Remembering Toy Guns & Soldiers…
As a kid back in the late 60’s, I would often join with other youngsters in the neighborhood, and the whole gang of us would play War.
Sure, sometimes we played as cowboys, or space explorers, but the war games we most always ended up playing were probably inspired by the popularity of similar-themed American TV shows back then, like Vic Morrow’s gritty “Combat!” or the clever “Rat Patrol”, which incidentally happened to star a pre-“Young & Restless” Eric Braeden (Victor Newman, but it’s not like I watch the damn show…I’m just a stockpile of general trivial knowledge. PS – he didn’t have his moustache back then.).
War as a group game was great to play as a kid because you didn’t need much else aside from your imagination, and a stick for a rifle. Oh sure, most of us that were regulars eventually ended up with realistic toy accessories, but you weren’t left out just because your parents hadn’t bought you a plastic cap gun from Woolco before the weekend.
If you wanted to, you could spend your entire allowance on anything from a plastic camouflage helmet, to a toy bazooka that fired bomb-shaped missiles. A buddy and I actually ordered the “real” submarine that you could order off the back page of one of our comic books. Sadly, the submarine never did arrive, nor did we ever see our money again. Probably just as well, I would likely not fit in it today anyway…
Even more elaborate than the life-sized war gear for us kids were the countless accessories for G.I. Joe action figures, for whom you could purchase everything from a scuba set, to snappy Navy dress whites. Oh yeah, and a very realistic-looking acoustic guitar, because Elvis had one in “G.I. Blues”…
We read comic books, like Marvel’s Sgt. Fury, and comic strips like Sad Sack & Beetle Bailey. But clearly, it wasn’t just us kids that were fascinated by war. As I mentioned earlier, TV had loads of serious war shows that parents watched as well, and some admittedly not so serious, like Hogan’s Heroes. As a kid, I often wondered how Richard Dawson finally made it out of Stalag 13, and onto hosting Family Feud…
The movie theatres offered up their own interpretations and recreations, with a leathery John Wayne biting a hand grenade, or captaining PT boats in epic after epic. Mr. Wayne ultimately represented every branch of the military over the course of his career, even The Green Berets. That one even had a hit song.
Which brings us to music and war…
Around the time my chums and I were rolling around in the battlefield grass of someone’s front yard (and hopefully missing what Rover might have deposited earlier), music artists were shifting from patriotic anthems about war, to protesting it. “Give Peace A Chance”. “For What It’s Worth”. Edwin Starr’s “War”. “Springtime For Hitler”.
OK, that last one was Mel Brooks, but the point is the artists were reaching a society growing increasingly weary of war, and moving away from the patriotic ditties of the 40’s & 50’s.
Until 9/11…
After an unprecedented attack on U.S. soil, the gloves were off again, and music reflected the stunned feelings of a nation. Country artists led the charge, with Alan Jackson’s emotional “Where Were You”, and a slightly more direct sentiment within Toby Keith’s “Courtesy Of The Red White & Blue”. Elton John, in his lavish new Red Piano show in Las Vegas frames his 70’s classic song Daniel with a moving video tribute to Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter kidnapped and killed in Pakistan, a victim of this new war on terrorism. The first minute alone, morphing on a wounded young soldier in the foreground, sucks the breath right out of you…
Yeah, playing War as a carefree kid may have been fun, but as an adult, I couldn’t be happier that in my lifetime the sacrifices made by others ensured that I’d grow up to the ripe old age that I have so far, without ever having had to strap on a real gun with a group of my own young buddies.
As of this writing, many others have not been so lucky.
Lest We Forget…
©November 11, 2005 Dan St.Yves
As a kid back in the late 60’s, I would often join with other youngsters in the neighborhood, and the whole gang of us would play War.
Sure, sometimes we played as cowboys, or space explorers, but the war games we most always ended up playing were probably inspired by the popularity of similar-themed American TV shows back then, like Vic Morrow’s gritty “Combat!” or the clever “Rat Patrol”, which incidentally happened to star a pre-“Young & Restless” Eric Braeden (Victor Newman, but it’s not like I watch the damn show…I’m just a stockpile of general trivial knowledge. PS – he didn’t have his moustache back then.).
War as a group game was great to play as a kid because you didn’t need much else aside from your imagination, and a stick for a rifle. Oh sure, most of us that were regulars eventually ended up with realistic toy accessories, but you weren’t left out just because your parents hadn’t bought you a plastic cap gun from Woolco before the weekend.
If you wanted to, you could spend your entire allowance on anything from a plastic camouflage helmet, to a toy bazooka that fired bomb-shaped missiles. A buddy and I actually ordered the “real” submarine that you could order off the back page of one of our comic books. Sadly, the submarine never did arrive, nor did we ever see our money again. Probably just as well, I would likely not fit in it today anyway…
Even more elaborate than the life-sized war gear for us kids were the countless accessories for G.I. Joe action figures, for whom you could purchase everything from a scuba set, to snappy Navy dress whites. Oh yeah, and a very realistic-looking acoustic guitar, because Elvis had one in “G.I. Blues”…
We read comic books, like Marvel’s Sgt. Fury, and comic strips like Sad Sack & Beetle Bailey. But clearly, it wasn’t just us kids that were fascinated by war. As I mentioned earlier, TV had loads of serious war shows that parents watched as well, and some admittedly not so serious, like Hogan’s Heroes. As a kid, I often wondered how Richard Dawson finally made it out of Stalag 13, and onto hosting Family Feud…
The movie theatres offered up their own interpretations and recreations, with a leathery John Wayne biting a hand grenade, or captaining PT boats in epic after epic. Mr. Wayne ultimately represented every branch of the military over the course of his career, even The Green Berets. That one even had a hit song.
Which brings us to music and war…
Around the time my chums and I were rolling around in the battlefield grass of someone’s front yard (and hopefully missing what Rover might have deposited earlier), music artists were shifting from patriotic anthems about war, to protesting it. “Give Peace A Chance”. “For What It’s Worth”. Edwin Starr’s “War”. “Springtime For Hitler”.
OK, that last one was Mel Brooks, but the point is the artists were reaching a society growing increasingly weary of war, and moving away from the patriotic ditties of the 40’s & 50’s.
Until 9/11…
After an unprecedented attack on U.S. soil, the gloves were off again, and music reflected the stunned feelings of a nation. Country artists led the charge, with Alan Jackson’s emotional “Where Were You”, and a slightly more direct sentiment within Toby Keith’s “Courtesy Of The Red White & Blue”. Elton John, in his lavish new Red Piano show in Las Vegas frames his 70’s classic song Daniel with a moving video tribute to Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter kidnapped and killed in Pakistan, a victim of this new war on terrorism. The first minute alone, morphing on a wounded young soldier in the foreground, sucks the breath right out of you…
Yeah, playing War as a carefree kid may have been fun, but as an adult, I couldn’t be happier that in my lifetime the sacrifices made by others ensured that I’d grow up to the ripe old age that I have so far, without ever having had to strap on a real gun with a group of my own young buddies.
As of this writing, many others have not been so lucky.
Lest We Forget…
©November 11, 2005 Dan St.Yves
1 comment:
Thanks!
I had quite a dilemma last year. My column appeared on Remembrance/Memorial day,and I didn't feel it was appropriate to ignore that.
But writing a humour column, I had to balance finding some funny, but also paying proper respect.
I got some really good feedback on it, so I thought I'd post it here today...
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