Winter 2012

Winter 2012

WWII Quarterly, Editorial

Reflections on “Sneak Attacks and “Dates of Infamy”

At some point during this magazine’s three-month “shelf life,” the date December 7 will fall. As human society has a penchant for observing the fifth- and 10th-year anniversaries of certain events, this December 7 will be a significant one—the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on American military bases in the Pacific that catapulted the United States into World War II and forever changed the course of history. Read more

Winter 2012

WWII Quarterly, Personality

Leonard J. Thom: JFK’s XO on PT-109

The name Leonard Jay Thom may not mean anything to a great many people today, and that is unfortunate. Read more

Winter 2012

WWII Quarterly, Eyewitness

Witnessing Patton’s Failure: A Prisoner’s View of the Task Force Baum Raid

In December 1944 the vaunted Third Reich was in its death throes, crushed by Allied forces on all sides. Read more

Winter 2012

WWII Quarterly, Museums

Oahu’s Museums and Memorials

There are few places on earth that have as many World War II museums, memorials, and monuments located in such a small area as the island of Oahu. Read more

Winter 2012

WWII Quarterly

Pearl Harbor: The Sleeping Giant Awoken

It was, as the phrase goes, another perfect day in paradise. As the sun rose above the Pacific in the clear, cloudless sky east of the Hawaiian Islands, on December 7, 1941, the giant U.S. Read more

Winter 2012

WWII Quarterly

Japanese Attack on the Philippines: The “Other” Pearl Harbor

While the surprise Japanese attacks against U.S. military bases in the Hawaiian Islands on December 7, 1941, are certainly the best-known aspect of the opening of hostilities between the two aLess well known today were the Japanese attacks on Clark Field and Iba Field on the opening day of hostilities in the Philippines. Read more

Winter 2012

WWII Quarterly

North African Campaign: WWII’s Ultimate War of Logistics

Bradley could have been referring to German General Erwin Rommel. While Rommel was winning the war of desert armor tactics during 1941-1942 in the North African Campaign, he was losing the war of logistics. Read more

Winter 2012

WWII Quarterly

The Power Of The Cloth Part 2

If the phrase “the clothes make the man” is true, then it is equally true that the uniform makes the soldier. Read more

Winter 2012

WWII Quarterly

Why Was Irma Grese, the Beast of Belsen, so Hated?

“She was one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. Her body was perfect in every line, her face clear and angelic, and her blue eyes the gayest, the most innocent eyes one can imagine. Read more

Winter 2012

WWII Quarterly

Screaming Eagles At Brécourt Manor

The mission was simple: “There’s fire along that hedgerow there. Take care of it.”

The order went to First Lieutenant Richard “Dick” Winters, the acting commander of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Read more

Winter 2012

WWII Quarterly

Death of the Super Battleship Yamato and Musashi

Special Sea Attack Force (SSAF) was an ordinary-sounding name for the pitifully tiny remnant of what was once the mighty Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Read more

Winter 2012

WWII Quarterly

Sen Toku: Japan’s Underwater Aircraft Carriers

As soon as Colonel James Doolittle’s  B-25 raid struck Japan in April 1942, Japan sought to wreak revenge on the United States, but by 1944 devastating aerial bombings on Japan by the Americans had become all too regular. Read more