TULSA, Okla. — Kurt Vonnegut, popular American writer who first penned the iconic phrase “And so it goes,” would have turned 100-years-old Friday.
His writing sparked inspiration and controversy among readers for over five decades. On the 100th anniversary of his birth, Magic City Books reflected on another aspect of Vonnegut’s life — his time serving in the U.S. Army during World War II (WWII).
Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis, and he attended Cornell University before he enlisted in the U.S. Army during WWII. On Dec. 19, 1944, Vonnegut was captured by German soldiers. Reflecting on the moment his unit was captured, Vonnegut wrote, “Bayonets aren’t much good against tanks.”
“[Vonnegut’s work] is incredibly linked to his time as a prisoner of war,” said Pat Cawiezell, manager of Magic City Books. “Kind of witnessing the bombing of Dresden certainly influenced specific works like Slaughterhouse Five, but it kind of runs through a lot of his work as well.”
Cawiezell explained that without his experience as a veteran, some of Vonnegut’s most iconic works wouldn’t have been written.
While he was a prisoner of war, Vonnegut witnessed the Allied bombing of Dresden, Germany, and was forced to dig out dead and charred bodies after the bombing. Slaughterhouse Five, one of his most notable works, centers around WWII veteran Billy Pilgrim’s capture by the German Army and his survival of the bombing.
Vonnegut’s semi-autobiographic novel has been referred to as an example of “unmatched moral clarity” by The New York Times.
Cawiezell told FOX23 that even after 100 years, they still have plenty of customers coming in who are looking for Vonnegut’s books or are discovering him for the first time.
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