50 Yeceta Abteit 'D-Dag
Rideau 06 Getuanut
LESLEY PEARL STAFF WRITER
Imi) onald Goldstein remembers
be-bop, cheering to news-
reels of President Franklin
Delano Roosevelt, rations,
and soldiers who broke his
older sister's heart.
"It was the good war," he said. "And it
changed everything."
Donald was a fifth-grader attending el-
ementary school outside of Hampton, Va.
on June 6, 1944 — D-Day — the day that
began the end of World War II. School was
let out early that day. And although young,
Donald understood why.
"I came from a place that was war. GIs
shipped out of here all the time and I sold
them newspapers. For four years they (sol-
diers) dated my sister and then went off to
war," Mr. Goldstein said.
A retired U.S. Air Force colonel, Mr. Gold-
stein teaches public and international affairs
at the University of Pittsburgh. His nostal-
gia for, and expertise about, World War II
never dwindled, though.
With co-authors Katherine Dillon and
Michael Wenger, Mr. Goldstein completed
his most recent chronicling of the war,
D-Day Normandy: The Story and
Photographs.
A compilation of 440 photographs from
archives, including the National Aerospace
Museum, the Smithsonian and photogra-
phers and collectors around the world, D-
Day Normandy mixes art and text to
portray the antagonists, equipment, prepa-
ration, beaches and aftermath of the Amer-
ican soldiers' invasion at Normandy.
In addition, Mr. Goldstein has served as
a consultant for television specials about
World War II for PBS, ABC News and the
Arts and Entertainment Network.
His students don't know much about
World War II or D-Day when entering the
classroom. Mr. Goldstein often hears, "What
is D-Day?" or "what did it mean?"
"Simply, D-Day was the day. It came from
World War I. D means day, H means hour.
You have to knoW history, know where you
came from to know where you're going," Mr.
Goldstein said. "During the war, nothing
was too bad at home. When you went to the
movies and they played the Star Spangled
Banner, you stood up. You
D-Day: The
cheered for FDR even though
start of
he hadn't been too popular
feminism.
prior to the war.
"D-Day was the culmina-
tion. We put the war behind
us, but it shaped who we are and has a lot
to say about America and its trouble ad-
justing to life without the Cold War."
Before World War II America was "in
isolation — somewhat naive." The war sent
young men to foreign countries and took
masses of women from the kitchen to the
factories. The Holocaust woke individuals
up to anti-Semitism and hatred. Mr. Gold-
stein believes the war shaped feminism, de-
segregation and technology. It brought
education to the average American through
the G.I. Bill and unified the Donald
Goldstein:
country. America emerged "the Writing
about
strongest nation in the world." D-Day.
"The New York Jew and the
hayseed from Kansas and the
slick boy from California were
all shipped out together and had to get
along. Everyone became more human.
Everyone became more equal," Mr. Gold-
stein said. `World War II is glamorized be-
cause it was all of that and boogie woogie,
`Chattanooga Choo Choo,' 'Tennessee Junc-
tion' and Benny Goodman, too. It's John
Wayne and From Here To Eternity.
"We knew why we were fighting this war
and we won. There was and will only be one
Hitler and he's almost too bad to talk about.
So a soldier was a big gun."
Mr. Goldstein calls the Gulf War "a side
show," Vietnam "a catastrophe" and World
War II "sexy."
"It (the war) wasn't all great. But D-Day
was a crusade against the infidels. It's hard
for a younger generation to understand. I
feel it's up to me to tell that history," Mr.
Goldstein said.
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