All Purls. No Swine.
Here's Dame Vera Lynn performing aboard the QE2, in the English Channel, commemorating the 40th anniversary of Operation Overlord. What a different time. What a different world. The Forces Sweetheart made it well into the twenty-first century, dying at the age of 103, on June 18, 2020. But here she is, herself at the age… Continue reading D-Day Plus Seventy-Seven
Jack Pembroke is a Royal Navy officer badly injured during the Dunkirk evacuation, now assigned to command a minesweeping flotilla in South Africa. Emil Falk commands a Nazi auxiliary cruiser – a disguised and armed merchantman conducting commerce raiding far from Europe. In The Cape Raider, a novel by Justin Fox, the two have a… Continue reading Book Review by Seawriter: Adventure in the Roaring Forties
He shoots! And scores! (Completely unexpected, and hopefully accurate, sports analogy by the athletically-compromised (and proud of it) RWKJ.) My friend, Mark Lardas--who posts on Ricochet as Seawriter and who graciously allows me to reblog his posts here--has a new book available: Battle of the Atlantic 1942–45: The Climax of World War II's Greatest Naval… Continue reading Book Review By Seawriter: In Which He Calls His Own Number
Before Portland, OR, became the upscale city mocked in Portlandia, it was a down-at-the-heels lumber town and port hard hit by the Great Depression. Its transformation began in World War II, when Portland and its cross-river companion, Vancouver, became major shipbuilding centers in the shipyards established by Henry Kaiser. These produced ships by the score:… Continue reading Book Review by Seawriter: Liberty Factory
On March 22, 1945 Major Max Hignite flew his last Luftwaffe mission; a flight to Switzerland in a Ju-52 loaded with artwork stolen by the Nazis. The plane crashed and was sealed in a cave by a Swiss lake. Hignite, badly injured, survived. Rescued by local Swiss, he spent months near death in a hospital.… Continue reading Book Review By Seawriter: Ghosts of the Past–Seeking Stolen Nazi Art
Seventy-six years ago today. From an article commemorating the seventy-fifth anniversary: Pfc. Jacklyn Lucas, 17, of Plymouth, N.C., was surprised when he suddenly saw two enemy grenades at his feet. He forced them into the sand with his rifle butt and his hands, and covered them with his body. He didn’t even have the chance to… Continue reading February 23, 1945
I'm grateful for the opportunity to post, with permission, my Ricochet friend Seawriter's book reviews here. This one is particularly interesting, involving a book I haven't read yet, but which encompasses a subject dear to my heart, whether it be via a familial obligation, professional expertise, or simply a heartfelt interest. One of the most… Continue reading Book Review By Seawriter: On Reading the Enemy’s Email
This week, Ricochet's own Seawriter takes us on a journey through the dark days of the Battle of the Atlantic, in C.S. Forester's 1955 novel, The Good Shepherd. Forester was a particular favorite of mine through junior high and high school, and I read all the "Horatio Hornblower" books in order--an odd choice for a… Continue reading Book Review By Seawriter: C.S. Forester’s The Good Shepherd
Yesterday, December 7, 1941 a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan--President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, December 8, 1941 My dad, who fought in WWII, was a great raconteur. He told stories well, entertainingly, and usually with… Continue reading The Soldier’s Deck of Cards
Those were the last words of James Maitland Stewart, who was born in Indiana PA on May 20, 1908. A shy young man, he was fascinated by early airplanes and considered signing up for the military, but was discouraged by his father, who urged him to attend college instead. At Princeton (BA–Architecture–1929), the young James… Continue reading Occasional Quote of the Day: “I’m going to be with Gloria now.”