World war 2

[epicure3]

I actually accompanied Bubba (post #9) to the WWII museum in New Orleans (why we were in Town is a whole other story) because they had expanded the museum to include an exhibit on the war in the Pacific, where my Dad served.

My Dad was a three time All-American basketball player and was in graduate school when he got drafted by the Navy. He had one exam left to graduate and the Navy wouldn't wait until he took it. So when the Marine recruiter came by he signed up with the Marines. Anyway he went to flight school in Green Coves Springs, Fl and was trained to fly F4U Corsairs (think Pappy Boyington/Bah Bah Black Sheep). He also was playing on the Navy basketball team (I don't know whether the Marines had a team) and could have finished the war in the States. However, obviously feeling the call of duty, he was sent to Okinawa, which turned out to be the second deadliest battle in the war (behind the Battle of the Bulge). Over 12,000 Americans died and over 100,000 Japanese soldiers died and who knows how many civilians--but a lot. The Japanese also lost over 7000 planes and Americans over 700 planes--two of which were my Dad's. The first he had to ditch in the ocean and he floated there for two hours until he was plucked out by a fast transport who had to come 20 miles to get him. I never knew the name of the boat and my Dad never talked about it, but about one year ago I got a letter from the grandson of a crewman on the boat who knew about the incident and he was interested in anything I knew (which was nothing but I now knew the name of the boat). It was the Brock (DE-234) and was named after a pilot that had died a few years earlier.

The next plane was one he was trying to land that was all shot up. He got it on the ground but had trouble stopping it because the hydrolics weren't working and he plowed into a sand dune at the end of the runway throwing the tail up into the air and closed the canopy on his arm as he was trying to get out(I learned the details by reading his journal I found a few years after he died). Dad lost his right arm, but he survived the battle of Okinawa. Afterwards he learned to write left handed, went to law school and never considered himself handicapped. He could hit fungos to the waiting outfielders and could tie his shoes and bow ties, which he wore every day, one handed. An amazing generation!

That is another amazing story. There are so many out there.

I remember last July....my family and I were down in Coronado watching the 4th of July parade (and me, also palms). I spied an older man in a parade car who was sitting next to, what must have been, his daughter. I noticed that he was wearing a Medal of Honor around his neck. I screamed to a buddy of mine, who was also there with his family, "There's a guy with a Medal of Honor!" Well, the man's daughter heard me and pointed me out to her dad. He seemed genuinely pleased that someone had noticed him. I always make it a point to thank the men in our armed forces for their service. Whatever your politics, they are heroes.

[Kim]

I am enjoying all the stories, please continue!

For a long time I actually had an aversion to WWII history; every man in my family of course was/is fascinated by it, and I was outnumbered. I had no appreciation for the roar of the cannon, the whine of the ordnance, and the resulting explosions and flying debris caught on grainy film clips. I was always awed and appalled by the large numbers of dead and could never understand why people would do this to each other. So while my father tramped around the battlefields of France, my mother and I caught a train to Spain to look at the art, architecture, and gardens. As I grew older, though, I abandoned the fiction I used to enjoy reading, and became more engrossed in historical books, though not necessarily about war. It started with several books about the Vietnam War, primarily from the perspective of the troops on the ground, not so much the political or tactical background. I began to realize nothing is so fascinating as real life and human behavior. So a few years ago when we went to the Imperial War Museum in London, I was impressed, especially by the realistic "life in the trenches" exhibit. And if you like to look at old military airplanes, that's the place to go.

A couple of favorite historical reads: A Distant Mirror, by Barbara Tuchman, about Medieval Europe, and Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Advisor to Kings, Ally to Lawrence of Arabia, by Janet Wallach. These books are fascinating in that they demonstrate how we have arrived where we are today.

If you have a favorite biography or other book relating to WWII, please recommend it.

[bgl]

Kim,

You are of course correct that WW2 was appalling with its unimaginable loss of life as well as the suffering that involved (at least) hundreds of millions of people. But the fact that only a handful of men were actually the main individuals responsible for getting all this started in the first place is pretty incredible, and should tell us something about human nature. It's one thing that Japan, not being a democracy, was able to "pull it off" but to read about Germany, which was a democracy, and how Hitler and his gang of criminals were able to take control of the government, even though the Nazi Party never achieved more than just over 40% of the vote, is an amazing story about the combination of the audacity of the Nazis and the complete lack of understanding among their opponents. And that also applied to the other countries (primarily in Europe) and their leaders - their inability to understand that the Nazi Party was in effect a criminal organization. Some of the books I've found extremely interesting, providing lots of helpful background information about the main characters are:

Hitler, a study in Tyranny, by Alan Bullock

The Reich Marshal, A Biography of Hermann Goering, by Leonard Mosley

Himmler, by Peter Padfield

The Secretary, Martin Bormann: The Man who manipulated Hitler, by Jochen von Lang (a fascinating book!)

