WWII Campaign Medals

65 years ago, Nazi Germany surrendered. We won, believe it or not. Even if believing it is getting to be difficult at times.

At the beginning of the April 30 posting here, I had written: “I am ending a kind of ritual I have observed for the past two decades. Every year, I wore my WWII campaign medals from April 19, the start of the 1943 Warsaw ghetto uprising, to May 9-10, when Germany surrendered in 1945. (Except for two special occasions,) I wore them on the inside of my outer garment. They were meant for myself, not for show.” It is then explained, part of which is shown below in small print. I had only written to get them about two decades ago, partly an indication of the indifference to awards in the youth outfits who had organized the Warsaw ghetto uprising; to one of which I had belonged when we “retreated” successfully at the start of the Blitzkrieg in 1939.

(“In our USDA laboratory, we had found ways for utilizing solar energy cost effectively, especially in agriculture, which could have contributed not only to alleviating the US “energy crisis” during the 1970s' first oil shock and boycott, but also the threatened imminent widespread starvation of millions in sunny (semi)arid poorer regions of the world. When the (allegedly encouraged) work was first obstructed surreptitiously, and when the hints were not taken, a regime of terror was unleashed, it occurred to me that, while it was nice to have such a pleasant, well paying job, I am still the same person who had not had to submit to the Nazi terror prostrate.

Being the only bachelor of the team, also having been the initiator of the project, I found a strong way to stand up to the obstacles, then the personal harassment unleashed, by pretending to myself that I was carrying out a task assigned by Mordekhai Anielewicz (who had also been to the same Vilna kibbutz while I was there during the !939-40 winter). It must have made easier taking some of the tough decisions, like going on a hunger strike at the lab. (In the S.F. Chronicle's article on that , my boss was quoted as saying something like “putting one's job on the line sometimes helps”). So it was tied to an undertaking (in writing) never to accept any award, as for having done things “beyond the call of duty”; except my campaign medals, which I then requested, and got.”).

From Solarity

Photo taken in The Hague, Netherlands, on this day 15 years ago, the 50^th anniversary of victory over the fascist Axis of evil. The Delft tile (seen behind the window of the Bonistraat apartment where I lived at the time) had been made to commemorate the occasion.

From now on, as I ended the April 30 post, "if I wear the medals, it will be on the outside, for all to see".

It then occurred to me that this is as good an occasion as any to start. Done.

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Vancouver Leapday sunset; February 29, 2008

From Solarity