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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > Other warfare & defence issues > General
The My Lai Massacre was the most publicized incident subjected to military law during the Vietnam War, but military lawyers in all the service branches had their hands full with less-publicized desertions, drug use, rapes, fraggings, black marketeering, and even small claims. William Allison reveals how the military justice system responded to crimes and infractions both inside and outside the combat zone and how it adapted to an unconventional political, military, and social climate as American involvement escalated. In taking readers to war-torn Vietnam, Allison's study depicts a transitional period in the history of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which was revised in 1968. Reflecting American beliefs in discipline and efficiency in military operations, the Code and its implementation were viewed as an integral facet of pacification and counterinsurgency programs. As Allison makes clear, military law and justice in Vietnam were not intended merely as behavioral controls but were also promoted to the Vietnamese as American ideals: respect for the rule of law and an example of the best that democracy had to offer. American military law and lawyers made near - daily contact with the Vietnamese people, and those interactions open an unusual window on the war and also shed light on contemporary military operations and nation-building missions. Based on deep research into wartime archives and interviews with participants in that conflict (including his own father, a Marine Corps lawyer who served in Vietnam), Allison offers a reflective and well-rounded picture of daily life for military lawyers in Vietnam. That portrait also illuminates the complexities of trying to impose military law and justice on a foreign culture not accustomed to Western-style democracy. As Allison shows, while the difficulties were great and military justice may have fallen short of its goals, as in the My Lai case, military lawyers conducted themselves with honor in Vietnam. And as military crimes in Iraq dominate today's news and military justice in a combat zone continues to challenge our democratic ideals, his book provides critical insight into the historical process that underlies American military law today.
counselling This survival guide for widows of service personnel, a first-of-its-kind, tackles the unique and complex issues arising from the death of a spouse in the military. It speaks to loss in each of the service branches, across the span of rank and rates, and offers invaluable insights and practical strategies for dealing with this life-altering tragedy. The authors expertly blend personal experience with guidance from leading experts on grief and traumatic loss and translate ten years of lessons learned into an effective guide. Short, easy-to-read chapters provide realistic profiles of widows and their responses to loss and the complications generated in the unique world of the military, as well as insight on how to make difficult decisions and cope with everyday situations. Although written primarily for the widow, this book will also prove useful to other family members, friends, and military professionals. Joanne M. Steen, the widow of a naval aviator killed in the line of duty, is a nationally certified counsellor and certified strategic planner, crisis responder, instructor, and speaker on military loss. M. Regina Asaro is a psychiatric nurse certified in death and bereavement and a crisis responder who worked with a team in Oklahoma City in the aftermath of the bombing and with the families of victims of the massacre in Srebrenica. She has presented many workshops on the impact of violent crime, grief, and traumatic loss.
This is the first full-length study of the behaviour of British civilians and their reactions to air raids during the Second World War. It unravels the multiple day-to-day, concrete and local influences on people's behaviour at these times of great danger, risk and uncertainty, and challenges the traditional image of civilians as passive shelterers under attack. It uncovers Churchill and his government's desperate attempts to persuade key workers to continue with their work once the air raid siren had sounded, and reveals the complex reasons why so many workers were willing to run such risks. By drawing on a range of sources, including secret government documents, newspapers, national and local records, feature films, as well as interviews with those who worked during air raids, this book provides a fascinating analysis of private meanings and public media representations of civilians 'in the front line'. -- .
Wars in the industrial age kill large numbers of people. What do societies involved in these conflicts do with all the corpses? How do they show them respect? How do they dispose of them? What is their attitude to the bodies of the enemies? In the 19th century, those who died on the battlefield were pushed into mass graves, their identities unknown. Today, their remains are held in such high esteem that they are tracked down in order that last respects might be paid. As a historical account of the way in which war and death intersect, this book describes the complex attitude societies have towards death. Lured by the concept of eternal youth, tempted to deny death as well as physical decay, faced with longer life expectancy, we retain the hope of going off to war without loss of life. But does not our own expectation of zero death" imply "more deaths" for the other side?"
