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What are you currently reading?


cutiger83
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DwightPruitt

I'm currently reading two books. The first is "The Slaughter" by Carroll Case, which deals with an alleged massacre of 1,000+ African-American soldiers of the 364th Infantry Regiment at Camp Van Dorn in 1943. Well, only about 50 pages deals with the "massacre'- the other 240 pages is a novel.

 

The other book I'm reading "Now The Hell Will Start: One Soldier's Flight From the Greatest Manhunt of World War II" by Brendan Koerner. The book covers the story of Herman Perry, a African-American member of the 849th Engineer Bn (Aviation). Perry shot and killed a white officer while in Burma during the construction of the Ledo Road. Perry initially escaped and lived in the jungle with a Burmese tribe, was captured, sentenced to hang, escaped again, and finally was recaptured and executed.

 

Let's just say that I'm not impressed with either author's work.

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ww2relichunter

The Remains of D Company an amazing story about d company in the 28 infantry regiment 1st division in ww1 i recommend to all even thoughs who dont collect ww1 items !

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Bellumbill

Advance and Destroy: Patton As A Commander In The Bulge - John Nelson Rickard (University of Kentucky Press, September, 2011)

 

Excellent - Highly recommend.

 

Best,

 

Bill K.

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littlebuddy

Flying Fortress by Edward Jablonski First Edition !!! if that makes any difference lol !!

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Littlebuddy I read that book when it first came out. Loved it then and still have a dog eared and highlighted copy. Stands the test of time well. That book was my first exposure to Rosie Rosenthal and his story. A great book.

Steve

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littlebuddy

Littlebuddy I read that book when it first came out. Loved it then and still have a dog eared and highlighted copy. Stands the test of time well. That book was my first exposure to Rosie Rosenthal and his story. A great book.

Steve

yes its a great book !!! ill be sorrry when i have finished it !!! i was going to use some quotes from the book as my signature!!!

 

LB

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Just started "Big Joe McCarthy, The RCAF's American Dambuster".

Got an author autographed UK edition this past weekend at the Bomber command Museum's Dambuster's raid 70th Anniversary Commemoration event in Nanton Alberta.

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I am almost done with Engines Of War: How Wars Were Won & Lost On The Railways by Christian Wolmar. A little, dry but interesting nevertheless.

 

Dave

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I'm currently reading "Shots Fired in Anger," by LTC (Ret.) John George, who was a lieutenant in the IL National Guard at the outbreak of WW2. He also had a lot of experience as a competitive shooter before the war, including the 1939 Camp Perry National Rifle Matches. This is the 2d edition (1981) which is expanded from the original with its Merrill's Marauders description.

 

This is a GREAT book, and an easy, enjoyable read. He describes the training which the 132d IN Regiment went through, the deployment to the S. Pacific, and his unit's role in the later days of the Guadalcanal campaign, from 8 DEC 42 - 7 APR 43. This period includes working the beaches unloading ships, getting drunk on homemade hooch and thorough descriptions of combat ops against the Japanese. George was a shooter, and used that set of skills in combat, as well as lacing his narrative with descriptions of the weapons and tactics used - and how he was able to adjust the tactics some, based on his shooting experience.

 

I've just begun reading the second section of the book, which is a detailed description of the Japanese weapons used against the Allies in the S. Pacific. The 3d section of the book will detail George's experience with Merrill's Marauders. There are two sections of photos of the Marauders, which George apparently took. I think

 

Cons: sparse map coverage of the Guadalcanal fight. There's a map of the island on the frontispiece, but it's not terribly detailed. There are better maps of the section about Burma, but I haven't read that yet to have an opinion of them.

 

I'd recommend this for anybody interested in small unit leadership, competitive shooting applications in combat, the Guadalcanal campaign, Japanese small arms or Merrill's Marauders.

 

Steve

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Recently finished "No Silent Night: The Christmas Battle for Bastogne" by Don Cygan and Leo Barron. I thought it was a great read and it showed a different perspective of the Bulge that included some non airborne units. Scott

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I'm currently reading "Shots Fired in Anger," by LTC (Ret.) John George

 

This sounds like one to get - I will be ordering it shortly.

 

Thank you.

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This sounds like one to get - I will be ordering it shortly.

 

Thank you.

 

I don't think you can go wrong on this one. The detail in the section on the Japanese rifles is amazing, and may prompt me to skip forward to the section on Merrill's Marauders.

 

Enjoy!

Steve

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A classic book, but very interesting to see the Pacific war as a whole and not only specific events or battles ... "The Pacific War : 1941-1945" by John Costello, amazing historical review about the war in the Pacific and Southeast Asia.

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I just finished "Indestructible" by Jack H. Lucas.

 

Mr. Lucas is the youngest Marine to ever be awarded the MoH for actions on Iwo Jima. He was 17 at the time and threw himself on two grenades to save his comrades. Mr. Lucas has had quite a life to say the least, and his book reads more like fiction. Really amazing. I will add that this is the first book in a very long time I read completely in a day.

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Recently finished Elton E.Mackin's book "Suddenly We Didn't Want To Die", the diary of a Marine runner from Belleau Wood to Argonne, a tribute to his fellow Marines who lost their lives in France.

 

A very interesting story, but also a very moving one.

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Reading another good book on Guadalcanal:

The Naval Battles for Guadalcanal 1942: Clash for supremacy in the Pacific, by Mark Stille, a new Osprey book just released. Good section on the commanders on both sides, as well as the description of the ships in the opposing fleets. Just getting into the battles themselves.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm currently reading A Very Long Weekend by William Berebitsky, about the National Guard units who served in the Korean War. It's worth getting if you're specifically interested in the NG in Korea. The book consists of recollections from veterans of all the units who were deployed, such as engineers, transportation and artillery units. Veterans of the 40th and 45th ID's are of course also included.

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currently reading an old copy of "Rolling Thunder", by mark berent, three tours in the nam, one silver star and 2 dfc"s.

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BILL THE PATCH

just finished " the day of the panzer" the story revolves around co. l 15th inf regt 3rd div. and the 756th tank bn, and the invasion of southern france. written by a grandson of a tanker replacement who was killed his first day of combat. a very good read. highly recommand

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currently reading an old copy of "Rolling Thunder", by mark berent, three tours in the nam, one silver star and 2 dfc"s.

Ah, Mark Berent. Great guy and some good books.

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"It Took Heroes: A Calvary Chaplain's Memoir of Vietnam" by Chaplain Claude Newby. This has been a great read!

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