After The War

B-24 during a bomb run on the Polesti Oil Refinery, 

from http://www.ww2research.com/five-464th-bomb-group/

World War II officially ended on 2 September 1945 aboard the USS Missouri. 

In a somewhat related matter, I was born 22 March 1952 in the little farm town of Wasco just north of Bakersfield California. My Dad had been a ball turret gunner in WWII in Europe. His brother, Charles, had been a gunner fighting naval battles in the Pacific Theater. My Mom met Dad as he went to the little theater in town to watch the movies and “forget about the war”. She sold the tickets.

As a child in the 1950’s, the feelings I felt surrounded by were optimism and wonder at the new technologies coming our way. I saw the promise of the push-button future that Dorothy Roe saw:

“After The War”

Dorothy Roe

After the war . . .

We'll just a press a button for food or for drink,

For washing the dishes or cleaning the sink.

We'll ride in a rocket instead of a car.

And life will be streamlined . . .

After the war.

You can find more illustrations like this at

http://www.paleofuture.com/blog/tag/push-button

Growing up in the 1950’s was a bracing experience. There was so much optimism in the air! It seemed as if there were new technological wonders every day. My Dad loved this stuff. After all, he had been on the crew of a cutting edge technological marvel, all-metal heavy bomber.

Sometimes they would even carry a super secret device on board called a RADAR. It was not surprising that we had one of the first TVs in Wasco. Our antenna tower was gigantic! And it was designed in a triangle with side braces that made easy steps for a little guy to climb up and see the whole world. (Remember, this was the 1950s when kids roamed free and did things that might horrify parents today. But really, it would have horrified my Mom too if she found out.)

But it was the fruitless mulberry tree in the back yard that served as my rocket ship to the stars. Oh the science fiction films of the 1950s and 1960! And books! And pulps! I had a secret love for Asimov, Smith, Dick, and the whole gang. Probably most adults that are engineers and scientist today had that childhood secret love — way before anyone understood that science fiction stories were cool. Well before there were oscillation overthrusters and “E.T. phone home!” there were interositors and “Klaatu barada nikto”!

Me in a playground in the early 1960s. It was safe; there was sand underneath.

Why not? Why not a rocket to the stars? Why not a box that could compute and even anticipate your needs? Why not robots to serve or serve as foes? There were things happening every day in the 1950s that said “sure, why not!?” It wasn’t just the daredevil crop dusters in my neighborhood. I could see missiles launches out of Vandenberg AFB and jet aircraft out of Edwards AFB from my house. And that little black and white TV showed me even more. (Sometimes you had to sit very far back to see the image through the “snow”.)

Our first TV. The static on the screen was called “snow”. (From www.tvhistory.tv)

But darker clouds were also gathering around us. If you really understood the science fiction movies, most seemed to be warnings of something more than just greater and better technology. Everyone knew now that any place, any where, on our Earth is reachable by an all-metal state-of-the-art bomber aircraft. And they don’t have to carry dozens of bombs anymore. There’s THE BOMB now. Bikini, Sedan, Argus, these were names of nuclear bomb tests. Would a Godzilla emerge from the ocean or giant ants from the desert? And just in case the thought of bomber aircraft wasn’t scary enough, the Russians showed us that they could send a bomb shaped ball into orbit to fly right over our heads — Sputnik. Meanwhile, our rockets were blowing up on our launching pads. (The USSR’s rockets also blew up, we just didn’t see those! Sometimes, perception is everything.)

Even our cars were ready for supersonic speed! Look at those fins!

Before WWII, FDR had American Industry working on modern bomber aircraft so they would be ready if we needed them. When President Kennedy announced the race to the moon, he was continuing in a bigger way President Eisenhower’s race to develop a rocket that could carry a nuclear bomb to our enemies. The Race to the Moon was also a race to create a workable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Remember Mercury? It launched on an Atlas ICBM. Remember Gemini? It launched on a Titan ICBM. Apollo launched atop the Saturn V, a rocket specially built for the job.  

The dawn of the aerospace age wasn’t just about smashing the sound barrier or putting fins on domestic autos. It was also the dawn of the nuclear age and the opening rounds of the Cold War. If the Ruskies were going to aim their missiles at us, then by all that is holy and the American red, white, and blue flag, we will point ours at them! This mutual deterrence strategy still lives in scores of bombers and intercontinental missiles that Russia and American sustain today. I personally think it is immoral to tempt a potential enemy by showing weakness. And these weapons have kept us away from WWIII for 7 decades. So we need to keep those bombers and missiles working. 

The 1950’s scifi movies have posed a question that is still unanswered. Apparently it will be up our children to answer it. But (now cut to the horizon and shift the camera up to catch the stars, cue the deep male voice narrator) will mankind be able to rise above the threat of nuclear weapons? The End. Cut to commercial.

“First Spaceship on Venus” (1960)

=======================

If you are a Baby Boomer, did you feel the same mixture of optimism and dread? If you are younger, have your parents told you about this?

Leave a comment below.