Darin Krueger, Brooke Merritt, and Chris Williams

• World War ll began officially in 1939 but attacks began as early as 1931. It lasted until 1945

• Germany’s invasion of Poland noted as cause of the war.

• Featured Allied Powers (Britain, France, The United States) versus the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan)

• The Soviet Union joins the Allies after Germany turns on the Non-Aggression Pact and invades them.

• Fought in Europe, North Africa, and Pacific Asia

• First book of poetry was “Blood for Strange” published in 1942

• Worked as a control tower operator in the Army, which provided inspiration for his poems

• Established reputation in 1945 in his second book of poetry, “Little Friend, Little Friend” which highlights the fear and moral struggles of young soldiers

• Graduated from Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN.

• In 1942 he entered the Army Air Force, but failed to qualify as a flyer and became a celestial training navigator in Tucson, Arizona

• During his nearly four years of service he wrote many poems about the army and the war, accumulating the bulk of his next two books, “Little Friend, Little Friend” (1945) and “Losses” (1948)

• The most quoted poem to come out of WWll

• Jarrell’s title removes all suspense from poem

• Relates some of the experiences that WWll brought