Sunday, May 9, 2021

Now What?

(Source)

Okay, so I've written a book.

Well, most of a book, there is still a lot of editing to do, patching things together, smoothing out the rough edges and the like. But in reality, the hard part is over. The story has been told, perhaps I should say, the first part of the story. While the story is by no means finished, it's enough for now.

This writing thing is hard work. Not the writing itself (though that's hard enough) but the emotional investment in the story. I've literally lost sleep over the fates of the characters in the book. I've also lost sleep by waking in the middle of the night after some interesting plot line has silently slipped into my dreams. Kinda weird.

So really the question is, "What's next?"

I can't go back to regular blogging, there's too much in the world which angers me beyond rational thought. I started writing to get away from all that.


At first this was to be a short series leading up to D-Day. I had done these little fictional series before to coincide with some date in American military history (and one series covered an incident which occurred on the Eastern Front in 1941) but this was the first time it lasted for nearly an entire year.

While I am glad to have finished, I'm already getting the urge to start another long series. I daresay the characters in the first book need to have their stories continued into the post war period and beyond. After all the 26th Infantry Regiment (in which Hernandez, Paddock, Gammell, et al served) provided the guards for the Nuremburg War Crimes Trials. I'm sure there's a story there.

Some of the men want to stay in the army, Korea is not too far down the road, and after that is Vietnam. A number of WWII vets served in both of those conflicts. There's a story there as well.

As to the Pacific Theater, wow...  No one from this story is going to have to fight the Japanese. But I have been reading an awful lot on the Pacific lately, Ian Toll's great series was devoured over the past couple of months, and now I'm reading Implacable Foes: War in the Pacific, 1944-1945 by Waldo Heinrichs and Marc Gallicchio. Which is heavy going at times but covers MacArthur's South West Pacific Area Command very well. (Toll's trilogy was mostly about the Navy.)

Then there are E.B. Potter's biographies of Nimitz and Halsey that were given to me by reader (and friend in the real world) Old Guns not so long ago. They are on deck and won't read themselves, so I might be ready to do a Pacific Theater series at some point in the near future.

I'm also kicking around the idea of something dealing with The French and Indian War, the American Revolution, and the Napoleonic Wars. All are areas I have read a lot about (and done a little bit of reenacting about as well, as an artilleryman). The Great Tragedy of 1861 - 1865 (what I'll call it today, you know what I mean), is also a candidate for a novel, I'm just worried that doing it as a series on the blog might engender too much controversy. To hear some folks, you'd think that war ended not that long ago!


So yes, I have a few ideas to continue this writing thing, I haven't committed to anything yet. One thing I was always told was to "write what you know about," well, I know a lot of things, some even well enough to write about. But I will entertain suggestions from you, my editors, er, I mean readers. (Though truth be told I'm sure I've had some good suggestions over the life of this series.)

So feel free to chime in on what your ideas are in the comments. I need to let my brain rest for a couple of days...


92 comments:

  1. The French Indian wars preceding the American Revolution is a grand idea.

    I also suggest the involvement of other peoples affiliated with the Americans such as French and Poles during American Revolution or Filipino in WWII. Also, how about the Coastwatchers in the S. Pacific during WWII?

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    1. I've tossed around the idea of a book on the French and Indian War for a while now, the French will definitely be involved as one of the main characters is of French and Huron parentage. As for the Revolution, how could I possible leave out the French and the Poles?

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  2. The Snow Shoe Men, who fought the Indians in the early 18th Century. They were probably the first American commandos.

    Samuel Whittemore, who was a farmer and a private in a Massachusetts regiment in "King George's War in the 1740s, fought in the French and Indian War in his sixties and, at the age of 78, left his fields, got his guns and single-handedly fought the British on April 19th, 1775.

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    1. Lovely idea! It goes well with Old Guns' suggestion of covering King Philip's War. (I live in the area where that war was fought.) You're mention of the Snowshoe Men made me think Roger's Rangers, but they predate them! Now I'm excited!

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  3. Some major incidents in King Philip's War (1675-76) occurred in the vicinity where you now abide. It would not be a long ride even by R. I. standards to visit most of the major skirmish sites. Had this conflict not turned out as it did the colonials in New England would not have been . Old Guns

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    1. Yes, goes well with Comrade Misfit's suggestion. I had just read something on that war not that long ago, there's also a fellow who did a YouTube series on the war.

      As I mentioned above, I'm pretty excited about this idea.

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  4. Old Gun's plot sounds interesting as does the French and Indian War, locations are close to your neck of the woods as well (possible road trips?). Continuing the ETO tale of post-war occupation and Nuremburg Trials certainly would put the bow on, Sarge. For what it's worth I'd hold off on the 1861-65 conflict for a bit. Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms out there!

