In Peace and War: A History of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point
Jeffrey L. Cruikshank and Chloe G. Kline. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2008. 523 pp. Illus. Notes. Bib. Index. $35.
The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) was founded in 1937. One of five federal academies, it has trained more than 20,000 mariners in peace and war. But in spite of its success, the current superintendent, Vice Admiral (and former Marine Corps Major General) Joseph Stewart remarks that, by the mid-1990s, "budget cutters in Washington" were proposing that the school be closed.
The chapter "Planting the Seeds" underscores the importance of merchant ships to American independence and traces the difficult steps leading to the establishment of the Merchant Marine Academy. "Conceived In Peace: 1937-1941" describes the mind-boggling political dealings that finally resulted in creation of the school and the U.S. Maritime Service.
The book then recounts the chaotic days during World War II, including humorous comments by Cadet Carl Seiberlich, the first USMMA graduate to make admiral in the Navy. "The Guns Return" lamentably tells of a superintendent who was "out of touch with the maritime industry, with Kings Point, and even with his beloved Coast Guard." Numerous appendices include lists of Maritime Administrators, USMMA superintendents, and the 210 cadets and graduates lost in World War II. Among the excellent photos is an especially striking one of the painting showing the SS John W. Brown in convoy off the East Coast in 1944.
The authors of In Peace and War have done the kind of meticulous work that any historian would envy. I have personally known only two USMMA grads—one, a shipmate and friend, the other a SEAL who worked for me. This book explains the thorough grounding that started them on the road to dedicated professionalism.
Call of Duty: My Life Before, During, and After the Band of Brothers
Lynn "Buck" Compton, with Marcus Brotherton. New York: Penguin Group, 2008. 275 pp. Illus. Index. $24.95.
This is a most interesting autobiography of an intense and busy man, dating from his earliest years in Los Angeles to his retirement in the Pacific Northwest. He fought as a platoon leader in the 101st Airborne Division in World War II and was featured in the 2001 television mini-series, Band of Brothers. After the war, he served as an L.A. County deputy district attorney before his appointment as an associate justice to the California Court of Appeals.
Lynn Compton began work early as a Hollywood child extra. "I was seven or eight years old when my movie career started." After a few years, however, he was fired on the set by none other than Charlie Chaplin. Much later, he attended UCLA on a football scholarship and was a baseball teammate of Jackie Robinson.
Having enrolled in ROTC and believing he had the "responsibility to go and fight," Buck left his tearful mother to depart for training at Fort Benning, Georgia, ending up in Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He was wounded during Operation Market Garden and then fought at Bastogne, where he witnessed "unprecedented gore."
His postwar endeavors were also adventurous. While working his way through law school with the L.A.P.D., Compton delivered a summons to feisty Hedy Lamar and chased off-track bookmakers. By 1968, he was on the legal team that prosecuted Sirhan Sirhan, the assassin of Robert Kennedy.
Call of Duty is unlike most modern autobiographies, which often are poorly masked ego trips. Instead, readers are treated to the subject's frailties as well as strengths. Whether you agree or disagree with Buck Compton, you cannot help but admire him.
Playships of the World: The Naval Diaries of Admiral Dan Gallery, 1920-1924
Robert Shenk. Columbia, SC: The University of South Carolina Press, 2008. 336 pp. Illus. Notes. Bib. Index. $34.95.
Humorist James Thurber wrote "The Playship of the World" after touring the USS Pittsburgh (CA-4) off the coast of France and viewing her as "unquestionably the nearest approach in all workaday American life to the lost land of fantasy." Hence, the genesis of the book's title, the Pittsburgh being one of four ships that Gallery served on during his early years in the Navy.
En route to Belgium to compete in the 1920 Olympic Games, he met fellow contestant Marine Lieutenant Harry Liversedge (later a combat hero in World War II). Alas, only a few days after the games began, Gallery's career as a wrestler was ended when he lost his match. He never wrestled again. Following numerous European liberty trips, he sighted Fire Island and reported, "The whole trip had been a wonder."
Ships and play provide the underlying current for the book. While temporarily on board the USS Arizona (BB-39), Ensign Gallery returned after a night out with Captain (later Lieutenant General) Henry Buse of the Marine Detachment and "hit the hay about 3." But all was not play. Following an unwelcome assignment to the USS Stevens (DD-86), he wrote his father that, nonetheless, "I have a chance to do something here now and get it right and I intend to take advantage of it."
Later, on the Pittsburgh, Gallery's diaries tell of the ship's "grand tour of Europe," from Baltic ports to Italy and France. A dance at one British consulates' party was reported tersely: the admiral came, "so the party was dry and no one had a good time."
These diaries are full of appealing sea stories. They reveal shipboard duties, fun in port, and—not least—the considerable writing ability of an ensign who went on to become a distinguished naval aviator and rear admiral.
An article by Shenk, To the 1920 Olympics by Cruiser, based on his research for this book appears in the August issue of Naval History.
War On Two Fronts: An Infantry Commander's War in Iraq and the Pentagon
Christopher P. Hughes. Drexel Hill, PA: Casemate Publishers, 2007. 306 pp. Illus. Maps. Notes. Index. $32.95.
This is an unambiguous story of the many tasks facing the U.S. Army today, from combat operations in Iraq to bureaucratic infighting in the Pentagon. The author commanded the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry (2/327) of the 101st Airborne Division in 2003, and was subsequently transferred to Washington for high-level staff duties.
Author Rick Atkinson notes in the book's foreword that Christopher Hughes "writes with clarity, candor, and an abiding affection for his soldiers." As an embedded reporter with the 101st Airborne, he found then-Lieutenant Colonel Hughes to be thoughtful and professional—"a soldier's soldier"—the very best compliment of all.
Part I relates the intensive preparations of 2/327 for war, and its battles and counterinsurgency operations in Najaf, Al Hillah, and northern Iraq. In one discussion with his battalion leaders, the subject of using civilians as human shields emerged. Their CO responded quickly: "If you find yourself in this situation . . . shoot through the wall of civilians and kill the enemy." Otherwise, he explained, they will continue to use that tactic against us.
Part II focuses largely on the Pentagon, known by wags as the "five-sided puzzle palace." As a veteran of its halls, I can appreciate that Hughes was "impressed, confused, and frightened" by its decision-making processes. To his great credit, however, he persevered. Among other accomplishments, his considerable field and staff experience combined with sheer drive to make him key to establishment of the Iraqi Advisory Task Force.
Glancing at the title, War On Two Fronts could be mistaken for the hand-wringing essay of a disaffected warrior. In fact, it conveys the perceptive views of an exceptional officer who should definitely be bound for higher places.