American author and legendary retired network television journalist, Tom Brokaw, in his 1998 book, “The Greatest Generation” made the assertion that Americans born between 1901 and 1927 who survived the Great Depression to then fight in World War II were indeed America’s greatest generation. This writer not only fervently agrees but is also proud to add that my late Dad, Dr. Edward J. Dillon was part of Brokaw’s venerated group.
The United States “greatest generation” answered the “moment” of their time by joining the armed forces to defeat the fascist regimes of the “Axis” formed by Nazi Germany, Italy and Japan during WWII. Interestingly, according to the Trump administration, the Greatest Generation are Antifa terrorists.
Beyond being a part of Antifa, the Trump administration would also label my Dad as a “socialist” or possibly even a “communist” as his life’s work after WWII was serving the educational interests of at-risk children, which included getting such young innocents’ breakfast and lunches which they weren’t getting at home. To my Dad, physical hunger and education were incompatible partners…
In fighting the power of political labels and their dehumanizing intent, please let me briefly tell you about my Dad who was part of Antifa and was a “socialist”
Edward J. Dillon, my Dad, was born in 1923 to a single mother who suffered complications in the delivery room that disabled her for the rest of her life. There were no malpractice lawsuits back then. There also weren’t any government safety nets to aid my grandmother. Luckily, my Dad’s two aunts lived close by in West Philadelphia and raised him.
They didn’t have much, but those ladies were resilient. Beyond being seamstresses, they rented out rooms in their house to University of Pennsylvania students. They also ran a modest “bootlegging” business out of their basement selling wine (it was the Prohibition era…) to some of the undergraduates in their local community.
Beyond providing, my Dad’s aunts did something even more wonderful for him. They introduced him to college students who took an interest in him. Through this informal and early immersion in college life, my Dad developed a deep passion for education. In addition, Ed Dillon had ardent feelings for his country and the importance of serving it as both his Dad, in WWI, and grandfather in the Civil War, both served in the US Navy.
It was against this backdrop that my Dad, just prior to his junior year at La Salle College in 1943, enrolled in Villanova University’s new and accelerated V-12 program instead. In retrospect, the V-12 program was an initiative sponsored by the US Navy to get new naval officers into the theater of war as quickly as possible in preparation for final invasions that would ultimately end WWII.
To this end, in October 1943, Villanova’s V-12 juniors, including my Dad, were ordered to the USNR Midshipman school at Northwestern University. From there, in the words of my Dad, in an article he penned for Villanova, a Magazine for Alumni, Family and Friends in 1995 called “Global Odyssey” on the 50th anniversary of VJ Day:
“In early March 1944, we were commissioned as ensigns and assigned to the fleet. And for the “Fedigan Group” (my Dad’s group) they “were directed to the Fourth Flotilla LCI(L)s (infantry landing craft) preparing for sea in New York Harbor. Our final stateside training was completed in the Chesapeake Bay. By mid-spring we were part of a huge convoy enroute to Gibraltar…”
“…On August 15th, 1944, we (the Fedigan group referenced above) were the first invasion of southern France…”with a mission to land the veteran 3rd Infantry Division that was under the command of legendary “Iron Mike” O’Daniels. One of its young officers, Audie Murphy, would become the most decorated soldier in WWII…”
With the completion of European amphibious operations in 1945, my Dad’s flotilla was reassigned to Cold Bay in the Aleutian Islands to rendezvous with the Russian Siberian Navy in preparation for a final invasion of Japan. Fortunately for my Dad, this invasion never happened and after several other assignments in the wake of VJ day, Ed Dillon found himself back on Villanova’s campus in the summer of 1946 as part of what quickly became a vibrant GI campus scene largely sponsored by the GI Bill. He went on to finish his undergrad at Villanova where he also earned a master’s degree in counseling and education before earning a Ph.D. from Temple University in educational psychology years later.
Here, it is worth noting the transformational nature of the GI Bill which was a landmark 1944 law signed by President Roosevelt that helped millions of returning WWII veterans pay for college, buy homes and find jobs. Importantly, the GI Bill wasn’t a handout as many economists, in hindsight of the bill, have estimated that every dollar spent on the GI Bill returned many times over in tax revenue from higher-earning citizens.
