The Sound of Sirens: Childhood in the Shadow of War
Wambui Bahati takes us on a heartfelt journey through her childhood and young adulthood shaped by the shadow of war. From the tense alarm drills of the 1950s to the heavy atmosphere surrounding the Vietnam War, Wambui reflects on the conflicting messages of peace versus conflict that colored her upbringing. She shares how, despite being taught that fighting solves nothing, the world around her continued to spiral into conflict. With vivid stories and poignant observations, Wambui dives into the complexities of war and its long-lasting effects on veterans and communities. Ultimately, she expresses a deep yearning for a world where dialogue and understanding triumph over fighting, leaving us all to ponder the true cost of conflict.
In this moving episode of "70 Years and Beyond," Wambui Bahati shares her personal journey through the backdrop of war, from the alarm drills of her childhood in the 1950s and 1960s to the profound impact of the Vietnam War during her teenage years and early adulthood. With vivid memories of duck-and-cover drills, the constant threat of the unknown enemy, and the community's reaction to the Vietnam War, Wambui reflects on the contrasting messages of peace and conflict she received growing up. She delves into the complexities of war, its lasting effects on veterans, and her wish for a world where conflicts are resolved not through fighting but through dialogue and understanding. Join Wambui as she navigates the realization that despite being taught that fighting solves nothing, wars continue to shape our world. This episode is a heartfelt exploration of hope, resilience, and the quest for peace in a tumultuous era. #VietnamWarReflections #PathToPeace #NostalgicWisdom
Wambui Bahati's storytelling is a window into the tumultuous world of the 1950s and 1960s, a time when fear was a constant companion for children like her. In this episode, she recounts the alarm drills of her elementary school days, where the phrase 'duck and cover' became second nature as sirens blared through Greensboro, NC. With a casual yet poignant tone, Wambui shares her bewilderment about these drills—how could hiding under a desk protect anyone from a nuclear attack? Through her lighthearted yet serious reflections, she captures the absurdity of it all, revealing how such practices instilled a deep-seated anxiety about the unknown enemy lurking just beyond the horizon. Wambui's musings serve as a reminder of the innocence lost in the face of global threats, as she navigates her childhood under the shadow of the Cold War and the Vietnam War.
As Wambui grows into her teenage years, the narrative shifts to the Vietnam War, which profoundly impacted her community and her own understanding of conflict. She shares the stories of friends and neighbors who were drafted, highlighting the confusion and fear that accompanied these life-altering decisions. Wambui's insights reveal the emotional toll of war on young men who were sent halfway around the world to fight in a conflict they barely understood. She reflects on the broader societal response to the war, including protests and the anti-war movement, capturing the essence of a generation grappling with the morality of war and the sacrifices demanded of them. Through Wambui's eyes, we witness the struggle for peace amidst chaos, as she articulates the longing for understanding and resolution in a world plagued by violence.
The episode culminates in Wambui's heartfelt plea for a future where dialogue replaces conflict. She draws on the lessons learned in her youth—how adults taught her that fighting never solved anything—contrasting it with the harsh realities of the world today. Wambui's reflections are a powerful reminder of the human cost of war and the enduring hope for peace. Her journey is not just a personal narrative but a universal call for empathy, understanding, and the belief that we can navigate our differences through conversation rather than combat.
Takeaways:
- Wambui reflects on the alarm drills of her childhood, highlighting the fear they instilled during the Cold War era.
- She shares her confusion about the Vietnam War, illustrating how young people often struggle to grasp complex global conflicts.
- Wambui emphasizes the impact of war on veterans, advocating for their rightful support and acknowledgment upon returning home.
- The episode explores the irony of being taught that fighting solves nothing, yet witnessing ongoing global conflicts.
- Wambui's heartfelt wish is for a world where dialogue replaces violence in resolving disputes, urging listeners to seek understanding instead of conflict.
- With vivid anecdotes, she paints a picture of the turbulent times, reminding us of the importance of peace and resilience.
Transcript
At least a few times in elementary school, someone would tell us how to duck under our desk in case we were attacked.
Speaker A:I didn't know then and I don't know now how that was supposed to protect us.
Speaker A:But we were told that if we were attacked to couch under our desk.