""Fever of War" adds an important dimension to knowled of the
influenza pandemic of 1918-1919." aIt is a must read for anyone interested in military or health care history.a--"Nursing History Review" Fever of War is well written, meticulously researched, and poses
much food for thought.a "Prof. Byerly's superb research and writing bring to life an
event that held the world in its terrible grasp for more than a
year. Compelling and enlightening, "Fever of War" is well worth the
reading." "This is a well-written, well-researched book that generally
statys tightly on topic"--H-War "Byerly's book provides a wealth of fascinating detail. Everyone
with an interest in the 1918-19 pandemic will profit from reading
it"--Journal of the History of Medicine "A significant contribution to both military, social, and
medical history. . . . Fills a void and provides a valuable
corrective to a literature that ignored the role of the army in
creating conditions that maximized mortality, glorified the role of
the military, and provided explanations that shifted responsibility
to individual and racial susceptibilities." "In this lucid, well-focused book, Byerly (Univ. of Colorado)
examines the 1918 influenza pandemic as experienced by the American
Expeditionary Force. In writing this important analysis, Byerly
joins scholars such as Alfred Crosby, whose classic study America's
Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918 remains the benchmark,
and John Barry, whose The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the
Deadliest Plague inHistory focuses on the role of public health.
Byerly's prose is exceptionally clear and elegant. Highly
recommended." a" Fever of War" is handsome, readable, and extensively
researched.a "In this era of threats of anthrax, smallpox, SARS, and bird
flue, are we any less assured of our ability to conquer disease
than the generation of 1918? Perhaps Byerly's account of the great
influenza epidemic is a clarion call to wake us from our own
hubris." aByerlyas book provides a wealth of fascinating detail. Everyone
with an interest in the 1918a19 pandemic will profit from reading
it.a aa]a significant contribution to both military, social, and medical historya].fills a void and provides a valuable corrective to a literature that ignored the role of the army in creating conditions that maximized mortality, glorified the role of the military, and provided explanations that shifted responsibility to individual and racial susceptibilities.a--"American Historical Review" ""Fever of War" is an outstanding addition to the literature on
U.S. participation in World War I . . . based on exhaustive
research and thorough engagement with the published scholarship in
medical, military, and social history. An important book whose
fluently written exposition is well balanced between rigorous
analysis and sensitive attention to the human beings--doctors and
victims alike--who worked and suffered through the pandemic." ""Fever of War" is handsome, readable, and extensively
researched...It is awell-priced and wonderful addition to the
historical literature and highly recommended to anyone with an
interest in the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919." ""Fever of War" makes a powerful argument. One cannot walk away from the book without grasping the significant, tragic impact of influenza on U.S. troops in WWI, and how difficult that impact was for the nation's citizens to bear." --"Boulder Daily Camera" The influenza epidemic of 1918 killed more people in one year than the Great War killed in four, sickening at least one quarter of the world's population. In "Fever of War," Carol R. Byerly uncovers the startling impact of the 1918 influenza epidemic on the American army, its medical officers, and their profession, a story which has long been silenced. Through medical officers' memoirs and diaries, official reports, scientific articles, and other original sources, Byerly tells a grave tale about the limits of modern medicine and warfare. The tragedy begins with overly confident medical officers who, armed with new knowledge and technologies of modern medicine, had an inflated sense of their ability to control disease. The conditions of trench warfare on the Western Front soon outflanked medical knowledge by creating an environment where the influenza virus could mutate to a lethal strain. This new flu virus soon left medical officers' confidence in tatters as thousands of soldiers and trainees died under their care. They also were unable to convince the War Department to reduce the crowding of troops aboard ships and in barracks which were providing ideal environments for the epidemic to thrive.After the war, and given their helplessness to control influenza, many medical officers and military leaders began to downplay the epidemic as a significant event for the U. S. army, in effect erasing this dramatic story from the American historical memory.
A selection of key writings on the problem of war and peace. Introduces students to general issues in ethics and moral theology. Key contributors from around the world. This reader samples a wide range of modern moral and religious discussions on the subject of war and peace. In addition to providing material on pacifism, the just war debate, the nuclear option, genocide, and the concept of a holy war, it introduces students to general issues in ethics and moral theology, using the morality of war as a powerful and pertinent worked example. Contributors include Elizabeth Anscombe, George Bell, Charles Curran, Y. Harkabi, Richard Harries, Stanley Hauerwas, Paul Ramsey, W. Montgomery Watt, Rowan Williams.
