The experiences of U.S. infantrymen in Vietnam are told in many ways: through personal memoirs, media accounts, oral histories— and the government’s own reports. Historian Chris McNab mined those reports to produce The U.S. Army Infantryman Vietnam Pocket Manual, which reprints declassified primary documents such as field manuals, weapons manuals, intelligence analyses and after-action reports, … Lire la suite

‘OOPS’ WAR[Re. “The ‘Oops’ War,” by Daniel McEwen, March 2022] The article certainly does not downplay the enormous cost of World War I, but the title struck a nerve with me. From what I’ve read, the interlocking set of alliances German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck had set up made the war inevitable once the assassination … Lire la suite

One young woman, inspired by her father’s service in World War II, joined the Army to be a nurse. Another young man, motivated by stories of history and the Army’s place in it while in grade school set his sights on a career in the military. Both wound up in the Vietnam War and decades later shared their stories … Lire la suite

by Dmitry Degtev and Dmitry Zubov, Pen & Sword, 2021, $34.95. Innumerable books have been written about the 1940 Battle of Britain. Almost nothing has been published in the West concerning the equally pivotal World War II aerial campaign waged over Moscow between Germany and the Soviet Union during 1941 and early 1942.  Although the … Lire la suite

Traveling safely underwater in an enclosed airtight capsule had been a dream of man for millennia. Although various plans and designs for a watercraft capable of accomplishing this were being drawn as early as the 1500s, reportedly the first actual prototypical submarine—a crude, oar-powered rowboat-like affair—was built in 17th-century England. Once the possibility of beneath-the-waves … Lire la suite

On January 3, 2022, people in Arizona witnessed a unique spectacle. A Boeing B-52H Stratofortress, or at least its 160-foot-long fuselage, was hitting the road. The bomber in question, B-52H 61-0009, known as Damage Inc. II, had served the U.S. Air Force actively from 1961 to September 25, 2008, when it was retired to the … Lire la suite

Linda Hope (Illustration by Randy Glass Studio) Linda Hope is the eldest daughter of legendary comedian Bob Hope. A producer and writer, she worked with her father for many years and produced the Emmy Award–winning 1993 TV special Bob Hope: The First 90 Years. With co-author Martha Bolton she recently published Dear Bob: Bob Hope’s … Lire la suite

Eyes of the Fleet over Vietnam: RF-8 Crusader Combat Photo-Reconnaissance Missions by Kenneth V. Jack, Casemate, 2021, $39.95. The Navy and Marine Corps F-8 Crusader community was known for stratospheric morale despite the speedy Vought’s reputation as a pilot killer. But “Last of the Gunfighters” remains the ’sader’s lingering image, even though the type retired … Lire la suite

Wings of Gold: The Story of the First Women Naval Aviators, by Beverly Weintraub, Lyons Press, 2021, $ 32.95.  Review by Eileen J. Bjorkman Little has been written about the women military aviators of the 1970s and 1980s who paved the way for women to fly in combat. Beverly Weintraub’s Wings of Gold begins to … Lire la suite

Lee Morehouse’s 1901 portrait of Chief Joseph informed sculptor Georgia Bunn’s statue, at bottom, of the celebrated Nez Perce. (Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries) Chief Joseph (1840–1904) of the Nez Perce remains among the most celebrated American Indians of the 19th century, thanks to period photographs, books, magazine articles, paintings and public sculptures. Sculptors … Lire la suite