Speaker A:We were also told about fallout shelters and that we should get to the nearest fallout shelter.
Speaker A:And I didn't think about this at the time, but now that I look back on it, we're talking about the 50s Jim Crow, where we, people that look like me, were not even allowed to go in the front door of a movie theater.
Speaker A:So who was going to let me in a fallout shelter?
Speaker A:But we were told to go to a fallout shelter.
Speaker A:And at that time I was good with that.
Speaker A:We would go to a fallout shelter if we were attacked.
Speaker A:Now, who were we supposed to be attacked by?
Speaker A:I would hear Soviet Union all the time.
Speaker A:Soviet Union.
Speaker A:The Soviet Union could attack us.
Speaker A:That's what I was hearing now on Saturdays at noon.
Speaker A:Every Saturday in my city, I lived in Greensboro, N.C.
Speaker A:at Saturdays at noon, there would be this alarm, this siren that would alarm throughout the whole city.
Speaker A:You could hear it throughout the whole city and even some surrounding cities could hear this siren that would go off at noon on Saturdays.
Speaker A:I was told that that was an alert that would go off, that on Saturdays at noon.
Speaker A:What we're hearing is just the test.
Speaker A:But if we were ever attacked, I suppose if the Soviet Union ever attacked us, that alarm would go off to alert everybody that we're being attacked.
Speaker A:And if we heard that sound, if we were at school, we would crouch under our desk and.
Speaker A:Or if we were not at school, we would try to find the nearest fallout shelter.
Speaker A:Now, I always, even as a child, I just always thought, well, if I was the enemy and I wanted to attack you, why wouldn't I just attack you on Saturday at noon?
Speaker A:Because that way everybody would just believe it was a test.
Speaker A:I never understood why they just wouldn't take advantage of that.
Speaker A:12:00 noon.
Speaker A:And everybody would be confused as to whether it was real or not.
Speaker A:Then.
Speaker A:I remember on the TV we had what was called test patterns.
Speaker A:And the test patterns.
Speaker A:The test pattern, I remember two things about it.
Speaker A:I recall the test pattern.
Speaker A:When the TV went off, there was an hour, I think it was like midnight, that the tv, when we were young, the TV would go off and there would be no programs overnight.
Speaker A:The TV would come back on again the next morning.
Speaker A:So when they played the Star Spangled Banner.
Speaker A:Oh, say, can you.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Oh, Star Spangled Banner was the last thing you would hear on the TV before they'd put up a test pattern.
Speaker A:And that test pattern is what would stay up overnight until the TV's channels opened up again and they started programming, sending out the programs again.
Speaker A:But also, I remember test patterns.
Speaker A:Every now and then, there'd be a test pattern, and again, a little alarm would go off, and a voice would say, this is just a test.
Speaker A:But if we were really having an emergency, this is what you would hear.
Speaker A:So we had those test patterns.
Speaker A:Now, for me, all of these things combined did instill a sense of fear to the.
Speaker A:To the point where there were many nights where I could not go to sleep because I was concerned that we might be attacked, because it always seemed like we had an enemy out there that wanted to attack us and drop bombs on us.
Speaker A:And we never knew, though, what moment that was.
Speaker A:That's why we had all these test alarms, so that we could be alerted if something happened.
Speaker A: e forget, actually started in: Speaker A:So I was five when the war actually started.
Speaker A: ,: Speaker A: Between: Speaker A:And I really was not even aware of the Vietnam War until I was a teenager, because it wasn't until I was, like, in my teens that I was able to understand what was happening.
Speaker A:There were people in our community, in our neighborhood, people at my school who had siblings who were being drafted, who were being sent to Vietnam.
Speaker A:And to me, that was just a thought.
Speaker A:I could not.
Speaker A:I had a hard time, and to this day, I have a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that you're being sent around halfway around the world when you never even left the Carolinas.
Speaker A:Now you're being sent someplace, and your mission is to fight, kill someone or be killed.
Speaker A:Unfortunately, there were a lot of Americans, a lot from our community that were killed, came back maimed.
Speaker A:There were people who were in trouble because they didn't want to go to fight.
Speaker A:So they were got.
Speaker A:They were caught lying on the forms, or they were in hiding, or they moved away or they were trying to get away because they didn't want to go to the war.