In the post Cold War era does the withdrawal of armies from direct rule in most countries herald an end to their role as actors in domestic politics? Is it indeed sensible to assume that political intervention by the military has been more or less permanently superceded? Drawing on the 20th century experience of a dozen important countries this book examines a number of closely related issues: What generalizations can be made about the causes and enduring consequences of military rule for nation building and economic development? How have the passing of the Cold War, the rise of globalization and other changes in the 1990s affected the political role of the military? How can we assess the role of political armies in relation to the problems of consolidating civil politics and democratic governance? Are there lessons for policy makers to be learned from a comparative analysis of political armies in such fields as global governance and post-conflict reconstruction? This stimulating set of explorations and investigations builds on previous theories about the role of the military in politics and looks to the future - the possible proliferation of armed actors, new perversions in the domestic roles of the armed forces, and the much more prominent emergence of privatized forces of law and order.
Finding the manpower to defend democracy has been a recurring problem. Russell Weigley writes: The historic preoccupation of the Army's thought in peacetime has been the manpower question: how, in an unmilitary nation, to muster adequate numbers of capable soldiers quickly should war occur. When the nature of modern warfare made an all-volunteer army inadequate, the major Western democracies confronted the dilemma of involuntary military service in a free society. The core of this manuscript concerns methods by which France, Great Britain, and the United States solved the problem and why some solutions were more lasting and effective than others. Flynn challenges conventional wisdom that suggests that conscription was inefficient and that it promoted inequality of sacrifice. Sharing similar but not identical diplomatic outlooks, the three countries discussed here were allies in world wars and in the Cold War, and they also confronted the problem of using conscripts to defend colonial interests in an age of decolonization. These societies rest upon democratic principles, and operating a draft in a democracy raises several unique problems. A particular tension develops as a result of adopting forced military service in a polity based on concepts of individual rights and freedoms. Despite the protest and inconsistencies, the criticism and waste, Flynn reveals that conscription served the three Western democracies well in an historical context, proving effective in gathering fighting men and allowing a flexibility to cope and change as problems arose.
During the last two decades, the infrastructure of the U.S. economy has undergone a fundamental set of changes. It has steadily increased its reliance on its service sector and high-technology economy. The U.S. has come to depend on computers, electronic data storage and transfers, and highly integrated communications networks. The result is the rapid development of a new form of critical infrastructure--and one that is exceedingly vulnerable to a new family of threats, loosely grouped together as information warfare. This detailed volume examines these threats and the evolving U.S. policy response. After examining the dangers posed by information warfare and efforts at threat assessment, Cordesman considers the growing policy response on the part of various federal agencies, state and local governments, and the private sector. The changing nature of the threats is leading these actors to reassess the role they must play in critical infrastructure protection. Government at all levels, industry, and even friendly and neutral foreign governments are learning that an effective response requires coordination in deterrence, defense, and counterattack.
This volume contains revelations of the U.S. Army's history of anti-Semitism throughout the 20th century that exposes pervasive suspicion and hatred of the Jews among the highest levels of the American military. Although pervasive anti-Semitism of ordinary Germans in the first half of the 20th-century has received much attention, little has been written about America's own history of anti-Semitism. In this book, Joseph Bendersky argues that such racism permeated the highest ranks of the U.S. military throughout the past century, having a very real effect on policy decisions. Through 10 years of research in more than 35 archives, the author has uncovered irrefutable evidence of an endemic and virulent anti-Semitism throughout the Army Corps from the turn of the century right up to the 1970s. These sources reveal how the Secret Americans (a group of officers who described themselves as true patriots and who felt silenced by Roosevelt) were convinced of the physical, intellectual, and moral inferiority of Jews and feared that their superior Anglo-Saxon/Nordic culture was threatened by a radical and destabilizing Jewish conspiracy.
Part of the "Civil War Explorer Series", this illustrated volume serves as both a history lesson and tour guide of the battles in Virginia in the first 15 months of the war from 1861 to 1862. From First Manassas to Antietam, this guide describes the battles, battlefields, and leaders involved. Maps.