In querying Google Gemini a step further on how impactful the GI Bill was on a still nascent and fragile US middle class in the wake of the Great Depression that preceded WWII, my AI agent seemed to take exception to the ask and responded with:
“The post-World War II American middle class was not merely nascent; it rapidly expanded into a historic mass phenomenon. Fueled by the GI Bill, VA loans, and a booming manufacturing economy, millions of working-class families transitioned into home ownership and suburban life.” My Dad, who came from humble origins, was part of this powerful phenomenon.
During his Ph.D. work as well as after, Ed Dillon worked as a teacher and school administrator in the Delaware school system for decades with specific expertise in developmental education on which he authored several books. Part of his work took him to some of the most challenged inner-city schools in the Wilmington Delaware area where he shared two of his most important insights that he was willing to share with me when his career wound down.
From my Dad’s perspective, if young children didn’t get the building blocks of foundational ABC’s as well as basic math by the time they were four years old; those same children were particularly vulnerable to immediately fall behind once they hit the school system. Once there and being “behind” such children would become part of a vicious cycle of “kicking the child” down the road until high school graduation, if impacted kids even got made it that far.
Beyond an awareness of the importance of education building blocks early on in a child’s aspiring life, my Dad also noticed the importance of or “lack of” nutrition on a child’s ability to learn. The worst school situations my Dad saw also featured malnourished children. It was against this backdrop that Ed Dillon, who was now Dr. Edward J. Dillon, was thrilled to see some of the Great Society Programs of the Johnson administration such as the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 which expanded nutritional assistance for children in need with an establishment of the School Breakfast Program and improving a school lunch framework.
According to the Trump administration, if alive today, my Dad would be considered an Antifa terrorist as well as a “socialist” or worse yet, a “communist”. The writer couldn’t disagree more and I am proud to say that quietly, my Dad was a great man.
Defining fascism and uncomfortable truths…
Fascism is a far-right authoritarian and ultranationalist political system. It is led by a powerful dictator and puts the nation, and its dictator, above individual rights and uses strict military power, censorship and violence to crush any opposition.
In opposition to fascism is anti-fascism which has been dubbed by the Trump administration as Antifa. Here, the writer will cut to the chase. Last September, President Trump, by executive order, dubbed Antifa as a domestic terror organization with the following opening description to the order:
“Antifa is a militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law.”
White House: Designating Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization
Interestingly, a few ironic perplexities quickly emerge relative to the fascist versus antifascist clarifications provided above:
Tom Brokaw’s Greatest Generation, including my Dad, would be considered as Antifa terrorists by the current administration. President Trump would even go far as to say that those who died fighting the forces of fascism were “suckers”.
The Atlantic: Trump — Americans Who Died at War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’
President Trump was instrumental in fomenting the January 6th riot in 2021 that had intent to harm US politicians and overthrow the results of the 2020 US Presidential election. Trump himself has arguably incriminated himself in this action by attempting to compensate the January 6th insurrectionists $1.8 billion as payment for the prosecution these individuals faced after their actions as a mob killed DC police officer, Brian Sicknick.
Created by US Department of Homeland Security in response to the 9/11 terrorist attack, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency that was close to being disbanded then become the most well-funded US federal law enforcement agency because of the Trump Administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB).
ICE’s actions since being so generously funded have been largely controversial as federal judges have overwhelmingly ruled against and criticized the agency’s detention policies. But ICE, with the backing of an “immune” President Trump, have ignored every judgement.
Last January, during an ICE operation in the Minneapolis area, ICE agents killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti which sparked significant public outcry as neither citizen was armed and fatal force was far from necessary. Since this tragic and avoidable set of events, ICE operations have taken an additional turn for the worse with what are now illegal monitoring activities on groups in the Minneapolis area that have been meeting for the purpose of strategizing on how to protest ICE actions. Please note that the story below, comes from Fox News.
In the wake of such actions referenced above, critics are increasingly calling ICE for what it is, an increasingly militarized secret police force, the type of which were actively used by fascist regimes that caused WWII and the deaths of millions of people before and during the conflict.
The Trump administration and its Pentagon are feverishly working through policy (threatening the broadcasting license of ABC for not firing Jimmy Kimmel…) as well as helping to stifle a free press through regulation, or lack thereof, that has allowed a narrow group of families who ardently support a “Greater Israel” to gain a commanding ownership of the entire US media landscape.
