My husband has been reading Flyboys by James Bradley, and told me about American General William “Billy” Mitchell. Mitchell was one of the first men to be convinced that airpower would radically change warfare forever. This was after World War I, when planes were flimsy and wars were fought by ground and naval forces. Mitchell urged the United States to beef up the air force, especially as Japan mobilized for war. He was court martialled for criticizing his commanders – President Coolidge wrote the order himself – and died insisting he’d eventually be vindicated. And he was, thanks to President F. D. Roosevelt, who came to believe the “Third Dimension” of airpower was crucial to victory. Which it was in World War II, particularly in the Pacific.
I was furious that I’d never heard of General Mitchell. Why aren’t we taught this kind of thing in history class? How can it be that such a man, such a life, could be largely forgotten, a mere generation or two later?
I got into quite a rant about this, which led me to wonder why I got triggered. And of course, as a writer of family history, and someone who teaches workshops about writing family history and memoir, I believe in the importance of people’s lives. I believe:
- People are always more than they appear.
- Everyone has a fascinating life story.
- Most often our lives have ripple effects on the generations that come after us – not just our children, but sometimes grandchildren and beyond. (I hear about this all the time from workshop participants.)
If I think a little more deeply, though, I realize that what I was most upset about is the fact that we all really do disappear after we die. Those who knew us eventually die too, and unless someone has recorded something about us, it’s as if we never existed. Even someone who has had a big impact on the world, like Mitchell. Even someone who has had a big impact on our own lives.
As a genealogist, writer and workshop leader, what I do is make records of people’s lives, and help others to do so as well. To help ensure people are not forgotten. To honour lives that have been lived before us. To reflect in a memoir about a particular life. To make a more indelible mark. Because I think everyone deserves the chance to assert:
I was here.
Agree completely – this is why I write non fiction stuff, too. To document a life, a world, our family. Maybe no one in the future will care but it makes me feel as if the mark we are making is semi-permanent, at least. There’s a great quote by Neil Gaiman that says that you – everyone – should write because no one can write your own story like you can. That only you can tell a story from your own point of view, and that’s worth capturing. The more I write the more I feel like everyone should write – go for it!