LETTERS: Classen responds
To the Editor:
I would like to respond to the criticism I have received lately through the letters to the editor regarding my interview about the effect of the war upon Marion Citizens.
Mr. Clark stopped me on the sidewalk, introduced himself and casually asked me what I was doing. I said I was going for coffee. He told me he was looking for citizens to ask their views on how the war affected small town Marion. He said he personally had not seen much effect. I told him that wars of late were usually not long. The first war I remember was WW II. I was about nine years old Dec. 7, 1941. About all the young men were drafted very soon from every community, millions within the next three to four years.
My older brother had completed one year in college and became 18 in May and was inducted in July. Almost everybody had a son, brother, husband, father, cousin, etc. in the service; many families had several.
Back home, about all goods were rationed, meat, sugar, gasoline, etc. There were no rubber products, no tires for sale. No candy bars, pop, no bicycles or tricycles from Santa Claus. No non-essential products. We had large continuous scrap drives. For the duration of the war, we collected all paper products, rubber, many types of metal, even old cooking oil, lard, and other items. These items were gathered up in each community and shipped off for the war effort.
I'm sorry that Lt. Colonel and Mrs. Brickler are so bitter about his being deployed. Surely he knew when he enlisted he might be called to fight, that's what the Army does, fight wars. I have a son-in-law who is a Lt. Colonel in the National Guard. He was aware he could be called up in time of conflict.
As I said in my interview, I fully support all service men and women in service of their country, but in the question — how has it affected Marion, I haven't seen much change in people's everyday life like it was during WW II. Everyone seems to have the same job, they are not moving out to the west coast for a defense factory job as in the 40s. I see no rationing, scrap drives, or young men being drafted.
Matthew H. Classen
Marion
