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THE DANGERS OF DOING AWAY WITH MONSTERS-REFLECTIONS OF A SOLDIER
FIGHTING HITLER  
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Gene Bruskin
November 13, 2025
The Stansbury Forum

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_ The hypocritical “Thank you for your service” continues today
as vets struggle to earn a living and recover from endless wars. The
best we could do as “patriots” is to end US militarism and thank
teachers, nurses and others for their service. _

Gene Bruskin’s father before entering military service in early
1940s,

 

My father, John Bruskin, served in WWII, and received two Purple
Hearts when he was blown out of the tanks he was driving. While in the
military he used a service they provided to record a series of
“45s”, 7-inch vinal records, and send them to my mom, Gertrude.
This “poem” is a compilation of his messages to my mom from France
and other military locations. His hopes and anguish are palpable.

He had been a young Jewish activist in the Communist Party in
Philadelphia in the late 30’s but left the Party, disillusioned by
its top-down structure.  Working in a radio repair shop when WWII
broke out, he entered the service to fight fascism and ironically
endured antisemitism while being trained in Georgia.

Although the notion of PTSD didn’t exist then, my father was clearly
impacted for the rest of his life. He died young at 61 having been a
TV repairman his entire life. The war never left his consciousness. I
remember while growing up our summer “vacations” were yearly trips
to gatherings of The Fourth Armored Division, held in a variety of
cities, giving my father a couple days with the guys to reminisce and
leaving me and my sisters bored and playing on the elevators. He read
every book he could find on the war and watched every news reel
documentary shown on TV.

Like many from the “greatest generation” the defeat of Nazism and
the ascendancy of the US as the world’s superpower didn’t do him
much good. He essentially worked himself to death, died without health
insurance or even a bank account. The hypocritical notion of “Thank
you for your service” continues today and vets struggle to earn a
living and recover from service in endless US initiated wars. The best
we could do as “patriots” is to end US militarism and thank the
teachers and nurses and many others for their service in making our
country function. 

THE DANGERS OF DOING AWAY WITH MONSTERS

(RECORDED WORDS OF JOHN BRUSKIN DURING WW II)

Gert,

Monsters are roaming the earthDinosaurs, leaving anguish, pain, death
and sorrow in their wakeThat’s why I’m somewhere far awayFighting
to get rid of these creaturesSo our children will never see such
thingsIt has to be done now, right?

 
It’s not an easy lifeWe all try to keep our chin upMillions of usNo
complainingNo getting sad, you know

 
Don’t worryI’m going to surviveGet that one-way ticket home Some
dayPretty sure

 
We can start over where we left off Like that wonderful day when we
were so excited When we permanently joined as man and wifeThe nicest
day of my life And yours too, huh? 

 
Sure, we’re poorBut we’ll manage A little place of our own, our
dream spot Our beautiful little baby gal FrancieMaybe another one
later

 
And I have you. That’s what makes life worth living. 

 
So that’s itWe don’t want muchThe simple things in life We
don’t ask for more

 
But it’s out of the question todayAnd that makes me very
sadEspecially after seeing the baby for the first timeShe’s so
cute She’ll be a fine girlLike her mother is Like her mother
always was

 
So be a good soldier GertKeep your chin up You are strong You got
common sense You understand what’s taking place

 
I feel from the bottom of my soul This thing will be over We will be
together and never be separated.Perhaps it’s inevitable for many of
us to go. We all hope and pray it don’t happen.But if it
happensWell, you understand.Don’t you Gert?

…

 

_GENE BRUSKIN IS A RETIRED 45 YEAR VETERAN OF LABOR AND INTERNATIONAL
SOLIDARITY WORK. HE HAS SERVED AS A USWA LOCAL PRESIDENT, SPENT TWO
YEARS AS JESSE JACKSON’S LABOR DIRECTOR IN THE 1990S AND 10 YEARS AS
SECRETARY TREASURER OF THE FOOD AND ALLIED SERVICE TRADES OF THE
AFL-CIO. HE WAS THE UFCW JUSTICE@SMITHFIELD CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR
ORGANIZING 5,000 MEATPACKING WORKERS IN NORTH CAROLINA IN 2008. DURING
THE IRAQ WAR HE WAS A FOUNDER OF US LABOR AGAINST THE WAR AND HAS DONE
EXTENSIVE INTERNATIONAL LABOR SOLIDARITY WORK FOR STRUGGLES IN CENTRAL
AMERICA, SOUTH AFRICA, CUBA , THE PHILIPPINES, IRAQ AND
ISRAEL/PALESTINE . HE RECENTLY HELPED ESTABLISH THE NATIONAL LABOR
NETWORK FOR CEASEFIRE IN GAZA. HE IS CURRENTLY MENTORING AMAZON
WORKERS IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS SINCE RETIREMENT FROM AFT IN 2012 HE HAS
WRITTEN AND PRODUCED 3 MUSICALS, AND HIS CURRENT PRODUCTION IS CALLED
THE RETURN OF JOHN BROWN. (WWW.THERETURNOFJOHNBROWN.COM
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* World War 2
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* military service
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* Veterans
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