Gabriel expands upon the groundbreaking work of B. H. Lidell-Hart's "Great Captains" by offering detailed portraits of six great captains of the ancient world who met the challenges of their age and shaped the future of their societies, and civilization itself, through their actions. He analyzes the lives of Thutmose III of Egypt, Sargon II of Assyria, Philip II of Macedon, Hannibal of Carthage, Scipio Africanus of Republican Rome, and Caesar Augustus of Imperial Rome for the lessons contemporary leaders, particularly military leaders, can learn. While all were great military men, with the exception of Caesar Augustus, they were also great political leaders who, in this capacity more often than through their feats of arms, shaped their societies. All were educated men, and all possessed the quality of imaginative reasoning. A provocative analysis for scholars, students, and general readers of military history and the ancient world. Military personnel will find the parallels to current military organization and thinking particularly valuable.
The international community can creatively and aggressively address deadly conflict through mediation, arbitration, and the development of international institutions to promote reconciliation. The editors of this book designed a systematic framework with which contributors compare third party intervention in twelve conflicts of the post Cold War period. They examine the role of international organizations the United Nations, international development banks, and international law institutions and they analyze the tools and forms of leverage in successful and unsuccessful mediations. Based on the case studies, the editors identify the most effective institutions, make recommendations for improving interventions, and elucidate several important insights into the mediation process and the role of the international community in dispute resolution.
"Ilene Rose Feinman shows us how feminist theorizing grows out of
feminist activist engagementaand then is tested through direct
action and refined. The questions she raises hereaabout the
meanings and practices of citizenship and the impacts of soldiering
on democratic lifeaare urgent as we move into a new century." "It is pure polemic. Those already converted will be
inspired." "Disputes about who should or should not be permitted to serve
in the military have almost always centered on the perceived impact
of a given group on military effectiveness. Feinman takes a fresh
approach to the subject of women and the military by placing
citizenship, rather than war, at the center of her analysis. In a
volume that addresses a complicated set of issues with great
clarity and respect, Citizenship Rites asks what the relationship
is between citizenship and soldiering, and between soldiering and
feminism. It makes a unique and valuable contribution to a
discussion that has been largely absent from the broader rhetoric
over issues of gender, peace, and war." In the United States, the question of women in the armed services has been continuously and hotly debated. Among feminists, two fundamentally differing views of women in the military have developed. Feminist antimilitarists tell us that militarism and patriarchy have together pressed women into second class citizenship. Meanwhile, feminist soldiers and theiradvocates regard martial service as women's right and responsibility and the ticket to first class citizenship. Citizenship Rites investigates what is at stake for women in these debates. Exploring the perspectives of both feminist antimilitarists and feminist soldiers, Ilene Feinman situates the current combat controversy within the context of the sea change in United States politics since the 1970s-from ERA debates over drafting women to recent representations of military women such as the film "GI Jane," Drawing on congressional testimony, court cases, feminist and antiracist political discourse, and antimilitarist activism, Feinman addresses our pressing need for an analysis of women's increasing inclusion in the armed forces while providing a provocative investigation of what this changing role means for women and society alike.
An encyclopedia of the Mexican-American War, including excerpts from eyewitness accounts that highlight the day-to-day reality of marching and fighting.
War as an Instrument of Policy examines the principles of war and how they may apply to the method of decision making in the higher realms of government when military and civilian leaders meet. It begins with an exploration of the emergence of a new kind of limited war beginning with the Vietnam conflict and discusses the principles of war along with typical military theory and strategy to clearly provide an understanding of the thought processes and actions behind the conducting of a war. Two contemporary examples, the Gulf War in 1990 and the South African invasion of Angola in 1987, provide the opportunity to examine the process of military decision-making on every level in these conflicts. Finally, methods of successfully and carefully employing a military methodology of decision making to capitalize on the success of war are suggested.
For two and a half years (1937-1939), Captain John Seymour Letcher commanded a company of the U.S. Embassy Marine Guard in Peking. During that time, he wrote a series of letters to his parents in Virginia describing the life of a Westerner in the former imperial city. During that same time, China was invaded by Japan. Captain Letcher describes the flavor of life in pre-Communist China -- the food, servants, cold Peking winters and torrid summers, hunting, and excursions to the major tourist sites. But his letters also tell of the Japanese slaughter of Chinese troops in the opening days of the Sino-Japanese War. He wrote about life in a city under Japanese occupation and the stirring story of the Chinese guerrillas rebounding from devastating defeat. These letters and accompanying introduction, preface, and notes, draw attention to the Western experience in a place and time largely overlooked by military historians and modern China specialists.