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    1. I've visited a number of locations where both those wars were fought. (Heck, I live in one.) Yeah, the 1861-1865 idea has already been put on the back burner. For various (and some obvious) reasons.

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    2. How about writing of these men's lives after the war. My dad flew his first tour with the 91st BG in '43 and his second with the 388th in'44. He had little to say about the war till around 1990 when he asked me to do some research about the 91st. He had watched, from the ball turret in another B17, his crew go down in flames. 45 years later you could hear the helplessness in his voice as he described what he saw. That day 3 of the 6 B17's of the 324th squadron were shot down. They had faced very aggressive fighter attacks on the was to the target. My mother who was a WAC over there, lived with the aftermath for the remainder of my dads life. I found a guy who was in the 91st living just a couple of miles from my dad and took him over to visit. The man had sent his wife and kids shopping and was hesitant about me being there until my dad told him I was a 12yr AF veteran. It was painful watching them. This was 45 years after the war and this man, who had come home, married, raised a family, built a business sat and openly cried with my dad and talked of the pain and loss. 45 years later these men still lived with the pain. I don't know you could make this interesting but we all know just taking off the uniform doesn't take away the life we have lived.

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    3. That's some powerful stuff right there TSgt Joe. A pretty good idea as well. It's something I'm considering.

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    4. I'll echo an endorsement of the idea of keeping up with our guys a little longer; you've done the character development here. I think this is one reason literary sequels ( if well done) are popular.
      Even if you didn't the prospects of Hernandez, Paddock et al being recalled for Korea (one of my uncles was). So few people know/think of that war.
      T'any rate, take some time; you've certainly earned it!
      Thanks once more,
      Boat Guy

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    5. The men on both sides will have a sequel to their story, probably a prequel as well.

      Just not right away.

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    6. Gotcha! Please don't mistake our enthusiasm as anything but.
      Boat Guy

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    7. Oh I understand BG, I just like to let y'all know where I'm at on the readers' suggestions. All are good.

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  5. First of all, thank you for your efforts in putting together such a fine “fictional “ account of the war in Europe. On a fishing trip a couple of weeks ago I listened to a friend recount some of his father’ stories of flying in the Mighty 8th in WW2. His father is a three war retired Air Force colonel and will be 99 next month. Thank you for this series

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    1. Wow! We're losing those folks so fast now, good to know there are still some around!

      And thanks for reading!

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  6. I've been reading a number of stories lately about the civil war, and as usual, I've also been reading and participating in the comment sections, as well. Your comment that a lot of folks behave as though it ended much more recently than it actually did is quite on point, I think. Having spent time in the deep south and in the far north over the last several decades has allowed me to experience a lot of people's sentiments regarding that conflict. My feeling is that we as a people have never really completely transitioned to the 'peace' that should have followed that disagreement. We have not reconciled our differences, over which the war was fought.

    If there was one major historical tragedy that I could go back and change, I would save President Lincoln, for there was much he intended (I think) that remains undone. It's impossible to know with any great certainty how successful he would have been in getting both sides to bury the hatchet, but I think it is safe to say that he would have put forth great effort, and at the very least, would have done far better than the jackasses who stepped into the role of "peacemakers" after his death. They did not promote 'normalization of relations' so much as they did perpetuate the conflicting differences, and the effects of that are alive yet today.

    A good example of that has to do with the recent tearing down of statues and fighting to rename institutions. Arguments rage as to whether the monumental figures of the South were Great men (and women), or traitors. It should be obvious to anyone who tries to be reasonable that while some aspects of the cause for which they fought were inhumane, there are other aspects which were admirable. For many of them, their cause had little to do with slavery, but rather much more to do with political dissatisfaction, and the great need for change. Those conditions continue to exist today, and had their been a more successful transition after the war, it would have accomplished at least some of those much needed changes.

    Yes, I think that no matter how much you would strive to avoid it, you would either be forced to take sides, or would be made to appear to. Many there are who want very much to perpetuate the differences that conflict emphasized. The true enemies of the people are those very agitators. They should all be singled out, and be deprived of their ability to perpetuate conflict, by whatever means necessary.

    I could rant on, but I think I've at least made the point I originally intended to. Taking the subject any further would just make me grind my teeth even more.

