Pacific War Diary, 1942-1945

Pacific War Diary, 1942-1945 PDF

Author: James J. Fahey

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 436

ISBN-13: 9780618400805

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Fahey was a 24-year-old garbage-truck driver when he enlisted in the Navy on Oct. 3, 1942, and became a seaman first class on the USS Montpelier. During almost three years of battle in the Pacific Ocean, he defied Navy rules against keeping a diary by writing copious notes on loose sheets of paper that appeared to anyone watching to be ordinary let

South Pacific Diary, 1942-1943

South Pacific Diary, 1942-1943 PDF

Author: Mack Morriss

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

Published: 2021-12-14

Total Pages: 389

ISBN-13: 0813189543

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

A unique chronicle of the war from the perspective of a sensitive twenty-four-year-old sergeant who wrote for the Army's in-house paper, Yank, the Army Weekly and a tale of the South Pacific that will not soon be forgotten. Correspondent Mack Morriss reluctantly left his diary in the Honolulu Yank office in July 1943. "Here is contained an account of the past eight and one-half months," he wrote in his last entry, "a period which I shall never forget." The next morning he was on a plane headed back to the South Pacific and the New Georgia battleground. Morriss was working out of the press camp at Spa, Belgium, in January 1945, when he learned that the diary he had kept in the South Pacific had arrived in a plain brown wrapper at the New York office. He was so happy "to know that this impossible thing had happened," he wrote to his wife, that he helped two friends "murder a quart of scotch." What was preserved and appears in print here for the first time is a unique chronicle of the war in the South Pacific from the perspective of a sensitive twenty-four-year-old sergeant. This is an intensely personal account, reporting the war from the ridge known as the Sea Horse on Guadalcanal, from the bars and dance halls of Auckland to a B-17 flying through the moonlit night to bomb Japanese installations on Bougainville. Morriss thought deeply and wrote movingly about everything connected with the war: the sordiness and heroism, the competence and ineptitude of leaders, the strange mixture of constant complaint and steady courage of ordinary GIs, friendships formed under combat stress, and, above all, what he perceived to be his own indecisiveness and weaknesses. Ronnie Day introduces Morriss's diary and illuminates the work with extensive notes based on private papers, government documents, travel in the Solomon Islands, and the recollections of men mentioned in the diary.

Prisoner of Japan

Prisoner of Japan PDF

Author: Sir Harold Atcherley

Publisher: Mereo Books

Published: 2013-04-19

Total Pages: 444

ISBN-13: 1909304557

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

In the course of the Second World War, more than a quarter of a million European and American soldiers were taken prisoner by the Japanese in Malaysia, the Dutch East Indies and the Pacific. They went on to suffer years of deprivation and brutality, most of them failing to survive at all. Harold Atcherley was fortunate enough to be one of the survivors. Throughout his time as a prisoner, from the fall of Singapore on 15th February 1942 until 14th September 1945, he kept a diary, which he was able to bring home with him. This book is based on that diary, along with other diaries and official documents. The original diary can now be viewed at The Imperial War Museum, London. He was fortunate enough to count among his friends and comrades the celebrated artist Ronald Searle, whose drawings have been used to illustrate his text; they give a far better impression of what life was like for a POW of the Japanese than mere words can, though neither words nor pictures could ever convey the appalling stench of disease and death on such a massive scale.

Fading Victory

Fading Victory PDF

Author: Matome Ugaki

Publisher: US Naval Institute Press

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781591143246

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Long out of print, these wartime diaries of a key admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy, provide a revealing inside look into the Japanese view of the Pacific War. Matome Ugaki was chief of staff of the Combined Fleet under Admiral Isoroki Yamamoto until both were shot down over Bougainville in April 1943, resulting in Yamamoto's death. He later served as commander of battleship and air fleets, finally directing the kamikaze attacks off Okinawa. Invaluable for its details of the Japanese Navy at war, the diaries offer a running appraisal of the fighting and are augmented by editorial commentary that proves especially useful to American readers eager to see the war from the other side. When first published in 1991, this dairy was hailed as a major contribution to World War II literature as the only firsthand account of strategic planning for the entire war by a Japanese commander. -- Publisher's Description.