In this powerful and moving memoir, Robert Beecham tells of his Civil War experiences, both as an enlisted man in the fabled Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac and as an officer commanding a newly raised African-American unit. Written in 1902, Beecham recounts his war experiences with a keen eye toward the daily life of the soldier, the suffering and brutality of war, and the remarkable acts of valor, by soldiers both black and white, that punctuated the grind of long campaigns. As If It Were Glory is an unforgettable account of the Civil War, unclouded by sentimentality and insistent that the nation remain true to the cause for which it fought. Beecham's war was a long one-he served from May 1861 through the completion of the war in the spring of 1865. With the Iron Brigade he saw action at such momentous battles as Chancellorsville and then at Gettysburg, where he was taken prisoner. Returned to service in a prison exchange, Beecham was promoted to first lieutenant of the 23rd United States Colored Troops whom he lead in fierce fighting at the Battle of the Crater. At the Crater, Beecham was wounded, again captured, and, after eight months in a Confederate prison, escaped to find his way to Annapolis just before the conclusion of the war. In his narrative, Beecham celebrates the ingenuity of the enlisted man at the expense of officers who are often arrogant or incompetent. He also chides the altered recollections of fellow veterans who remember only triumphs and forgot defeats. In one of the most powerful parts of his memoir, Beecham pays tribute to the valor of the African Americans who fought under his command and insists that they were "the bravest and best soldiers that ever lived."
Fifty-five years have passed since Al and Van fell in love as wartime sweethearts. He returned to the States and she returned to her home in Cardiff, Wales, where they both met other loves and married. They lost touch and now both of their spouses have passed away. Will these two lovers meet again? Al Enlow shares his wartime expereinces and his memories of his wartime sweetheart, Van, in Reminiscence. You will laugh and cry over this nostalgic remembrance of days gone by.
Silent Heroes is an amazing tribute to the bravery of American servicemen during the early years of World War II. The author has compiled his extensive research on many of the American pilots and crews that went down over occupied Czechoslovakia during February through July of 1944 and produced a touching book worthy of the soldiers it describes. Silent Heroes, Volume I is not about just one unit, but rather it is about the 8th - 9th & 15th Air Force aircrafts lost over occupied Czechoslovakia in 1944.
Surviving Hell is a harrowing account of Lieutenant Colonel William Miner, taken prisoner for 39 months after his unit surrendered to the Japanese on the island of Cebu, Philippines, during World War II. Despite losing every friend in his unit and suffering from torture and deprivation that would “warp men’s souls,” Bill Miner professed, “I am lucky. People fell beside me and people were blown apart beside me. Anywhere I went as a prisoner, I tried to be aware of the situation and use it the best I could to survive.” This fascinating and arresting true story features excerpts from Bill Miner’s personal prison diary, which he kept despite the accompanying risk of torture or even death, along with photos and post-war recollections.
This book takes offers a new perspective on the Medal of Honor, examining the historical facts and figures of its recipients. Provided within is a top-level view of this group in its entirety, taking a new perspective, as it analyzes and summarizes the historical facts in stunning detail.
This book is a touching compilation of personal accounts of the men who served in the 487th Bomb Group during World War II. These accounts exemplify the dedication and sacrifice these men made in the face of grave danger while serving their country during the largest 8th Air Force mission during the Battle of the Bulge. It's been 60 years since these men left a portion of their youth in various parts of Europe, but their words make it feel lke WWII ended only yesterday. From humor to heartache, the reader runs the gamut of emotions when living vicariously through the stories of the brave men of the 487th Bomb Group - the Gentlemen From Hell.
Fifty-five years have passed since Al and Van fell in love as wartime sweethearts. He returned to the States and she returned to her home in Cardiff, Wales, where they both met other loves and married. They lost touch and now both of their spouses have passed away. Will these two lovers meet again? Al Enlow shares his wartime expereinces and his memories of his wartime sweetheart, Van. You will laugh and cry over this nostalgic remembrance of days gone by. Lots of photos.
Feb 22, 1944-July 21, 1944 |
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