Speaker A:A lot of people that I know were really against the war because nobody really understood.
Speaker A:Even me as a teenager in high school, I never really got a real good grasp of why we were going over there to fight.
Speaker A:What I later came to understand is, and I'm just going to simplify it is that there were.
Speaker A:There was the North Vietnamese and the South Vietnamese, the North Vietnamese, the Communists wanted to take over.
Speaker A:The South Vietnamese wanted to hold Vietnam to be under their communist rule.
Speaker A:And the United States and other countries, too.
Speaker A:But the United States decided, well, we can't let that happen.
Speaker A:Because I believe it was John F.
Speaker A:Kennedy who used the term the domino effect.
Speaker A:If they get that, if they can take the South Vietnam, then what's to stop them from just taking and taking and taking and taking.
Speaker A:And so.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:So we.
Speaker A:We were not.
Speaker A:We.
Speaker A: y was killed, assassinated in: Speaker A:And President Johnson then started sending more and more and more troops over.
Speaker A:That's when just a lot of young American men were being sent over to Vietnam to fight.
Speaker A:There were protests.
Speaker A:And so when I went to college, because this war, the Vietnam War, lasted 20 years.
Speaker A:I was 5 when it started, and I was 25 when it officially ended, although it was 73 when we pulled our troops out.
Speaker A:There are people who said, we shouldn't be fighting over there.
Speaker A:What are we fighting for?
Speaker A:We shouldn't be involved.
Speaker A:And then I remember, of course, there were people who wrote songs, War, what Is It Good For?
Speaker A:There was the Temptations had a song called War, what Is It Good For?
Speaker A:The lyrics would go, absolutely nothing.
Speaker A:And then there was singer Edwin Starr, who also made that, had a hit of that song.
Speaker A:And then there were just lots.
Speaker A:I mean, there were songs, protest songs, people.
Speaker A:There was poetry, there was plays, there was hair that was on Broadway that focused on this war and young men being drafted and how they felt about it.
Speaker A:I just remember the Vietnam War just was this thing that just hung over us.
Speaker A:And to this day, I feel like anybody that put on a uniform and went to fight, to fight to sacrifice your life, even if he didn't die, but just the sacrifice that you made to go fight that you shouldn't want for anything.
Speaker A:And that's why it's so.
Speaker A:Breaks my heart when I see vets that are having a hard time.
Speaker A:I feel like if you went to do that, you should never want for anything.
Speaker A:When you come back, back home, you should not want for anything.
Speaker A:But I digress.
Speaker A:To me, the saddest thing was when we pulled our troops back home in 73 and the war went on for a couple of more years, and then it was declared over.
Speaker A:But the North Vietnamese, it is my understanding they got what they wanted anyway.
Speaker A:So it was 20 years of fighting.
Speaker A:So many lost lives, so many destroyed families.
Speaker A:And in the end, it didn't really make a difference.
Speaker A:One of the things about war that really amazes me, Even today at 74 years old, I don't understand.
Speaker A:I don't understand.
Speaker A:When we were children and even in high school, if somebody got into a fight, if kids got into a fight, it was like, oh, fighting never solved anything.
Speaker A:We must learn to talk it out, think it out, sort it out, reason, discuss, share ideas.
Speaker A:You know.
Speaker A:Now, I used to hear this when I was very young.
Speaker A:If somebody, kids got into a tussle or a fight, it was like, oh, fighting never solved anything.
Speaker A:And because the adults were telling me this, I assumed that by the time I really did, I swear to God, I really believed that by the time I became an adult, we wouldn't have any more wars because we would.
Speaker A:Would have evolved to the point where we would just sit around a table, or our leaders would sit around a table and they would talk, reason, compromise, you know, make it work without having to actually fight someone.
Speaker A:So we're not at that point yet.
Speaker A: So today is: Speaker A:We have a lot of messy stuff that's going on.
Speaker A:And I.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:Without sounding foolish or sounding like a child, I really do wish we would get to that point where we could just sit around a table.
Speaker A:Our leaders could sit around a table and just talk it out and be reasonable and reason and compromise and say, okay, you take this and I'm going to take that, or you have this and I have that.
Speaker A:It seems like we should be able to do that.
Speaker A:Hmm.
Speaker A:War.
