Honor and Sacrifice in WWII, Vietnam, and Current Generations

This topic submitted by Quincy Essinger & Melissa Sanders (essingcq@muohio.edu) at 11:19 pm on 2/28/01. Additions were last made on Monday, April 9, 2001. Section: Myers.

Quincy Essinger
Melissa Sanders
March 28, 2001
Research Proposal

I. Introduction
Throughout the history of the world, humans have created the notions of honor
and sacrifice to go along with individuals who have participated in military conflict. In
order for the military to instill pride in the ranks, it needed a method for ‘justifying’ the
duty each member was to hold. Therefore, it was conducive of society to create a
concept of honor, in which people could ‘gain’ or ‘protect’ their personal or family honor
by fighting to defend commonly held ideals of the society. Also, the principal of honor
was a class transcendental; no matter what socio-economic class a person was from, they
could achieve a high sense of honor with dedication and work. Building upon this, the
ultimate way for individuals to gain undeniable honor was to sacrifice themselves for a
noble cause. Consider the amount of honor and reverence associated with Japanese
Kamikaze pilots from an Oriental societal perspective.
We plan to carry out our research by interviewing Americans who served in
World War II, Vietnam, and members of the current generation (military personnel and
civilians). Each person interviewed will be asked to give their definition of the concepts
of honor and sacrifice, their beliefs about it, and their perception of the other two
generations. Also, those interviewed will be asked their perception of other cultures’
honor. After initially interviewing each group, the current generation will be asked
another series of questions, supplemented by responses already given. We will be
specifically looking for answers that pertain to the reasoning why views are different and
what factors attributed to their change.

Our predictions and hypotheses:
We predict that people during World War II will have a stronger and more
defined concept about the notion of honor and sacrifice. This is partly because
America, as a whole, believed our role in the war was necessary and moral.
We predict that the view of America during Vietnam was not as supportive
because of our role in the conflict. Current American beliefs opposed many of the
soldiers who served, reasoning that they were not fighting for a clearly defined cause.
(As opposed to the clear cause found in World War II). Consequently, many soldiers
could not find honor in sacrificing themselves for a vague cause.
We predict the views of our generation will not hold as much importance in the
areas of honor and sacrifice. One reason is that our generation has not seen military
conflict, nor a social movement that would instill the ‘pride’ associated with
dedicating one’s life to a cause.
As generations have progressed, the concept of honor and sacrifice have slowly
declined. Soldiers during World War II are commonly referred to as ‘heroes,’ while
soldiers during Vietnam have received little recognition until recent years. Thus,
ideals that the WWII generation passed on to their children would not be the same as
parents instill in the current generation.

Research Questions:
How was honor and sacrifice viewed and carried out by Americans during World
War II?
How was honor and sacrifice viewed and carried out by Americans during
Vietnam?
What are the views of our generation, a generation that has not experienced
military conflict, about honor and sacrifice in the realm of our parents, upbringing,
and thoughts/beliefs?
How has the social viewpoint on each of these issues changed as generations age?

We are specifically interested in this line of research because it will give valuable
insight into the importance of these two concepts in American culture. Once assessed,
we can form conclusions about whether the current view of honor and sacrifice is a
beneficial element or a hindrance to modern society. Our research will also provide
information on how specific values and ideals are passed on from one generation to the
next.

II. Relevance
Since the concepts of honor and sacrifice are not new subjects, there are multiple
other researchers who have attempted to pin down concrete information about the nature
of each. Although the general basis of each concept (honor and sacrifice) have remained
essentially the same throughout time, finding specific research on our topic-the views of
WWII, Vietnam, and the current generation-drastically limits the amount of viable
information. However, after looking through several article databases, we have found
that personal recollections from individuals who have lived through the different time
periods provide the best information.
For example, we have found the personal journal of Bob Tweed. In this, Mr.
Tweed tells of his experiences with the Rainbow Division during World War II. While
overseas fighting in the European Theatre, Bob’s journal entries show a progression in
his view of ‘honor through military combat.’ He recalls several conflicts in which his
actions, along with his unit’s actions, gave him a sense of pride, contributing to the honor
his service has provided him. The Personal Recollections of Nicholas Essinger also
provides a similar set of information, but involving the Vietnam War. However, this
source also has traces of the wave that went through American society, changing their
perspective on the importance of honor and sacrifice.
Leff’s article discusses many of the same points raised in the journal of Bob
Tweed, but on a more academic, analytical level. An added component to Leff’s article
is the addition of sacrifices made on the homefront during wartime. The two journal
articles and the information on the WWII US Veterans Website continue to expand on
the subjects already mentioned. However, each of them takes a different perspective at
examining honor and sacrifice, some from an academic view and others from a social
standpoint.
In theory, humans and other primates will not give up something of more value
for something of less valuable, especially if it is for non-kin. This notion can also apply
to military service. When people enter the military, they must be willing to give the
ultimate sacrifice, their lives, on behalf of a common cause. Consequently, whatever they
are sacrificing their lives for, must be of great value (honor). Our research will either
prove or disprove the validity of this correlation. If it is true, then we will learn that when
the amount of honor of various activities / qualities, humans are more willing and more
likely to sacrifice.

