This is my ninth year of blogging the A to Z Challenge. Everyday I will share something about my family’s life during 1950. This was a year that the USA federal census was taken and the first one that I appear in. At the end of each post I will share a book from my childhood collection.
My father, Rev. Albert B. Cleage, spoke up for peace consistently throughout his life. In 1948 he signed a A Plea for Peace – April 1948. In 1966 he ran for Congress on a platform against the War in Vietnam, Cleage for Congress – 1966 and his church ran a draft counseling program to help those who did not want to go into the military and fight in Vietnam. As I recall, he signed petitions for peace while he was in college in the 1940s, before WW 2, unfortunately I have no documentation and no one is left to ask.
I thought it was interesting that at the same time as Rev. Cleage was opposing war, his cousin was one of the “Negro Troops” in the middle of the war. John Harvey, Jr. was the son of my father’s first cousin, Marie who was the daughter of my grandmother Pearl Reed Cleage‘s sister Sarah Reed Busby.
Newsletter Urges End to War in Korea, UN Seat for China
Dean Merriman, Rev. Albert B. Cleage, Jr. Among Authors of New Peace Movement Publication
Urging an immediate cease fire movement of Korea by both sides and the seating of “New China” in the United Nations, a group here yesterday launched “a peace movement” by sending out an “information bulletin” quoting excerpts from various magazine and newspaper articles attacking Gen. Douglas MacArthur and President Rhee of South Korea.
The group backing the pamphlet is mad up of Dean Thornton W. Merriam of Springfield College, Rev. Albert B. Cleage, Jr. of Springfield College, Maxwell H. Tasgal, Charles H. Haygood and Prof. Frank A. Warren of Springfield College.
The bulletin claims that the press in America beats the drums for war but in the “avalanche of war propaganda” a voice appears now and then which tells the truth. Among the organs quoted in criticism of Gen MacArthur’s action in Korea and President Rhee are the Associated Press, Catholic Irish Times, Manchester Guardian, The Nation, New York Compass and several radio commentators.
“W e are moving along the road toward casually lists too horrible to envisage.” says the bulletin. “The time is late but it is not too late to halt the slaughter of Americans, of Koreans, of Chinese and of all peoples. Peace in Korea is the first step toward peace throughout the world. Work and fight for peace in Korea.”
The bulletin urges that the citizens make their views known to President Truman, Secretary of State Acheson, and United Nations representative Warren R. Austin. Besides asking for cease fire orders in Korea, citizens should urge, it asserts, that a conference of all parties to the dispute in Korea including North and South Korea and New China be held.
It says that there is great danger the the “little war in Korea.” will turn into “a big war with China.”
Prof. Warren said last night that the movement is “purely local.”
In every war I think there are a lot of families with people who disagree on the right way to deal with international crises. In my family my mother’s side are mostly Quaker pacifists and my father’s side mostly those who would enlist.
K is for Knowledge
There are and he and his younger cousin weren’t really in touch. I just found it interesting to find the conflicting news articles.
great articles found with info pointed out on both sides.
I was glad to be able to find both of those articles.
My father’s cousin went Missing in Action in Korea after a Communist attack on their forward patrol. He was never found and I can only hope he wasn’t tortured and imprisoned. It devastated his parents and they never really recovered from it.
War brings such devastation and misery.
I hope so too. It would be something from which one would never recover.
Makes me remember that song “War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!”