Here is a a pic from www.wwii-collectibles.com
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Posted on 05/18/2005 5:27:41 PM PDT by Fruit of the Spirit
It was the very worst of times. It was the opening days of 1942.
The story of that year is told in a new book, "1942: The Year That Tried Men's Souls," by Winston Groom.
When America and Europe recently celebrated the 60th anniversary of VE day - the day the Nazis were finally defeated - I wondered if we would ever have a similar day to mark the defeat of global terror.
I looked again at "1942" sitting on my desk. As an editor, I am deluged with books to review. Only a few make it to my lap for reading.
By starting Groom's "1942," I discovered the tale was so gripping I could not put the book down. Groom is a masterful storyteller and best known perhaps for his fictional work "Forrest Gump" - a story that later became a movie classic.
Groom's "1942" reads more like a novel. Opening with America's involvement in the war amid the backdrop of historical events, Groom quickly ties these events with the up-close and personal stories of the men and women who struggled to defeat fascism.
For sure, "1942" is not an anachronism. Its messages are timely as we wage a war on terror.
Apparently, Groom has said the genesis of his book was September 11th. After the devastating blow to America's homeland and psyche, Groom wondered if the nation could find some solace from history. He rummaged through his mind and wondered when we had faced such a similar challenge.
Already, September 11th has been compared to the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Both were national tragedies. And from both, America has made a stunning comeback. "1942" is an inspiring book for us today because America was then in a far more dire situation. Yet we managed to gain victory in a short time.
Consider that at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese had sunk or severely damaged 18 warships - including our large battleships - and killed 2,340 American servicemen. Our Pacific military defenses were devastated, as was the nation both militarily and psychologically.
Perhaps the most telling comment after the attack came from Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, the new Navy commander for the Pacific appointed by President Roosevelt.
Congratulated by his wife on news of his "getting the fleet," Nimitz replied with dark humor: "The fleet, dear, is at the bottom of the ocean."
By January 1942, America too looked like it had hit bottom. Japan had swept through most of Southeast Asia and appeared on the doorstep of both Australia and India.
In Europe, the Axis powers controlled almost the entire continent, and the Nazi blitzkrieg was smashing up against Moscow and Stalingrad. It seemed the Germans and their allies were also poised to secure control of oil-rich North Africa and the Middle East. Lonely England hung on by a thread.
And yet, just over three years later, Allied forces would find Hitler's burned body outside his Berlin bunker and Japan's Hirohito would bow to General Douglas MacArthur aboard the U.S. Missouri.
How did it happen - and so quickly?
Groom's insight into America's stunning comeback has some important lessons for America today. Among these lessons:
Have a Clear Picture of the Enemy
I was surprised to learn that after Japan's successful opening attacks on American forces in the Pacific, both Gen. MacArthur and Winston Churchill believed that Germans, not Japanese, had piloted the Japanese planes.
Since the American media, both Hollywood and the press, had long portrayed the Japanese as hapless, many thought they were incapable of sophisticated military attacks.
Groom writes, "The typical Japanese soldier was depicted in newspaper cartoons as a short, bandy-legged, buck-toothed, nearsighted, chattering ape."
Oh, what a surprise those Japanese had for the Americans. Not only did they pilot their planes, their Japanese-manufactured Zeros were superior to American fighters.
Do we today have a clear picture of enemies such as al-Qaida, Iran and North Korea? Do we clearly understand both their capabilities and their intentions?
Engage the Enemy As Soon As You Can
What was remarkable about 1942 was just how quickly America moved to engage the enemy even though we were not fully prepared for war.
Roosevelt wanted to hit the Japanese homeland, but our large bombers and their bases were well out of range of Tokyo.
Military leaders came up with a daring and risky plan to launch B-25 bombers from the aircraft carrier Hornet after it sailed close to Japanese waters.
Carriers were not intended to launch such bombers, and certainly not to land them. So the plan called for the American bombers to fly on to China after bombing Japan and land at a Nationalist airstrip.
In April 1942, just over four months after Pearl Harbor, Col. Jimmy Doolittle took off with his group from the Hornet to strike Tokyo.
The bombing was a great success, but in the dark of night, the U.S. planes could not find their Chinese landing strip. In the end, the planes crashed and crews simply parachuted into Japanese-held territory or Russia. Clearly the bombing raid was akin to a suicide mission, but Doolittle and his crew all volunteered for the dangerous assignment.
Doolittle's bombing of Tokyo turned out to be a major morale booster for America, and a heavy blow to Japan. Groom's account of what happened to Doolittle and his crew after they bailed out makes for fascinating reading.
Meanwhile, outnumbered Americans in the Philippines and on Wake Island did not surrender easily, and Allied forces quickly planned an invasion of North Africa.
The same strategy - engaging the enemy even before we are fully prepared - seems to be a hallmark of President Bush's war on terror. In response to the September 11th attacks, we quickly launched operations in Afghanistan, smashed the Taliban, and prepared for a major assault on Saddam Hussein - all while launching global operations against terror networks.
Intelligence, Intelligence, Intelligence
While Donald Trump's dictum holds that location is the key to success in real estate, Groom's "1942" suggests that intelligence was the key to America's surprising turn of fortune.
Little-known U.S. code breakers clearly shortened the length of the war and saved U.S. forces from humiliating defeats.
Early in 1942, the U.S. had broken the Japanese code and we were able to read their most sensitive military communications.
In June of that year, the Americans had evidence that Japan was sending four of its carriers to Midway Island to help with a planned Japanese invasion. Knowing of their plans, the U.S. was able to concentrate its smaller naval forces to engage the Japanese and take them by surprise.
