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cutiger83
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Garandomatic

I'll keep my eyes open for that book. I have a 30th Div. uniform I got from the daughter of a vet and carried on correspondence with for a while, I'd say it is one of my favorites.

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I'm reading "Screaming Eagle: Memoirs of a B-17 Group Commander" by MG Dale O. Smith. Like most books written by unit commanders, he gives himself a heaping dose of credit and self-congratulations, but it's still a pretty good book.

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Am reading a book called "Blind Mans Bluff" its about navy cryptographers and what they did during the cold war against the Russians, we were called spooks, it's the job I had....Joe

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If you are looking to take a break from reading check out the flick "EMPEROR" starring Tommy Lee Jones as Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Just released on Redbox. It deals with the U.S occupation of Japan as MacArthur has to decide whether or not to try Emperor Hirohito as a war criminal.

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Kokoda. Story of the Aussies heroic stand and victory over the Japanese Army who were attempting to cross the Owen Stanley Range and take Port Moresby New Guinea, 1942.

 

Those were tough days for the Aussies. Had the Japanese succeeded it was only a stones throw to Northern Australia.

there is also a film on dvd about this battle !! good read too !!

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I just finished my latest eBay purchase:

Riordan, John J., D.V.M. Horses, Mules and Remounts: The Memoirs of a World War I Veterinary Officer. Edited and with an epilogue by John F. Riordan. Glendale, CA: Privately Printed, 1983. Wraps, 113+pp. ($12, eBay, Aug13) Signed by author's son (editor).

 

Well written account, not a lot about the inner workings of remount depots or veterinary hospitals, though, I certainly would have appreciated all the minutiae related to that. Good read for the price (about $12).

Pete

 

 

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not to sound pretentious but re-reading book i got published upon my retirement from the USAF. There were 1500 copies printed an i only kept one for my family...they are mostly in city libraries in sporatic towns across country...and some military Base Libraries..University Libraries for ROTC Must Read Book List....called....From Uncaring Airman to Motivational Sr NCO (growing up in todays military). Its about how i grew personally and professionally during my 21yr career and gut wrenching things i experienced..etc and how all these experiences molded me from a kid into a career man. It was endorsed by History Channels Col Walter Boyne so i was lucky.. When my failing body gets on my nerves..my book reminds me to stay strong. I want to get more copies made..13 yrs later...so i can just give them to whomever i want.

I also reading a childhood book i read all the time as a kid in N.E. PA when i spent all my time in the woods when not in school...its autographed by author whom i got to know over the phone prior to her death few years ago. Book is SUPER COOL thougu its meant for young people..called....My Side Of the Mountain.....aboit living off the land etc.

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Just finished RED BLOOD, BLACK SAND by Chuck Tatum....This is an amazing book about Iwo Jima! Now I am onto a book called "Once Upon a Town" (about North Platte Nebraska during WWII) which is a much lighter read but so far equally as good!

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Felt like some Ambrose so I am reading Citizen Soldiers. I know he has many critics but I like his style and I have tried to space them out as I could see myself just reading all of his books back to back. Scott.

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Well i am reading my very own War Baby..vol. 1. Someday i will try to get vol. 2. I am enjoying my new book immensley

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Combat Crew by John Comer true story of 25 combat missions over North West Europe this has to be a must read for all USAAF collectors and those interested in the USAAF

 

LB

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Just as a follow up to "Saving the Breakout," I am only a few chapters in, but if you have any interest in the early days of the Normandy Campaign, Operation Cobra, or the 30th itself, get this book now. I knew it would be good when General Ellis Williamson stated that it was so bad at Mortain that he saw a battalion or regiment telephone operator pick up a bazooka and smoke a German tank without leaving his seat at the phones. That's some close action right there.

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I just finished:
Grotelueschen, Mark Etan. The AEF Way of War: The American Army and Combat in World War I. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

 

The author asserts that the AEF was hampered by its pre-war "open warfare" doctrine, but that it eventually learned from the Allies and from experience that "trench warfare" tactics were better. In my opinion, the terms "open warfare" and "trench warfare" are too ambiguous -- I think the US was more interested in the principle of the offensive which, it turns out, did prevail. However, the author makes a good case for the US growing to rely on firepower superiority and the use of auxiliary weapons (machine guns, 37mm cannons, hand grenades, etc.). The author looked at the 1st, 2nd, 26th, and 77th Divisions as case studies. I would be interested in discussing this topic with forum members -- PM me if interested.

Pete

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  • 3 weeks later...

"Catch that Tiger" by Noel Botham and Bruce Montague. The true story of how the famous Tiger Tank "131" (now at Bovington) was hunted down, captured and returned to the UK.

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I just finished two WWI memoirs:

 

Langille, Leslie. Men of the Rainbow. Hammond, IN: W. B. Conkey Company, 1933. Second Edition. Cloth, 203pp.

 

Langille was a sergeant in Battery B, 149th Field Artillery Regiment, 42nd Division. This is a well-written, frank, humorous memoir, one of the best I've come across. Some of his observations on the utter fatigue of the men while marching, and on the view of the men regarding the causes of the war are insightful and interesting. I recommend this for WWI readers.

 

I also finished General Charles Summerall's memoirs:

Summerall, Charles Pelot. The Way of Duty, Honor, Country: The Memoir of General Charles Pelot Summerall. Edited and annotated by Timothy K. Nenninger. Lexington, KY: The University of Kentucky Press, 2010. Cloth, 298pp.

 

This, too, is a good, well-written memoir covering General Summerall's entire life.

Pete

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I'm finally getting around to Cornelius Ryan's The Longest Day. I'm a bit more than half way through, and it's hard to put down. I remember watching the movie many times while I was growing up. I'm glad I finally decided to read the book.

Pete

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