Leave No Man Behind: The Saga of Combat Search and Rescue
George Galdorisi and Thomas Phillips. Minneapolis, MN: Zenith Press, 2009. 656 pp. Illus. Notes. Index. $30.
For nearly 100 years, countless air crews shot down behind enemy lines have been saved from capture or death by brave, dedicated combat search-and-rescue (CSAR) teams. This new and comprehensive history tracks the origin and development of CSAR from World War I to the present day.
As the preface underscores, CSAR crews are "specialists in a unique and particularly dangerous military field." Typically outnumbered and outgunned, they deliberately risk life and limb to save their comrades.
The risks they routinely face in such hazardous duties are the stuff of legend. Beyond exciting stories, the authors offer a fundamental debate on the future of U.S. CSAR plans and policies.
From the difficult birth of CSAR during World War I and the mission's vast expansion in World War II, the book covers operations during the Korean and Vietnam wars, and describes their continuing role in the aptly titled final part, "Adrift in the Small but Savage Wars of Peace." Black-and-white photos dating from 1944 feature CSAR aircraft and personnel such as Air Force Airman First Class William Pitsenbarger, posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
I was especially drawn to Chapter 50, "Reckoning," which details Air Force and Navy-Marine Corps CSAR losses in the Vietnam War. Four pages are devoted to listing crew and aircraft losses from 1965 to 1973, and the numbers are astounding.
Galdorisi and Phillips are especially well-qualified for their task, as both flew CSAR missions as Navy helicopter pilots in Vietnam. Their intimate knowledge and extensive research sheds light on often overlooked warriors who continue to perform admirably under extremely demanding conditions.
Hidden Battles on Unseen Fronts: Stories of American Soldiers with Traumatic Brain Injury and PTSD
Celia Straus. Drexel Hill, PA: Casemate Publishing, 2009. Illus. $27.50.
This interesting book by an award-winning writer relates troops' descriptions of their combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan that ended tragically in traumatic injuries to their brains and psyches. It goes on to recount the dramatic and impressive story of their recoveries.
Given the incredible growth of the U.S. military's medical and medical evacuation capabilities, even since the Vietnam War, combatants who now survive the hardest fights and concussion blasts can still suffer debilitating injuries from bullet wounds or shrapnel. Here, the author documents the rising number of cases of physical and mental brain trauma among veterans who have survived flesh wounds from battle. The chapters feature interviews with troops and their families, as well as essays by mental-health professionals and veterans' advocates.
The introduction paints a picture of the "new wounds" that have emerged from conflicts since World War I. Hence, warfare in Afghanistan and Iraq has resulted in traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Because firm evidence of the long-term psychological effect of combat can be traced to the American Civil War, such maladies have not simply developed since 2001. But regardless of historical arguments, it is refreshing to note that all royalties from this book will benefit wounded veterans and their families.
After a touching piece on Army Sergeant Nathan Toews, the titles of ensuing chapters aptly transmit their intent: for example, "Landmine Blast to a Soul," "A Sharpshooter Fires Back," and "One Foot Is Better than Two."
While I sense an underlying antiwar message in Hidden Battles on Unseen Fronts, the heartrending accounts of wounded Soldiers and Marines make it a most worthwhile read.
The Art of Command: Military Leadership from George Washington to Colin Powell
Edited by Harry S. Laver and Jeffrey J. Matthews. Lexington, KY: The University Press of Kentucky, 2008. 276 pp. Illus. Notes. Index. $32.50.
The editors and other contributors to this absorbing book establish core characteristics of exceptional leadership—such as vision, charisma, and integrity—and apply them to nine U.S. leaders. The analysis supports their view that leadership is a "practiced and learned skill," developed over time through one's own efforts and mentoring by superiors.
The Art of Command is written chronologically, so as to describe the development of the American military over more than two centuries and to identify certain commonalities among senior officers of the Army, Army Air Corps, Navy, and Marine Corps. Each chapter deals with one leader and his essential leadership skill. Chapter 1, about George Washington, for example, is titled, "Integrity and Leadership."
Subsequent chapters cover, to name a few, General Ulysses S. Grant ("Determination"); General Dwight Eisenhower ("Cross-Cultural"); and General Colin Powell ("Exemplary Followership").
General Marshall ("Institutional") was the "organization man" who readied the Army for the arduous trials of World War II, using his sharp leadership skills to radically reorganize the War Department and improve relations with fellow services. Lieutenant General Lewis "Chesty" Puller ("Charismatic") is rightly noted as a Marine Corps icon who nurtured connections with enlisted Marines and, through pre-World War II combat experience in Latin America, had learned the advantages of aggressively leading from the front. Admiral Hyman Rickover ("Technology"), an unconventional officer, took risks at every turn in his role as the father of the Navy's nuclear propulsion program.
This is a first-class review of U.S. military leaders, from briefing rooms to military battlefields, to political battlefields in Washington. Included is a fine recommended reading list and briefs on the contributors.
Taking the Sea: Perilous Waters, Sunken Ships, and the True Story of the Legendary Wrecker Captains
Dennis M. Powers. New York: AMACON Books, 2009. 305 pp. Illus. Bib. Index. $22.
Here are vivid portraits of the impetuous men known as "wreckers," who earned their living by rescuing and raising sunken ships, even when confronted by huge waves and the fiercest weather. To some, they were heroes who courageously helped rescue passengers and ships; to others, they were merely pirates who exploited shipwrecks for their treasure.
This book concentrates on Captain Thomas P. H. Whitelaw, commonly known as the "Master Wrecker." Observing the sea as a "terrible, always hungry monster," he believed that man could subdue the ocean with wit and bravery, if only for a time. Seeing himself as a kind of surgeon, Whitelaw saved ships and cargo through brilliant engineering schemes.
Born in Scotland in 1847, seaman Whitelaw arrived in San Francisco at the age of 16. From meager beginnings, he ultimately rose to oversee numerous major salvaging projects, including the raising of the Rosecrans and Dumbarton, and became a powerful businessman. In addition to ship salvaging, Whitelaw became influential in other maritime activities including commercial shipping and fishing, selling scrap, and shipbuilding.
Taking the Sea also recounts fascinating tales of other colorful wreckers and divers, and tells of salvaging operations from the Bering Sea and Alaskan coast to the Florida Keys and Bahamas Islands. While the black-and-white photos focus primarily on ships, a number of them picture Captain Whitelaw and some of his most trusted subordinates.
Dennis Powers has done a superb job of research and writing on an unusual subject that might otherwise have passed us by. Not least, he has identified a man who exemplifies the verve and initiative that has made our nation great.