“The Good War”: An Oral History of World War II

Turning from the war front to the home front, Terkel begins a series of interviews with women who lived through World War II. The first is Peggy Terry, who worked in a munitions plant. She recalls that she and the other workers had patriotic feelings about defeating the Nazis but had stronger feelings about the Japanese. She says, “They sure as heck didn’t look like us. They were yellow little creatures that smiled when they bombed our boys” (110).

However, Peggy and her colleagues worked in poor conditions. They were exposed to chemicals and had to buy Coke and Dr. Pepper if they wanted a drink (110). Also, her husband, who fought in the war as a paratrooper, became an abusive alcoholic as a result of his experiences in the war. Still, she enjoyed the peace that followed the war and the prosperity that came with it.

While talking about her experiences working in a defense plant, Sarah notes that she did not really think about the political implications of the war. Even though white and black Americans were segregated in the military, Sarah adds, “it gives you a kind of independence because they felt that we gone off and fought, we should be equal” (116).