Contrary to today's stories, Leyte is going to be a tough, slow operation. The good news is we will kill a lot of Japanese in taking the island.
Ambassador Grow obviously moved in circles where there were worldly and intelligent Japanese to think they would try to sue for peace without unconditional surrender before their country is destroyed. He doesn't know the extent to which the Army's thinking still dominates the government despite Tojo's ouster.
Did you notice the story about Lt. Richardson? He was in Commander Bulkeley's PT Squadron 3 but lost his boat after they had expended all torpedoes. He was stranded in the Philippines but has been fighting for the last two years with the guerrillas. What a sight American troops coming ashore must have been! Bulkeley and his squadron were the model for the movie "They Were Expendable" starring Robert Montgomery as "Cmdr. Brickley."The commander of Richardson's boat, Lt. Cmdr. Kelly, was the model for the John Wayne character, Rusty Ryan.
And our Cpt. Winters is bored as Battalion XO. Army battalions do not have chiefs of staff so the XO usually functions as the commander's chief of staff. I'm sure it didn't have nearly the excitement of commanding Easy Company.
The campaign will nearly kill my father as well.
Bulkeley and his squadron were the model for the movie "They Were Expendable" starring Robert Montgomery as "Cmdr. Brickley."
I was sorely disappointed when I learned, a couple years ago, that "They Were Expendable" was not released until December 1945. Meaning we will miss Bosley Crowther's review.
Interesting comments by Ambassadoe Grew. He’s right; a rational government would conclude that the war has clearly been lost and it’s time to cut a deal. But then again, a rational Japanese government wouldn’t have picked a fight with the United States to begin with.
Grew probably knew Japan and the Japanese better than anyone, and he was completely wrong on this occasion. Maybe there really something “inscrutable” to westerners about the Asian psyche. But then again, the Nazi Germans were in the same boat and made the same decision.