Nights of Flashbacks
“Muse of Fire” was screened at the Pete Valdez Amvets Post in Culver City for three nights, followed by a panel discussion with Mr. Bridges, the producer/director.
The National Endowment for the Arts created the documents to assist U.S. troops in writing about their wartime experiences.
Huge Variety
Nearly 100 recollections were published in “Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan and the Home Front in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families.” The NEA sent well-known authors to conduct writing workshops across the country and overseas.
Gaining Insights
“Muse of Fire” and “Operation Homecoming” are important narratives of the effects of war on those who have to fight and their families.
After World War II, there were several classic films and many books about that experience.
However, the children of the Greatest Generation, for the most part, remember that their parents barely talked about their wartime experiences and then only in passing.
Snow Excuse
In a conversation I had with the father of a close friend, I asked him why he moved from Omaha to California.
“I was in the Battle of the Bulge in France, he said. To paraphrase the Ancient Mariner, Snow, snow, everywhere snow…
After that, I never wanted to see snow again, even on a Christmas card.”
That was the extent of our conversation about his experiences in World War II.
One Mans Perspective
The day before I saw “Muse of Fire,” I had a lengthy visit with Ralph Ramirez, a retired Navy Lieutenant Commander. He recently retired as Deputy Commander of the California Center for Military History.
He had served three tours of sea duty aboard the USS Los Angeles during the Vietnam War.
Everyone Used to be Familiar
Ramirez remarked that prior to the end of the draft in the 1970s, the military experience was common knowledge. Everyone had friends or relatives who had served in a branch of the armed forces.
After Vietnam and the end of the draft, a wall of separation went up between the military and the civilian population. Ramirez noted that in current high school history books, World War II takes up only five pages, and the Civil War is hardly mentioned.
A Matter of Education
Ramirez went on to challenge the popular notion that only poor whites, and minorities volunteer for the service today. He asserted that the men and women who volunteer for the service today are far better educated than their counterparts from the days of the military draft.
Both the film “Muse of Fire” and the NEA-sponsored “Operation Homecoming” are vital documents in coming to an understanding of the American military experience in the contemporary world.
For information about “Operation Homecoming” and “Muse of Fire,” contact Mr. Jeffries at 310.559.2116, or go to www.lava.org or www.museoffire.net.