As a result, the U.S. sank four of Japan's eight aircraft carriers in one day. In less than six months from the date of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. inflicted a crushing blow on the Japanese at Midway - and the early battle is considered the turning point of the Pacific War, a defeat from which the Japanese never recovered.
Another heroic episode in "1942" tells of an American woman who spied for the British. Her name was Amy Elizabeth Thorpe. Using her "explosive sexual charms," Thorpe developed relationships with officials at both the Italian Embassy and the Vichy French Embassy in Washington. By doing so she was able to get the secret codes of both countries - codes that proved invaluable during the Allied invasion of North Africa.
Both Pearl Harbor and September 11th were catastrophic failures of American intelligence. Fixing intelligence has been central to dealing with terror, just as it was after the Japanese attack. Intelligence may be even more critical when dealing with terror networks that are not seen on a radar screen, so to speak.
America learned some vital and costly lessons from December 7, 1941.
But there was also friction on the home front. Some still complained about America's "interventionist" war. Corruption, racism and bureaucracy also hampered the war effort.
One anecdote in Groom's book shows how set in its ways the U.S. was during the early stages of the war: For the first two years, American torpedoes almost never worked. Our submarine forces, time and again, would hit Japanese ships - to no effect. Repeatedly told of the failure, military officials blamed the submarine crews for missing targets. Finally, it was demonstrated that the torpedoes, first made in 1926 on a shoestring budget, were defective.
Thankfully, other factors overcame such failures. Most notable was the heroism of the American people, the many men and women who gave or risked their lives to defend their loved ones and their way of life. As the recent war on terror shows, that aspect of America has not changed.
I think the author needs a history lesson or looking at my homepage! :)
Sounds like an interesting read. I will have to purchase one. Growing up, it seems that every adult male that I saw as a rolemodel(scouting, church, school, law enforcement, fireman) had served in WWII Pacific Theater.
Sounds like a good book, and worth the read.
We were in a hurry in those days. Pearl Harbor December 1941, both Germany and Japan were finished less than 4 years later. 9/11/01 four years later is September 2005 and no end in sight. Plus Germany and Japan had more than car bombs and IEDs. Thanks God for the draft and Rosie the Riveter.
Oddly enough, I was born in February of 1942 and things have apparently been improving ever since! What a credit it is to me that I'm not vain.
Fighting unknown and cowardly murderers of the innocent is quite a bit different from fighting organized, uniformed armies.
We thank you for your contribution.
At first, we didn't know, but suspected, where the Japs were going to attack. They kept referring to "AF" as the target. Some bright guys in intelligence had Hawaii send a message in plain language that Midway's evaporators had broken down. Sure enough, the next Jap message reported that "AF"'s evaporators were down. Cool.
As for 1942 being the year that tried men's souls, it is spot on. As a 9-year-old, I can still remember peoples faces then - ashen.
I remember seeing "HAWAII" on some U.S. money and asked my dad if every state was named. He said that there were only Hawaii bills so that if the Japs took over the place, the government could invalidate any money so marked. The government started that tactic before the war, so they knew war was coming.
Another tragic story is the fate of the old Asiatic Squadron, made up of old China Station gunboats, obsolete "four-piper" destroyers, and two cruisers, one of WWI vintage. They were sent up against the third largest navy in the world - with predictable results. Many went down with all hands.
A good read but this line is a bit simplistic. We knew generally where the Jap carriers would be but still had a squadron of SBD's lose course and never get there. In addition, electronic arming switches rendered many of another squadron of SBD's weaponless when they snafued and dropped their bombs harmlessly into the ocean. Then there was the entire carrier's group of the aging Dauntless's that were slaughtered by the Jap Zeros. The Jap Zeros then when wave-hopping to machine-gun any survivors. With their fighter cover low and the slow climb ratio of the Zero, the SBD's followed a trailer ship in and found the decks of Jap carriers littered with planes ready for a retalitory strike was what turned the tide of battle. That and the hearty defense of Midway Island that had forced the rearming of the existing Jap aircraft. Midway was a turning point, the first big battle where the U.S. could claim more than a draw by losing only the carrier Yorktown.
It wouldn't be different if we had no ACLU and no liberal media! In the 40's we killed the enemy ruthlessly BUT in the 00's we have to consider how they feel prior to killing them. Panties on a head does not equate to beheading IMHO.....
It would be easier without also fighting the enemies in our midst, including the the ones you mention, but it still would not be the same. Oranized armies are massed and separate from the civilian population to a large degree. The murderous cowards meld into the civilian population and are hard to distinguieh from the innocent until too late. They generally have to be found and killed one by one rather than by the hundreds and thousands.
Here is a a pic from www.wwii-collectibles.com
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
The bombing was a great success, but in the dark of night, the U.S. planes could not find their Chinese landing strip. In the end, the planes crashed and crews simply parachuted into Japanese-held territory or Russia. Clearly the bombing raid was akin to a suicide mission, but Doolittle and his crew all volunteered for the dangerous assignment.
The author's account of the Doolittle crews' experiences after the raid is inaccurate. A good number of the raiders, including Col. Doolittle did make it to China and returned to the States to fight again.
Blast em till they sue for peace. Works great and besides we have some weapons to test, that they'll just love!
It's easier to defeat a nation state than to find yourself involved in a fourth generation war. Berlin and Tokyo were easily idenitifiable centers of power and they had governments that could surrender. When we are fighting "terrorism" how will we know when we have won?
Our breaking their code also facilitated the shooting down of Yamamoto's plane. I'm sure the Japanese felt his loss tremendously as the war progressed.
Didn't Winston Groom also write "Forrest Gump"?
This is NOT the author's account. This is a book review.
Yes.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.