A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy

A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy PDF

Author: Paul Dull

Publisher: Naval Institute Press

Published: 2012-12-12

Total Pages: 428

ISBN-13: 9781612512907

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

For almost 20 years, more than 200 reels of microfilmed Japanese naval records remained in the custody of the U.S. Naval History Division, virtually untouched. This unique book draws on those sources and others to tell the story of the Pacific War from the viewpoint of the Japanese. Former Marine Corps officer and Asian scholar Paul Dull focuses on the major surface engagements of the war—Coral Sea, Midway, the crucial Solomons campaign, and the last-ditch battles in the Marianas and Philippines. Also included are detailed track charts and a selection of Japanese photographs of major vessels and actions.

General Walter Krueger

General Walter Krueger PDF

Author: Kevin C. Holzimmer

Publisher: University Press of Kansas

Published: 2022-06-15

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 0700634045

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

He made his name in the jungles of the Pacific theater, was featured on the cover of Time magazine, was tapped by Douglas MacArthur to lead the invasion of Japan, and made crucial contributions to the army's tactical and operational doctrine. Yet General Walter Krueger is still one of the least-known army commanders of World War II. Kevin Holzimmer's book resurrects the brilliant career of this great military leader while deepening our understanding of the Pacific War. As head of the Sixth U.S. Army, Krueger exemplified the art of command at the operational level of war and played a pivotal role in the defeat of Japan that until now has not been fully recognized. To the public he was a "mystery man," and his abrasive personality may have sometimes caused problems for MacArthur, but his commander credited him as "swift and sure in attack, tenacious and determined in defense, modest and restrained in victory." And although Krueger left no diaries or memoirs-and stubbornly refused to record many of his personal views-Kevin Holzimmer has mined military archives on Krueger and his Sixth Army to produce a compelling biography that finally acknowledges his importance. Holzimmer first analyzes the experiences of Krueger's prewar career: testing the triangular infantry division in the late 1930s, serving in the War Plans Division, and participating in peacetime maneuvers. This training prepared him for the challenges of command in the Pacific, where he successfully forged and led a large combined-arms effort that effectively integrated infantry, armor, artillery, naval, and air forces. Holzimmer then details Krueger's remarkable leadership in the military campaigns against the Japanese. By placing Krueger's philosophy of command within the context of evolving military doctrine, Holzimmer shows how he produced tough victories against a determined enemy in an enormously difficult war zone. Unlike some overly cautious commanders of the war, Krueger was aggressive when the situated dictated, and even MacArthur admitted that "history has not given him due credit for his greatness." By showing how he breathed life into Pacific war strategy and made sure it was executed successfully, this book gives him that credit and fills a glaring gap in American military history.

Swift, Silent, and Deadly

Swift, Silent, and Deadly PDF

Author: Bruce Meyers

Publisher: Naval Institute Press

Published: 2013-12-15

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 1612515029

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

An experienced reconnaissance Marine officer, Bruce Meyers paints a colorful and accurate picture of the special recon landings that preceded every major amphibious operation in the Pacific War. Credited with saving countless lives, these Marine scouts went in stealthily at night from submarines, PT boats, Catalinas, and high-speed transports. Swift, silent, and deadly, they landed on more than two hundred enemy beaches, from Tarawa to Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa to collect intelligence on potential landing sites. They measured water depths, charted coral heads, gathered soil samples, sought out enemy locations, and took photographs. In short, they obtained information vital to the success of American operations in the Pacific. This book represents the first time World War II Marine recon landings have been chronicled. Meyers explains that only the story of their contributions in later wars has been previously documented. His book describes the start of it all, letting readers join the men as they slip over the sides of their rubber boats and make their way inland. Only now can the public appreciate the accomplishments of these daring and intrepid Marines.

Lanterna Rally - Theme by Grace Themes