Leo T. reviewed on + 1775 more book reviews
It was very generous of Ms. Dietterick to mail this heavy book to me and I have already sent it to the shelf of the old soldiers and sailors' home. WWII vets are beginning to be thin on the ground (less than 0.5 million left of the 16,000,000 who served) but in recent years we have had a couple of guys who were present December 7th on the USS Pennsylvania and one from the USS California. The latter continued his service in the PTO but the shell shock spoiled a lot of his life.
There are numerous photos of the damage as well as maps of the battle ground. They are the focal point of the book but there is a fair amount of text also, but including only a small sampling of testimony by those who were there. The controversy regarding readiness is briefly mentioned. A couple of pages cover the movie versions.
There is some coverage of the arrogant Japanese attackers, including photos (mostly of planes and pilots) and some captured documents. The commanding Admiral did not pursue a second day of attacks as they knew the defense would be locked and loaded and the whereabouts of the two US carriers was unknown.
I myself found it quite depressing to read the Japanese side as in recent years I have heard too often airtime on NPR and the Pacifica radio stations (KPFK, etc.) bemoaning the dropping of the atomic bombs. Never do they mention that US GIs would have been sent to die in taking the home islands. On many occasions when meeting PTO vets, I have asked them their stance on this and to a man they don't regret August 15, 1945. I met an old soldier several years ago who was in transit through the canal from the ETO to the PTO when the bombs were dropped....
There are numerous photos of the damage as well as maps of the battle ground. They are the focal point of the book but there is a fair amount of text also, but including only a small sampling of testimony by those who were there. The controversy regarding readiness is briefly mentioned. A couple of pages cover the movie versions.
There is some coverage of the arrogant Japanese attackers, including photos (mostly of planes and pilots) and some captured documents. The commanding Admiral did not pursue a second day of attacks as they knew the defense would be locked and loaded and the whereabouts of the two US carriers was unknown.
I myself found it quite depressing to read the Japanese side as in recent years I have heard too often airtime on NPR and the Pacifica radio stations (KPFK, etc.) bemoaning the dropping of the atomic bombs. Never do they mention that US GIs would have been sent to die in taking the home islands. On many occasions when meeting PTO vets, I have asked them their stance on this and to a man they don't regret August 15, 1945. I met an old soldier several years ago who was in transit through the canal from the ETO to the PTO when the bombs were dropped....
