“With the Old Breed” War, Survival, and Healing the Wounds of WWII

With Veterans Day coming this week, it is a good time to do some relevant reading. If you saw the HBO miniseries “The Pacific” or “The War” the documentary on World War II by Ken Burns, the name Eugene “Sledgehammer” Sledge — will be instantly recognizable. Sledge’s book, With the Old Breed recounts the bloody battles […]

Ian Fleming, the mysterious creator of James Bond

You only live twice: Once when you are born And once when you look death in the face Ian Fleming the intelligence operative of World War II, and accomplished author of the James Bond series died on this day in 1964.   Fleming was nearly as fascinating a character as his James Bond alter ego. He […]

Salerno: Advancing onto the underbelly of the Italian mainland

Less than a month after the fall of Sicily, the Allies began their quest to liberate mainland Italy. On September 3, 1943, the British undertook simultaneous landings in the Calabria “toe” region of Italy. About a week later, on September 9, 1943, the Americans launched Operation Avalanche near the port of Salerno. The operation began […]

Operation Vengeance: A brilliant read on the Yamamoto ambush

With the long, bloody Guadalcanal campaign coming to a close in early 1943, the United States had turned the tide of the war in the Pacific. After Japan had brushed aside everything in its path in its heady, unstoppable advance across the Pacific in the war’s first months, everything had now begun to turn.  The […]

On this day, the Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima

In the closing days of World War II, the United States was facing a difficult decision. In the face of increasingly fanatical Japanese resistance during the island-hopping Pacific campaign, American casualties were increased dramatically.  Fearing that an invasion of Japan would cost hundreds of thousands of U.S. casualties and millions of Japanese, the decision by […]