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Post by EXO on Mar 3, 2013 19:30:33 GMT 8
The U.S. government’s wartime “Europe First” strategic mandate has seemingly lingered all the way into the 21st century, 70 years since the start of the war, and John D. Lukacs believes it’s time to alter that perception.
So we at Battle Of Manila have obtained his permission to republish his essay,
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Post by fortman on Mar 4, 2013 0:54:54 GMT 8
I agree 100% with John Luckacs' essay. For some reason Hollywood is still fighting Nazis but the silence on the Pacific/Far East Theatre is deafening. The massacres in Singapore, for example, by troops under Yamashita's command are enough to place him in the pantheon of all-time bad guys, yet the revisionists want to clean his image! Strange that no revisionists seem to be dealing with the Nazi legacy.
fortman
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Post by okla on Mar 4, 2013 1:21:07 GMT 8
Hey EXO...Many thanks for posting this excellent essay. I gotta agree with it 100%. The Pacific bunch got the short end of the stick from the "git go", and this posting points out this fact in laserlike (is that a word???) clarity. This is really good stuff in my humble.
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Post by armyjunk on Mar 4, 2013 9:27:40 GMT 8
"Strange that no revisionists seem to be dealing with the Nazi legacy."
I find this statement interesting. I think the revisionists have already dealt with the Nazi legacy, it started right after WWII by using the term "Nazi" instead of Germans. Today, some folks probably don't make the connection between Germans and Nazis, it's very rare the two terms are used together
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Post by Bob Hudson on Mar 6, 2013 8:04:05 GMT 8
The fact that the War began and ended for us in the Pacific was overlooked but after chatting with Lukacs this morning, he said he should included that. Let us not forget that as uncivilized as the German war machine was, they were still fighting in the 20th century. In the Pacific, we were fighting a civilization using the methods of Ghenkis Khan, an Army of Soldier Ants programmed to die spontaneously and without hesitation.
If the Japanese conquered one seventh of the globe then U.S. forces reconquered one seventh of the globe in the Pacific. More men died from the elements in the Pacific as a percentage than those who fought in Europe.
How does one stand up for Veterans of the Pacific without at the same time maligning those who fought in Europe? War is hell in uniform. How to you say one hell was warmer than another. It really is a precipice. It is much easier to fight an enemy who at least has some will to survive. It is easier, according to the media of the day to fight a small enemy with thick glasses and buck teeth than an enemy of tall, strong and well equipped Nazi's
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Post by okla on Mar 6, 2013 11:02:57 GMT 8
Hey Bob....Trouble was, those little guys with the thick glasses, buck teeth, etc almost never knew when or had the sense to surrender, taking many allied lives in their fanatical death throes. Also, in the ETO, when an outfit was pulled out of the line for rest and refitting, there was usually a relatively safe area, with structures, barns, etc, for shelter, although many were damaged, for the troops to recuperate in and around. Not so, usually, in the Pacific. Not many safe rear areas on islands such as Iwo, Saipan, Guadalcanal. Only in the PI could ETO type rears be found during the liberation campaign. Of course the bugs, "skeeters", ants and such knew no forward or rear area differences and it was a year round problem.
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Catherine Cunningham Lowder
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Post by Catherine Cunningham Lowder on Jan 27, 2016 23:37:54 GMT 8
Hi ALL, My Uncle Pfc.Arthur "Jake" DeStefano, In Jul 1943 he was First Battalion, Seventh Marines, First Marine Division, FMF, In the Field. HE was Killed in a Fox Hole in Manila on Sept 29 1944. I have been reading all the Stories, But i can't figure out exactly what took place on this day. the last article i came across said the first Air Raid Strike started on Sept 21 1944 any help filling in the blanks would be greatly appreciated. kitten143@bellsouth.net
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Post by cbuehler on Jan 28, 2016 0:58:35 GMT 8
Hi ALL, My Uncle Pfc.Arthur "Jake" DeStefano, In Jul 1943 he was First Battalion, Seventh Marines, First Marine Division, FMF, In the Field. HE was Killed in a Fox Hole in Manila on Sept 29 1944. I have been reading all the Stories, But i can't figure out exactly what took place on this day. the last article i came across said the first Air Raid Strike started on Sept 21 1944 any help filling in the blanks would be greatly appreciated. kitten143@bellsouth.net Hello, Well, to start with, something is way off with what happened here. Your uncle could not possibly have been in the Philippines as a member of the 1st MarDiv. in ww2, and there was of course no fighting in Manila during 1944. The Seventh Marines along with the rest of the 1st MarDiv were fighting on the island of Peleliu at during the date you gave, so I can only assume that was the location. Regards, CB
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Post by cbuehier buff on Apr 20, 2016 1:36:27 GMT 8
I only have the records i have found on ancestry.com and it plainly says he died in manila sept 29 1944 and he is buried in manila national cemetery and they also state he was a member of first marine div in ww2. i am so confused. i will look up peieliu and see what i can come up with. thanks for your help..
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