War in the Pacific

[John Odom]

The series of books of this title by General Jerome T Hagen, USMC ret. are very good reading. They are not specifically naval history, but offer a very good read with a great bit of detail about the naval aspects of the war.

I have and have read the first three volumes. I met General Hagen and bought one book from him when I was in Hawaii for the Dec. 7 Memorial service and the dedication of the USS Oklahoma Memorial in 2007. These are thouroughly researched books that focus on individual persons and ships rather than being simply a chronological recitation of events, which they are not.

The first three volumes are readily available, cheap, used, through amazon.com on the internet. Postage to the UK would exceed the price of the books. New they are $20 soft cover or $30 hard cover from Gen. Hagen. Google him on the internet. He will autograph them for you.

[Don Boyer]

Ain't the general a grand gentleman? He flew A-4s off the Oriskany in Vietnam. I also met him at Pearl Harbor and enjoyed his books. He writes outstanding vignettes of the war...an illuminating battle there, a lesson in tactics here, even stories with humor. Gives you a great overview of the war in the Pacific.

[doug.birch]

The war in the pacific did not start with the bombing of Pearl Harbour, for the Commonwealth Nations Navies were already there and mostly forgotten in most books on the Pacific War. Doug.Birch

[Don Boyer]

The reference was to the start of the war for the United States. The invasion of SE Asia was already well underway by the time Pearl Harbor was hit. In fact those elements are covered in General Hagen's series of books as are the first real victories against Japanese forces in WWII which were accomplished primarily by Australian troops at Milne Bay. They get no credit because General MacArthur was the supreme ass of all time with his overblown "MacArthur's Forces" ego and his constant denigration of "allied forces" under his command. I, for one, recognize the great contributions of the Commonwealth navies to World War II in the Pacific/Indian Ocean fighting. So there are those of us who are aware, but sadly Doug, you are quite correct in those contributions being overlooked in many major Pacific War histories. The books written by Australian and other Commonwealth veterans of the Pacific don't seem to show up here in America. I would be the first to admit I am shamefully unknowlegeable in those areas, primarily due to lack of primary source material. This forum has been a huge educational tool for me in that respect what with the posts of kookaburra and others.

Regards,

[John Odom]

Doug, you are right that those parts of the war are relatively unknown in America. Yes, Don you are right that we have MacArthur's ego to "thank" for that ignorance.