time he ever had a fight. Mostoften, when I look back, I see him eitherdrunk and singing or sober and singing.He had many nicknames and one ofthe first he collected was "Bing." He couldsing; and he loved to sing. I guess no onein the old battery will ever forget the nightin Naples when he and I lay awake untiltwo o'clock singing. At least, they saidthey wouldn't.As his buddy, I soon found that heoperated on the communist theory - whatwas mine was his and what was his was,surprisingly, mine. Thus, if I had sevenpacks of cigarettes to last until the rationcame the next week and he had none, wesmoked for three and a half days and be-came snipers until the rations arrived.And, if I lost a field jacket and he had two,one of them became mine. To him this wasnatural - we were buddies; we shared.If a shell came in a mile away andcould be seen, it was a safe bet thatShamus would see it, make mention of it,and become nervous about it. He wassuper-cautious, but we didn't laugh athim for that. When we were established.in our prairie-dog town in Purple HeartValley, it was Shamus who daily took histhree-fourth ton truck up that shootinggallery the French called a road andbrought rations back to us. He wasn'tfearless - he was sweating blood all theway up the mountain and all the wayback down - but he was sure brave!To me, the greatest example of hisfoolhardiness wasn't the time be yelled,"Geronimo," as our observation sectionwas pulling a very quiet withdrawalthrough the rear second-floor window ofa Nazi house. The rest of the section willnever forget or forgive him for that, butI maintain he couldn't help making wise-cracks at critical moments and that hismost foolhardy act occurred when thepowers-that-be told us that because ofour Mediterranean service, we wouldn'tbe sent to the Pacific. At this, Shamuswaxed indignant, announced that he had"joined the Army to see the world and Iain't stopping half-way," and, waiving hisninety-one points, volunteered for anactive theater.A Veteran's Philosophy Of EducationROBERT B. JOHNSONThe acquisition of an education, to theveteran, is more than a desire-it is amust! The veteran's opportunities forobservation of society, perhaps morenumerous than those of the non-veteran,enable him to instantly conclude: educa-tion is the foremost prerequisite to life.Observation of the uneducated mortalstriving to sustain himself and his family,much like the Greyhound in hot pursuit ofthe never quite attainable metal rabbit,serves only to intensify the veteran's willto procure an education. The uneducatedman is restricted to those phases of lifewhich are coincident with his comprehen-sion. The more intricate concepts of life,-45-the more livable aspects of our social andeconomic democracy, are inconceivable tohim.Education, or the development of cul-ture, since even before the Indian philoso-phy of "Upanishads," has comprised theefforts of man to live more fully, to appre-ciate more readily the wonders of theuniverse and to evaluate accurately eachin its respective' relation to him. Perhapsthe experiences encountered during thewar effect a definite bearing upon theveteran's ideals, or what he wants to be.Whether this be relevant or not, the factsare obvious. The veteran of this war isnot content with the meagre fruits borneof an uneducated existence.The educated individual not onlyanticipates life to the utmost, he is pre-pared to live and become an integratedpart of society. The extent to which manmay participate in the democratic prac-tices of the world today are limited onlyby the extent of his education. Limitlessopportunities constantly present them-selves, in each and every phase of ourcomplex modern civilization. The educat-ed man is prepared to grasp each individu-ally, exploit it, utilize it, bend it to his willand, supplementing it with previouslyacquired opportunities, continue to advancein life, secure in the knowledge thatthrough education he is LIVING.Night In A Manufacturing DistrictJOHN M. SATTERNight in a manufacturing districtoffers impressions quite different fromthose one gets in the same location duringthe day. Darkness hides much of thedetail of the surrounding buildings, andsoftens their sharp lines so that they meltinto great mounds 'Of blackness. Occasion-ally there is a patch of brightness to showthat a night-shift is working, or perhapsthere is a line of gasoline flares markingthe edge of an excavation. Farther along,a cluster of red lanterns outlines a pileof materials for a factory which is underconstruction. If one should look up, per-haps he should see a few stars hidden nowand then by clouds of steam from powerhouse exhausts, or by smoke from the tallchimneys. The roar of the day has dim-inished almost to complete silence, and anumber of small, isolated sounds can beheard. The quiet hum of a motor, themuffled rumble of some heavy machinery,and the steps of a night-watchman makinghis round all are greatly amplified. Inthe distance one hears the blare of anauto horn and the clatter of a street caras it crosses intersecting tracks. In thedaytime these. sights are changed, thesounds blend into a great background ofnoise, and each goes unnoticed.-46-

A Veteran\u27s Philosophy Of Education

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A Veteran\u27s Philosophy Of Education

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