Author Topic: WWII in HD  (Read 3556 times)

Offline Chris M

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Re: WWII in HD
« Reply #15 on: March 2, 2010, 10:43 AM »
Any chance of me getting an advance copy of that book or a chance to look at your material?
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Offline Paul

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Re: WWII in HD
« Reply #16 on: March 2, 2010, 06:36 PM »
Once I get it on paper, I'd be glad to share.  Most of it is interviews with Vets, letters home and Unit Histories from Unit Historians.

The subject matter is great... a Cavalry Unit in WWII that trained on Horses, left their horses here in the US, got horses in Australia, left them there and ended the war as Infantry because the island hopping did not lend itself to Cav tactics.  Unlike the Cav units that went to Europe who started the War on Horses and got Armored Cars and Light Tanks by the end of the War.

I was able to salvage many personal photos that my Grandmother saved (or had given me over the years, cuz I like "Army" stuff)  and I am hoping one or two of the old movie reels she thinks she has might have some good footage too.

I might even be inclined to offer an Exclusive Dust Jacket for JD.com members and sell it on the main page... or not.

Offline Jayson

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Re: WWII in HD
« Reply #17 on: March 2, 2010, 08:12 PM »
My Great Uncle Ed (who is still with us), a demolition expert, was there on Omaha beach during the battle of Normandy and later in Korea. He was responsible for destroying bridges and barricades during both wars. After his military service, he was an engineer and designed bridges here in the US.

As I heard this weekend, Uncle Ed spent a majority of his life either taking blowing bridges up or building them.
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Offline Diddly

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Re: WWII in HD
« Reply #18 on: March 2, 2010, 09:23 PM »
Asia in WW2 is a hotbed for sure, and that should be interesting for you since it's largely skipped over except for the American bits, even in college courses.  Likewise the Chinese perspective should prove quite interesting as well I think since they fought them for a lot longer than we did for certain.

Japan's expansion was fairly rapid in the years leading up to World War II.  They were a ravenous country for natural resources which was a large reason for the expansion itself.

Western views of the Japanese were interesting too...  Especially the British who really looked at them as not capable of being a formidable opponent, and generally inferior.  That cost them a lot early in the war.

Oh yeah, it's a really interesting course so far. The prof is actually teaching it from a neutral viewpoint, giving great reasons for why Japan was doing what they were doing (example: expanding through China because they felt it was unfair that US, Britain, etc. could have colonies while they couldn't). So while we're obviously learning that what they did to the other countries was horrible, we're getting reasons and insight as to why they did it.

Also, we just finished reading a book called "My Hitch In Hell" about the Bataan Death March. It's a great read, and I'd highly recommend it. There are some parts that make your stomach churn and it really shows just how cruel the Japanese were to POWs and civilians.
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