Words From Walt
Page 15 of 20
December 26
Actually, if you could see close in my eyes, the American flag is waving in both of them and up my spine is growing this red, white and blue stripe. |
The subtitle of the biography on Walt Disney by Bob Thomas is "An American Original." It seems appropriate that the word "American" would describe Walt, as he was quite a patriotic man. He was fond of Americana. He was fond of America's history. And he was fond of being an American.
With America's entry into World War I, many young men wanted to serve their country in battle across the Atlantic Ocean. Walt's brother Roy signed up for service in the Navy and Walt wanted to enlist as well. Unfortunately for Walt, he was too young to fight but when he learned about an opportunity to sign up as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross in Europe, he jumped at the chance. He had to convince his parents to allow for him to go. Elias didn't want to give permission but Flora, fearing that he would run away to sign up anyway, agreed to sign the permission. Walt was technically too young to serve, but he doctored his birth record to read that he was born in the year 1900, not 1901. He would ship out to France and serve his country at the end of the "Great War."
In the 1940s, Walt's patriotism would be on display often. Walt felt that a strike of his animators in 1941 was affected by Communistic interests and he would come to "name names" in testimony in front of the House Committee for Un-American Activities in 1947. While some felt that the inquisition of Hollywood during this time was little more than a witch hunt -- and it ruined people's careers when wrongly accused -- Walt felt he was doing his patriotic duty by bringing attention to the un-American acts that affected his Studios.
Walt would be asked to play Ambassador to South American nations during the latter part of the strike. Sympathy for the Nazi powers was prevalent in some South American nations and the U.S. government hoped that a tour by Walt would help reinforce the artistic and cultural side of the United States as part of the government's Good Neighbor Policy. The tour was quite a success as the people of South America flocked to see the father of Mickey Mouse. Walt was able to make a few pictures that would educate Americans about their neighbors to the south, as well.
On December 7, 1941, Walt was alerted that the Army had taken over Burbank Studios. With the bombing of Pearl Harbor, it was feared that a strike on the West Coast might happen and with the Lockheed production facilities nearby, the Army felt that they could better protect the Los Angeles interests from the Disney Studios. This move would further draw Walt Disney and his company into helping with the war efforts. Walt produced training films to help recruits learn skills such as Four Methods of Flush Riveting and Aircraft Carrier Landing Signals. He would create a Donald Duck cartoon that would convince Americans that it was patriotic to pay their income taxes. Walt would personally finance a feature, Victory Through Air Power, that would influence Allied leaders into increasing the reliance on plane warfare over the use of naval ships. Also at his expense, Walt had his studios design more than 1,400 military insignias saying "Those kids grew up on Mickey Mouse. I owed it to them." Perhaps because of his efforts, the code word for the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-day was "Mickey Mouse."
Walt would continue to show his patriotism throughout his life. His respect and admiration for one of the nation's greatest presidents would result in a stirring tribute of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. Walt's love for the red, white and blue would be continued by his staff with the creation of attractions, such as the Hall of Presidents, the American Adventure and plans for a regional theme park, Disney's America. Americana was a theme in some of his movies. And patriotism would be a theme in much of Walt's life. He not only was an original, but he was proud to be an American as well.
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-- Matthew Walker
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