【Flyboys】 Lost but Not Forgotten
Winging our way to Victory !!!! Examines W.W.II in the Pacific theater from a unique perspective.This book is not for everyone, to say the least. It deals with not only war and its horrors (which, in this account, are spelled out in shocking detail ), but with the deeper, more troubling aspect of our self-image as a world power and our moral self-righteousness in the world arena.After reading this book one can end up questioning all we stand for as a country and a people. Billy Marshall , made two predictions, the first was that the Japanese would attack without warning, and the second would be who ever controlled the Third Dimension would win the next war.Although many would scuff at Billy Marshall’s remarks, unfortunately, he would be correct on both predictions. As a result of all the military personal Allied Airman became one of the most hated of all.This is a tale of the airman who lost there lives on Chchi Jima , and of the rescue of one airman, who was amazingly rescued. Dick Woelhof, Floyd Hall, Marve Mershon, Warren Earl Vaughn, Glenn Frazier and George Herbert Walker Bush, each of these men where from different states, and different backgrounds, but these men have three things in common: when America was attacked they felt it was there duty to defend her, they where airman, and they are all tied together by events that happened in a small island off the coast of Japan called Chichi Jima... Chichi Jima was very unfriendly territory for any Allied airman who might end up crashing there. With the Allied forces cutting off supplies to most of the out laying Japanese islands, most of the Japanese soldiers there where on a very limited diet and where fighting just to survive. Most of the Japanese soldiers stationed there relished the idea of getting a hold of an Allied pilot. Dick Woelhof and a B-24 crew man, (after the hardcover edition of the book was published, James Bradley found out that the Japanese mistook a Us Navy B4 Y-1 for a B24) who was later identified as Warren Hudenlangs where the first to fall victim the never before seen inhumane war crime the that would be come part of Japanese executions on Chimi Jima. Although it was common knowledge that the Japanese preferred to behead there prisoners, the Dick Woelhof and Warren Hudlenlangs execution, started something that no human can image ever doing to another human being. 【James Bradley】+++ Flyboys +++ Brutally Honest Account of War and its effect on Morality. This book was not what I expected from the cover. I was anticipating another "heroic " discussion of American Air Power during the Pacific War. What I got was something far different, but a lot more illuminating. If you have ever wondered - as I have - why the Japanese fighting man was so incredibly brutal, and why the Emperor's military leadership thought they could prevail against the might of the USA, this book will answer these questions. "Flyboys " examines the origins of the war, why the clash between America and Japan was inevitable, and what led to the well-documented Japanese atrocities. It looks at the historical events that shaped Japanese attitudes, and how the Japanese learned the wrong lessons from these events. The book successfully walks the fine line between excusing Japanese behavior, and explaining the reasons for it. I consider myself to be knowledgeable on most aspects of World War II , but I was surprised to learn the extent to which food - or more accurately, the lack of it - influenced the behavior of the Japanese soldier. I was also surprised to learn that - from the Japanese perspective - some of the American conduct during the war looked like atrocities. It comes down to, as the old saying goes, "whose ox is being gored ". It should be noted that this writer was a US Marine in the late 1960s, and the old-timers made no secret of the fact that we didn't always take Japanese prisoners during World War II. These insights are especially relevant in light of recent events surrounding the shooting and abuse of prisoners in Iraq. As the saying goes - "Everything old is new again ". All in all, this book is a great read that greatly advanced my understanding of Japanese-American hostilities in the Pacific, and is surprisingly easy to digest. It does take some shots at American military policies (and hypocrisy), but in my view the criticisms are valid.At the same time, Japanese brutality is documented and explained, but never excused.I highly recommend this book, both because it is an enjoyable piece, and because - by examining both points of view - sheds light on an aspect of World War II that has never been adequately discussed. I cannot give enough praise for Bradley's tireless research, intuitive sense of pace and presentation, and his ability to give horror a human face. This is not to say that he in any way endeavors to justify or validate the acts which took place on those islands, only that he is able to show with great insight the very causes that allowed men to become less than men, more like animals, yet still remain men. With fact he shows us our darker side and lets us either seek our own answers and try to grow or, as the case will undoubtedly be for some, hide from that part of us we hold within ourselves which we fear more than any mere physical threat, only to continue stumbling through our time here on earth doing our best to remain selfish and superior.
出産・子育て
ファッション
美容・コスメ
健康・ダイエット
生活・インテリア
料理・食べ物
ドリンク・お酒
ペット
趣味・ゲーム
映画・ＴＶ
音楽
読書・コミック
旅行・海外情報
園芸
スポーツ
アウトドア・釣り
車・バイク
パソコン・家電
そのほか
すべてのジャンル