Hitler's Spies - German Military Intelligence in World War II, by David Kahn

Stalin - Triump & Tragedy, by Dmitri Volkogonov

The above are all heavy duty (about 600 pages or so) books. Extremely detailed, but one really needs to be interested in the subject in order to make it thru these books!

The Bunker, by James P. O'Donnell is not quite as massive at about 390 pages, and paints a fascinating picture of what life was like for Hitler and those close to him during the last couple of months. A pretty easy read compared to the others above.

Hitler Close-Up, compiled by Jochen von Lang is a +200 page book, mostly pictorial, with fairly extensive commentary to go along with the photos (which typically take up about 80% or so of the space).

A fascinating publication is "Signal", which was Hitler's Wartime Picture Magazine. It was edited by S.L. Mayer (and translated into English) and published by Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ. They have been compiled into a series of separate books, each a couple of hundred pages thick. I'm glancing thru the 1943-1944 edition, "Years of Retreat", and happen to come across an article they wrote about the USA. This is what the Germans at the time were told about the USA and Americans:

"The people have become degenerate too. Technical progress, the work of Europeans, is a blessing as long as mankind does not make it one of its idols as in America, where people now live on tinned food, wear standardized shirts, standardized hats and standardized suits. Thinking has been standardized too and in American civilization there is no place for culture. Today the standardized American is opposing Europe and her century-old cultural traditions." And that's just a small part of this very interesting article. Reading "Signal", and trying to grasp what the German people were told about the war efforts, about Germany and its enemies is probably the most fascinating way to look at this unique conflict.

And, a great book (another 800 pager...) about part of the Pacific War: At Dawn We Slept - The Untold Story of Pearly Harbor, by Gordon W. Prange.

Bo-Göran

[LJG]

It is a whole series. 23 books I think. it is easy reading, with tons of pics.

Epi, do you have the Time Life series "The Third Reich"? Watered down as usual for Time Life, but great series to have.

Is that one of their book series? I don't. Is it worthwhile?

[epicure3]

Kim,

You are of course correct that WW2 was appalling with its unimaginable loss of life as well as the suffering that involved (at least) hundreds of millions of people. But the fact that only a handful of men were actually the main individuals responsible for getting all this started in the first place is pretty incredible, and should tell us something about human nature. It's one thing that Japan, not being a democracy, was able to "pull it off" but to read about Germany, which was a democracy, and how Hitler and his gang of criminals were able to take control of the government, even though the Nazi Party never achieved more than just over 40% of the vote, is an amazing story about the combination of the audacity of the Nazis and the complete lack of understanding among their opponents. And that also applied to the other countries (primarily in Europe) and their leaders - their inability to understand that the Nazi Party was in effect a criminal organization. Some of the books I've found extremely interesting, providing lots of helpful background information about the main characters are:

Bo-Göran

Just to follow up, the main culprit for allowing Hitler to assume power, and then absolute power, was Hindenburg himself. Hindenburg, who was President of the Reich, acquiesced in giving Hitler the Chancellorship (all sorts of political behind the scenes dealings). The Reichstag fire, which was probably deliberately set by the Nazis, set Hitler up to revoke all civil liberties under the guise of protecting the public. Hindenberg said nothing and allowed it to go forward. The elections following Hindenberg's death were just a rigged sham that allowed Hitler to become Dictator and Fuhrer by abolishing the office of President.

It is quite incredible, indeed, that a seemingly sophisticated electorate, such as that of Germany, watched this happen right before it's eyes.

[Norm]

On a lighter note, my father was working in Hollywood as a motion picture still photographer when the war broke out. Due to disabling injuries suffered in his teens, he could not join the ranks of photographers (like some of his buddies) who joined the correspondence corps as wartime photogs. So he was greatly surprised when one afternoon in late January, 1942, Orson Welles called him to request he join his movie crew which was leaving for Rio de Janiero the next day, on orders from the US War Department. Their assignment was to create as much of a noise, ruckus , and visible presence in the region as possible to discourage German and Japanese plans to establish sub bases in the area. He stayed with the crew over three months, and worked a movie called "Carnival" which was mostly topical stuff surrounding Mardi Gras. Orson Welles could be seen every night in Rio clubs with his whites on, dancing and drinking and doing his thing.

Over the war years, my father worked lots of war themed films for different studios. I don't think there was one more satisfying than "The Story of G.I. Joe" (1945), produced by Lester Cowan and directed by William Wellman. The film was based on Ernie Pyle's two books, "Here Is Your War" and "Brave Men". Great books, and Wellman made sure it was a great movie honoring US army infantrymen, over 1000 of whom served as extras. Nearly all of these men died months later in the Pacific War, chiefly Okinawa. My father got to know Ernie a little, and made some great shots of him.

