Time
June 14, 1999
Pg. 70
The American G.I.
From disparate roots but united by patriotic courage, U.S. soldiers
preserved freedom around the world
By Colin Powell
As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I referred to the men and
women of
the armed forces as "G.I.s." It got me in trouble with some of my
colleagues
at the time. Several years earlier, the Army had officially excised the
term
as an unfavorable characterization derived from the designation
"government
issue." Sailors and Marines wanted to be known as sailors and Marines.
Airmen, notwithstanding their origins as a rib of the Army, wished to be
called simply airmen. Collectively, they were blandly referred to as
"service members."
I persisted in using G.I.s and found I was in good company. Newspapers
and
television shows used it all the time. The most famous and successful
government education program was known as the G.I. Bill, and it still
uses
that title for a newer generation of veterans. When you added one of the
most common boy's names to it, you got G.I. Joe, and the name of the
most
popular boy's toy ever, the G.I. Joe action figure. And let's not forget
G.I. Jane.
G.I. is a World War II term that two generations later continues to
conjure
up the warmest and proudest memories of a noble war that pitted pure
good
against pure evil--and good triumphed. The victors in that war were the
American G.I.s, the Willies and Joes, the farmer from Iowa and the
steelworker from Pittsburgh who stepped off a landing craft into the
hell of
Omaha Beach. The G.I. was the wisecracking kid Marine from Brooklyn who
clawed his way up a deadly hill on a Pacific island. He was a black
fighter
pilot escorting white bomber pilots over Italy and Germany, proving that
skin color had nothing to do with skill or courage. He was a native
Japanese-American infantryman released from his own country's
concentration
camp to join the fight. She was a nurse relieving the agony of a dying
teenager. He was a petty officer standing on the edge of a heaving
aircraft
carrier with two signal paddles in his hands, helping guide a
dive-bomber
pilot back onto the deck.
They were America. They reflected our diverse origins. They were the
embodiment of the American spirit of courage and dedication. They were
truly
a "people's army," going forth on a crusade to save democracy and
freedom,
to defeat tyrants, to save oppressed peoples and to make their families
proud of them. They were the Private Ryans, and they stood firm in the
thin
red line.
For most of those G.I.s, World War II was the adventure of their
lifetime.
Nothing they would ever do in the future would match their experiences
as
the warriors of democracy, saving the world from its own insanity. You
can
still see them in every Fourth of July color guard, their gait faltering
but
ever proud.
Their forebears went by other names: doughboys, Yanks, buffalo soldiers,
Johnny Reb, Rough Riders. But "G.I." will be forever lodged in the
consciousness of our nation to apply to them all. The G.I. carried the
value
system of the American people. The G.I.s were the surest guarantee of
America's commitment. For more than 200 years, they answered the call to
fight the nation's battles. They never went forth as mercenaries on the
road
to conquest. They went forth as reluctant warriors, as citizen soldiers.
They were as gentle in victory as they were vicious in battle. I've had
survivors of Nazi concentration camps tell me of the joy they
experienced as
the G.I.s liberated them: America had arrived! I've had a wealthy
Japanese
businessman come into my office and tell me what it was like for him as
a
child in 1945 to await the arrival of the dreaded American beasts, and
instead meet a smiling G.I. who gave him a Hershey bar. In thanks, the
businessman was donating a large sum of money to the USO. After thanking
him, I gave him as a souvenir a Hershey bar I had autographed. He took
it
and began to cry.
The 20th century can be called many things, but it was most certainly a
century of war. The American G.I.s helped defeat fascism and communism.
They
came home in triumph from the ferocious battlefields of World Wars I and
II.
In Korea and Vietnam they fought just as bravely as any of their
predecessors, but no triumphant receptions awaited them at home. They
soldiered on through the twilight struggles of the cold war and showed
what
they were capable of in Desert Storm. The American people took them into
their hearts again.
In this century hundreds of thousands of G.I.s died to bring to the
beginning of the 21st century the victory of democracy as the ascendant
political system on the face of the earth. The G.I.s were willing to
travel
far away and give their lives, if necessary, to secure the rights and
freedoms of others. Only a nation such as ours, based on a firm moral
foundation, could make such a request of its citizens. And the G.I.s
wanted
nothing more than to get the job done and then return home safely. All
they
asked for in repayment from those they freed was the opportunity to help
them become part of the world of democracy--and just enough land to bury
their fallen comrades, beneath simple white crosses and Stars of David.
The volunteer G.I.s of today stand watch in Korea, the Persian Gulf,
Europe
and the dangerous terrain of the Balkans. We must never see them as mere
hirelings, off in a corner of our society. They are our best, and we owe
them our full support and our sincerest thanks.
As this century closes, we look back to identify the great leaders and
personalities of the past 100 years. We do so in a world still troubled,
but
full of promise. That promise was gained by the young men and women of
America who fought and died for freedom. Near the top of any listing of
the
most important people of the 20th century must stand, in singular honor,
the
American G.I.
General Colin Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is
now
chairman of America's Promise.