III. Materials and Methods
Our research is based off of two premises. We will distribute approximately 90
surveys (30 for each sample group) to provide a general bases to form our outlook at the
target groups to provide generalizations. Furthermore, we will do six interviews (2 from
each group) to provide personal insight. Interviews allow the interviewee to determine
the direction of the conversation whereas the surveys have an imposed direction. To
involve the rest of our class in the research, we will distribute a copy of our surveys and
interview questions to them. Although we will not have the class participate in the study,
we will gather valuable insight by asking if the class would establish a similar line of
inquiry if they were doing our study.

Our sample questionnaire:
1. What is your age?
2. What branch did you serve in?
3. What military conflict did you serve in?
4. Why did you decide to join the military (i.e. draft, G. I. Bill, ect.)?
5. How much time did you serve?
6. Please rank the pride you had in yourself before the conflict / service on a scale of 1 to
5 (1 is none and 5 is immense).
7. Please rank the pride that you had in yourself after the conflict / service (scale 1 -5)
8. Please rank the level of honor you feel for your military contributions on a scale of 1
to 5 (1 is none and 5 is immense). How much honor do you feel for the United
States’ contributions in the conflict(s) you were involved in (use the same scale)?
9. Do other generations have the same level of honor as yours (less, more, equal)? Please
explain.
10. Do you see honor and sacrifice being a part of the military (Yes / No, Please
explain)?
11. Does honor and sacrifice affect each other (Yes / No, Please explain)? If yes, please
explain which came first?
12. Did you personally see someone sacrifice their life in war? If so, what did you think
of their sacrifice (i.e. was it noble)? Did it change your perspective / outlook)?
13. Do you believe that honor and sacrifice are human nature or socially constructed)
Rank on a scale 1 -5 (one is human nature and 5 in socially constructed).

If we would like to speak with you further, how may we contact you (i.e. email,
phone)? You may remain anonymous if you wish.

Our sample interview questions:
1. Why did you decide to join the military (i.e. draft, G. I. Bill, etc)?
2. What is your definition of the concepts of honor and sacrifice? How do these
concepts influence each other?
3. What is your belief about honor and sacrifice?
4. What has influenced your beliefs about honor and sacrifice (life experiences,
influences of others, etc)?
5. What are your perceptions of other generations (WWII, Vietnam, current (whichever
is applicable)) in terms of honor and sacrifice?
6. What are your perceptions of other culture’s honor?

Timeline:
Week 8: Proposal Due / Revise Survey & Questionnaire
Week 9: Schedule Interviews / Pass Out Surveys / Presentation to Class / Online
Progress Report
Week 10: Interviews / Pass Out Surveys
Week 11: Interviews / Pass Out Surveys / Online Progress Report
Week 12: Review Information Gathered
Week 13: Compile Information / Online Progress Report
Week 14: Formulate Answers
Week 15: Project Due

Sources:
Essinger, Nicholas S. Personal Recollections.
Leff, Mark H. The Politics of Sacrifice on the American Home Front in World War
II. The Journal of American History, Vol. 77, No. 4. (Mar., 1991), pp.
1296-1318.
Sturken, Marita. The Wall, the Screen, and the Image: The Vietnam Veterans
Memorial Representations. No. 35, Special Issue: Monumental Histories.
(Summer, 1991), pp. 118-142.
Tweed, Bob. My Life with the Rainbow Division. 1999.
Wagner-Pacifici, Robin and Barry Scwartz. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial:
Commemorating a Difficult Past (in Focus on Culture). American Journal of
Sociology, Vol. 97, No. 2. (Sep., 1991), pp. 376-420.

WW II U.S. Veterans Website. ww2.vet.org

Next Article
Previous Article
Return to the Topic Menu