Besides great books already mentioned, other books include "The Rape of Nanking" by Iris Chang, "Prisoners of the Japanese" by Gavin Dawes.

[sur4z]

This remeberance is about a good friend of my Dad, Captain Arthur Graubart, who before he died at 101 years old in 2003 was the 2nd oldest living graduate of the Naval Academy. He was a submariner in WWI and beyond.

In 1940 he was ordered to Berlin to serve as the Assistant Naval Attache at the US Embassy and was at that post when WWII started. On December 11, 1941, he was arrested by the Gestapo and held until he was exchanged in May 1942. Thereafter he served as the Commanding Officer of a submarine base being constructed in New Guinea.

In the later part of 1944 he received orders to report to Washington, then on to London, then to Germany. He was flown to a fighter strip near Frankfurt, then on to Berlin, while the Russians were in control of the city. While in Berlin after the war at the Chancellory he got a Russian guard drunk and he swiped the large banner swastika that Hitler used as a backdrop during his speaches. The banner is now stored at the Naval Academy museum.

Admiral Ghormley sent Captain Graubart, as his representative, to the official surrender of the German navy at Flensberg, Germany. He later was at the Potsdam Conference where Truman, Churchill and Stalin decided the future of Germany. Also at the Conference they set up a tri-part naval commision headed by Admiral Ghormley with Captain Graubart on his staff. This commission assigned to the US the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, which was the ship, along with the Bismarck, that sank the HMS Hood and damaged the HMS Prince of Wales. Captain Graubart brought the ship to the US where it later was used in operation Crossroads in the Bikini Atoll where the atomic bomb tests took place. The ship survived the blasts but it was so radioactive it was capsized and sunk.

There is another interesting tid bit about this man. While he was in Berlin, he received a recording, in Russian, that he had translated. The recording was poor quality and the translation rough but the person interviewed was a Russian officer whose job was to find Hitler's body. The transcript (which I have) says there were burned bodies near the bunker that were reported as Hitler and Eva Braun, but were not. The transcript say General Derzalin, the Commander of the 5th Army, the Commandant of Berlin said the one who found Hitler would become a Hero of the Soviet Union. The transcrpt goes on to say that Hitler and Eva Braun were transported out of Berlin by being put in ammunition boxes.

This lines up very well with Captain Graubart's assertion that Hitler escaped to Argentina. I queried him on that subject many times over the years and he said it was true. I asked him why he didn't write a book about his military career. He said those that write books are trying to cover up something they did wrong...he said he did nothing wrong!

[JakeK]

WWII is one of those events that I just can't learn enough about.

My grandpa left high school after his junior year to enlist with all his friends. Almost every male in the U.S. was itching to enlist, something quite different than today. He was a seabee and did work in the Marianas, Marshalls, Carolines, Gilberts, the Philippines and finally Japan after the war had ended. I've got some great photographs of life as a seabee and some rather gruesome photographs taken during the fighting. My grandpa died in 1969 so I never got to speak to him about the war, but I did get to talk to his buddies he enlisted with and my grandma. One of his old pals told me of times where they would bulldoze over the Japanese escape holes to the underground labyrinths instead of having the Marines blow them up. Same result, just saved the explosives for another time.

In 2003, his high school honored him and several other WWII vets with diplomas despite missing their senior year while fighting in the war.

[jenks]

Great stories from everyone.

No comment on Band of Brothers? Anyone seen it?

The same group - Speilberg, Hanks, Dreamworks - is working on a new minisieries called The Pacific based on the USMC. It should be good.

[Kim]

Thanks for the book recommendations, Bo and others. I'll pick one up after I finish my current book on the Silk Road. (Right now I'm in Kazakhstan. )

Jenks -- My son has read Band of Brothers at least five times, and watched the video an equal number. Maybe I'll rent it this weekend...isn't it around 12 different parts?

[jenks]

Hey Kim. You are in Kazakhstan? Cant wait for the pictures. Say hi to Borat for me

Yes, it is a long series - I think it is 9 parts. It was just on the History channel last week.

[Kim]

Hey Kim. You are in Kazakhstan? Cant wait for the pictures. Say hi to Borat for me

Yes, it is a long series - I think it is 9 parts. It was just on the History channel last week.

In the book I'm reading, I'm in the part about Kazakhstan, just in the book! You'll have to look up Borat yourself...

Somehow I missed B-o-B on the History channel, every time I tuned in they were talking about space aliens. That channel has very uneven content.

Incidentally, that Dichtyosperma album seed you gave me a few years ago is now at least 10 inches tall! Growing at the speed of....of..., what, a glacier?

[jenks]

Reading comprehesion is obviously not one of my strengths. At least not after too much coffee.

Glad to hear your Dichtyosperma album is alive. I managed to kill all of mine