The Hawkeye

On February 25, room 134 of the University of Louisiana at Monroe's Airway and Science Building provided the field for speakers and audience to express their "Perspectives on War and Peace." This installment of the Perspectives on War and Peace series focused on the importance of war memorials and what they represent, especially here in northeastern Louisiana.

"Memorials often have dual meanings," said Lora Peppers, a librarian specialist in the genealogy department at the Ouachita Parish Library. She said that they attribute honor to the memory of the dead and sometimes deliver a message to the living.

"These dual meanings can often be found in the architecture of a monument, other times in the memorial plaque, but most often, it can be found in walking memorials, the people who continue the tradition of keeping stories alive," Peppers said.

One such human memorial is Joe Crain who offered corrections and insight to stories he knew intimately. At 82 years old, Crain was part of the second wave at Normandy during World War II. He arrived to the lecture decorated, his vest and cap adorned with striped medals and patches.

As historical subjects were brought up throughout the lectures, Crain always had something to say. During the event, Crain's patriotism met its match in the company of fellow veterans who had seen what he had seen and knew the same kind of war he knew. While Crain and his fellow veterans understand the ferocity of war, the discussion post-lectures gave opportunity to recognize other groups of people besides soldiers who suffer in times of war.

Dr. Joseph Mcgahan, a ULM professor of psychology, and his graduate students are working diligently to bring more memorials into the Monroe area.

They hope to represent the civilians, nurses, army psychologists and anyone whose heroic contributions are overlooked in favor of gun-carrying soldiers. Another one of the speakers, Lee Estes, pointed out that the Chennault Aviation and Military Museum is one of the only military museums to feature the details of soldiers as "people" instead of featuring weaponry.

While Crain and his comrades appreciate the respect given as a soldier, Mcgahan and his grad students are focusing on the people who have made an essential difference in American society during times of war. Crain is proud of his military contribution and eagerly shared the story surrounding it. "I joined the military three months after Pearl Harbor got hit. I was fifteen years old," he said. "We all wanted to go, so I bugged my mother until she signed the enlist papers."

Crain was six years younger than the average age of most of the kids filling up barracks today.

"We were mad as hell," he said, "and so we all wanted to do something."

According to Crain, men of that era's enthusiasm to serve has become a part of history along with their stories.

"It's not as important to people now," he said. "Y'all get offered benefits and good salaries. I made $21 a month serving in the navy. For us, it wasn't about all that."

After Crain had joined and was almost through with basic training, his age was discovered.

"They called my mother, and she told them that if I wanted to stay I could."

That was enough for Crain, who completed his training to be shipped out. His duty was to drive Higgins Boats full of soldiers from large ships out at sea to the sands of Normandy.

"If you've ever seen the beginning of Saving Private Ryan, that's what I did," Crain said.

Spielberg reportedly used veteran accounts of that day to ensure the historical accuracy of the battle scene-the shots where boys waited anxiously in those Higgins boats, kissing their crosses and saying their prayers, only for bullets to clear a path through them when the boats landed.

Luckily, Crain never was one of the boys that had to leap over the side of the boat into the water with sixty pounds of equipment on their back to avoid being shot. In fact, after four years in the war, he never once fired a weapon at another man.

"The most I ever did was load ammunition into a big 5/38' gun as a part of a 13 man team, but I never actually shot at anybody."

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