You Only Blow Yourself Up Once: Confessions of a World War Two Bomb Disposaleer - Couverture rigide

Durham, J Frank

 
9780595750207: You Only Blow Yourself Up Once: Confessions of a World War Two Bomb Disposaleer
Couverture rigide
ISBN 10 : 0595750206 ISBN 13 : 9780595750207
Editeur : iUniverse, 2003

Synopsis

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Navy started a crash program, gathering information and educating personnel to deal with enemy bombs, land mines, and other explosive ordnance. Figuring "lawyers make the best cannon fodder," recent law school graduate J. Frank Durham was among early volunteers for this dangerous and highly-classified work. Graduating with a perfect grade from the navy's new Bomb Disposal School, he was retained on staff to help the operation expand, then dispatched to Guadalcanal, where Americans were fighting the pivotal battle of World War Two. While learning how to handle explosive devices, Durham endured bombing, shelling, and an unexpected encounter with the enemy, but tales of suspense and danger are balanced by a humorous perspective on everyday life as an enlisted man. He describes "unofficial" enterprises, manufacturing souvenirs from brass shells in the captured Japanese ammo dump, and making moonshine from anything available, to sell to the troops. Eleanor Roosevelt's visit to the field hospital inspired a pithy comment about a painful loss from a wounded marine, and a classic riposte from the First Lady. Excerpts from captured Japanese diaries provide rare insight into the other side of the conflict.

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Présentation de l'éditeur

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Navy started a crash program, gathering information and educating personnel to deal with enemy bombs, land mines, and other explosive ordnance. Figuring "lawyers make the best cannon fodder," recent law school graduate J. Frank Durham was among early volunteers for this dangerous and highly-classified work. Graduating with a perfect grade from the navy's new Bomb Disposal School, he was retained on staff to help the operation expand, then dispatched to Guadalcanal, where Americans were fighting the pivotal battle of World War Two. While learning how to handle explosive devices, Durham endured bombing, shelling, and an unexpected encounter with the enemy, but tales of suspense and danger are balanced by a humorous perspective on everyday life as an enlisted man. He describes "unofficial" enterprises, manufacturing souvenirs from brass shells in the captured Japanese ammo dump, and making moonshine from anything available, to sell to the troops. Eleanor Roosevelt's visit to the field hospital inspired a pithy comment about a painful loss from a wounded marine, and a classic riposte from the First Lady. Excerpts from captured Japanese diaries provide rare insight into the other side of the conflict.

Biographie de l'auteur

J. Frank Durham volunteered for Bomb Disposal shortly after Pearl Harbor, and was commissioned as an officer on Guadalcanal. After the war, he started a family, flew small planes, worked the farm and became a civic leader in Greencastle, Indiana, where he maintains an active law practice and busy life.

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Éditeur
iUniverse
Date d'édition
2003
Langue
anglais
ISBN 10 
0595750206
ISBN 13 
9780595750207
Reliure
Relié
Nombre de pages
176
Coordonnées du fabricant
non disponible
Personne responsable
non disponible