Readers, please draw your own conclusions on the irony that exists within the factual observations provided above when they are connected…
Back to my Dad who was also a “socialist”…or even a “communist” in the current political conversation
Beyond being a member of Antifa, as a lifelong advocate for school breakfast and lunch programs for impoverished children relative to the current administration’s actions to aggressively cut such programs via the administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill; my Dad could be labeled as a socialist or even a communist in the current political moment.
There is much to unpack with political labels being hurled recklessly about in in the buildup to this year’s US midterms. Labels such as “socialist” or “communist” are not only too easy to make but are also intended to “dehumanize” and vilify the political opposition.
It is from this perspective that if such accusations are to be used, the writer implores those casting these political “stones” to at least be clear on what their accusations definitionally are. The excerpt below from Gemini aims to do just that as it provides a compare and contrast of socialism versus communism versus progressive politics which are…:
“Socialism, communism, and progressivism are distinct left-of-center political and economic philosophies. Socialism features public or cooperative control of major industries within a mixed economy, communism seeks the total abolition of private property through a single-party state, and progressivism focuses on reforming capitalism through regulation and robust social welfare programs…”
In taking this conversation a step further given recent political traction of Islamic progressive politicians, such as Zohran Mamdani and Abdul El-Sayed, the writer next queried Gemini on whether either or both of these politicians or socialists to learn:
“Neither Zohran Mamdani nor Abdul El-Sayed is a communist. Mamdani is an open democratic socialist, while El-Sayed identifies as a progressive Democrat rather than a socialist, though both share policy goals focused on economic and social equality within a democratic framework
And on Mamdani’s being defined as a “socialist” above, let’s also be clear on what that actually means which is:
Mamdani, “…supports reforms like rent freezes, universal childcare, free public transit, and higher taxes on the wealthy, working entirely within the democratic electoral system rather than seeking a one-party state or the abolition of private property.”
Let’s also be clear, that Mamdani’s politics are not unique from a developed world perspective when one considers that roughly 32 to 33 advanced industrialized nations have universal healthcare. The United States is the notable exception and particularly stands out as the only wealthy, developed nation without a system that guarantees healthcare coverage for all of its residents. Source: Wiklpedia
Interestingly, Israel, which receives approximately $4 billion in annual support from US taxpayers, offers not only free healthcare but also free education for all of its citizens.
Bottom Line
In the interest of being identified as cost offsets to fund ICE and a greater defense budget within the above referenced OBBB, food programs such as the ones my Dad felt passionately about are being cut. Beyond eliminating such fundamental basics, it appears to be convenient for the Trump administration to label anyone that speaks up for such benefits as being a “socialist” and or a communist. My Dad was neither.
Edward J. Dillon, as was the case with his generation, answered the call to defeat the forces of fascism embedded within the Axis of Nazi Germany, Italy and Japan. Many died doing so including half of my Dad’s high school graduating class. They weren’t “suckers”. They were patriots of the highest order.
And while I miss my Dad, I am grateful that he didn’t live long enough to see the post below from President Trump. Let’s be clear. No member of the Trump family, including President Trump, has ever served in the US military.
In addition, neither Patton nor MacArthur would have secretly abandoned an airplane thought to be in danger via a food cart while also leaving behind their unaware team, including Secretary of State Rubio and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who resigned hours after this incident occurred, behind. For those not familiar with the details of this story, please see attached coverage from CNN. As an aside, this story screams to be skeptical of any claims that Iran has been decimated in the surprise war that was thrust upon by the US and Israel this year.
CNN: Iran threat / Turkey plane
The temerity of the picture below becomes even more severe relative to the stark reality that the US military, due to irresponsible handling of the Trump administration, has lost a war it started with Iran and has lost control of the Strait of Hormuz which wasn’t even a contested waterway when this year began. Beyond this scalding reality is the additional appalling state of politics under Trump who believes, when one connects the dots, that Patton and MacArthur not only represent Antifa but also sent a bunch of “suckers” to their deaths fighting fascist forces that increasingly look like what the Trump administration has become.
In conclusion, my Dad was neither a terrorist or a socialist. Instead, he was a man born to a disabled single mother in West Philadelphia, raised by bootlegging seamstresses, who somehow landed on the beaches of southern France, earned a PhD, and spent his career feeding hungry children. He was a great man.