World War II – October 2019

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LONG TIME PASSING

FAMILIAR FACE

In 1942, U.S. Army Private Pete Seeger, a war trainee stateside,

wrote to the California American Legion protesting its call to

deport all Japanese Americans. The letter sparked a military probe

into the folksinger’s background, concluding that the known Com-

munist Party sympathizer was a risk for “divided loyalties”—but

also that Seeger was eager to be transferred overseas to fight fas-

cism. The army eventually decided Seeger best served the country

as an entertainer; he went on to perform in the South Pacific and on

the home front—as above, at a 1944 United Federal Workers of

America event, a happy Eleanor Roosevelt (seated, far right) in

attendance. By 1969 (right) the singer-songwriter’s work, including

“Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” had turned decidedly pacifist.