"The Good War": World War 2: Introduction and Bob Rasmus Response

 I learned from the Introduction that by the end of WWII, Americans had become much more involved in world affairs and the major involvement of women and blacks in the military and industrial industries helped push the civil rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s. Also, WWII caused America to be the top leader in the world/have the best political and military position in the world for the first time in history. I also learned that before the war, blacks couldn't really find any jobs except for being in the military and it was also hard for women to find jobs. The war helped boost the economy drastically and helped end the Great Depression. WWII gave jobs to millions of people in the US and soldiers were paid and women worked in factories to help make equipment that was needed for the war. Making war production supplies really help boost the economy because these supplies were drastically needed for the war and were always needed throughout the entire war, "The war had also prompted the country to invent a miraculous economic machine that seemed to grant as many wishes as were asked of it" (167). The war provided a drastic increase in the economy because of the great demand of war production supplies. Robert Rasmus was in the army and was in the infantry. In learned about Robert's drastic experience in the war in WWII. It affected him in many ways. He doesn't judge people by their appearance or looks now and he had the best experiences of his life in war. He loved it so much. He experienced fear, misery, hope, and excitement. He was very happy to observe such a great experience that helped the US in so many ways, like political, foreign policy, the economy, ending the Great Depression, giving blacks and women jobs, and for him being a small participant in the war. He shows his experiences in the war by stating, "I had the most tremendous experiences of all life: of fear, of jubilance, of misery, of hope, of comradeship, and of the endless excitement, the theatrics of it" (189).  It illustrates all of his wonderful experiences and happiness he got out of the war. He wasn't like most people nowadays because most people nowadays don't want to participate in war, are afraid of war, and don't want to be enlisted in the draft. It shows his courage and determination to help his country and to fight for his country. How did the war impact families of war veterans? How did the war impact the war veterans mentally? Did they have mental and psychological problems later in life because of the war?