    Thanks for sharing with all of us the fruits of your labors, Sarge. And thank you as well for letting us each participate, to whatever small degree, in the development of the final products. I think you are a wise man, to know that in (condoning) allowing us to participate, you give us a certain feeling of empowerment, and that in turn makes us feel invested, and therefore all the more supportive of you, and your efforts, and that by listening to the voices of the masses, you have cultivated a great many lesser muses, in a sense. I'm sure I speak for many when I say that we will continue to support and praise your ongoing efforts, in whatever direction they run. And there is no hurry. Taking time to regroup has resulted in far more battle wins than losses!

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    1. Well said. As a son of the south, I have an oral history that seems to stand at odds with official narrative in areas. And it strikes me as similar to the Cubans I have known. The older ones would take a cruse every so often near enough to their homeland to see it on the horizon... And weep for it.

      The world would be a much different place.

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    2. Though, yes, from a Southern point of view, Lincoln was a total rat-bastide during war, his post-war plans of reconciliation and togetherness would have been good for the whole country. The military, for the most part, on both sides were for it, to just stop and get on with life and move forward.

      But that jackass Booth and his merry band of friggin idiots just couldn't let go. And thus they got the tyranny and oppression they expected, that put the South down until, well, in many places, WWII.

      Not saying that stupidity wouldn't have occurred during a post-war Lincoln period, but his views, and a fully weaponized federal system (boo-hisssss) would have mellowed a lot of the damage.

      But no. Instead we got carpetbaggers and a very angry Federal Bureaucracy and Congress that moved to punish, and punish they did. Which made reconstruction rather difficult in many places (see previous comment about 'until WWII.')

      Sigh.

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    3. Yes, I've back-burnered that project, for now. Too many sore wounds still. I get it.

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  7. My vote for next try would be in Pacific.
    1st Marine Division would be perfect unit to chronicle, from Henderson Field to Okinawa....
    (with perfect continuation point for Korea and Frozen Chosin).
    Alternatively, go with Navy centric narraive focused off some prominent warship - USS Enterprise had been done to death, but what if you would go at it from "lower decks perspective" instead of commanders and pilots?

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    1. The Pacific Theater would make a great companion book. I vote for the Central Pacific, as that's been underdone. Or maybe the CBI. Hmmm.

      As to ships, there are already books about attack transports ("Away All Boats") and PT boats and the subs and the carriers and the battleships, but the lowly DEs have been left out. So too the Oilers, Sub Tenders, the cargo ships (except for the "Mr. Roberts" movies) and a whole host of others, like the escort carriers. Though your writing about ATAs, PTs, Fleet boats, and capital ships would be cool too.

      Dangit, too many options...

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    2. @Beans/

      DEs? Try The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat. Great fictional read as true to life (by all accounts) as one could hope for..

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    3. PS Beans: DO read the description @Amazon!! Was written by a guy who had served on a Corvette in N. Atlantic. Pub in 1951 I bought it when in 5th grade as a Ballentine Paper-back...Again, GREAT read..

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    4. The Pacific will happen eventually, and I like Paweł's suggestion to stay away from the main players, that really has been done to death.

      DEs? I actually know a guy who served on a post-war DE. Not a bad suggestion!

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    5. Virgil - Outstanding book! (I think I had the same edition.)

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    6. ...There is the (nonfiction) "Little Shio, Big War" by Edward Stafford who commanded Abercrombie (DE343) in the Pacific...

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    7. Little Ship, Big War is a Great Book! So is the prequel, Subchaser! Stafford could write, no doubt about it!

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    8. (Don McCollor)...Nicholas Monsarrat also published three nonfiction books about his experiences in corvettes, later combined into one book as "Three Corvettes" . The fictional "The Cruel Sea" reflects a lot of his experiences...

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  8. Your writing has me hooked. From what I have read so far, I am sure I would enjoy whatever you write about.
    Thank you

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  9. Rest your weary mind for a few days. Maybe Erika can fill in?

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    1. Oh I shall rest, unless I ask Erika to post...

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  10. What ever you decide It will be of the same caliber of that which i have already read of your work. You have a gift and it enthralls those who read it.

    I would, however, toss my hat into the French Indian wars.

    But first, I want to buy the book of what we just read and read it again.

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    1. Yes, I do have to put that all together, fill the gaps, sand down the rough edges, and get it published.

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  11. What next?... Do the Pacific theater. The Marines and the Navy combined could be a helluva storyline, considering your literary chops. And, thanks again for the great read.

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    1. And the Army. There was a lot of Army action involving the Marines and Navy, and a lot of Marine action involving the Army, and yada yada. The services were more... separated in the western Pacific, but were much more conglomerated in the Central Pacific.

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    2. Alright.... I'll concede the Army was there. :) Just please oh please, don't let it be like "Hacksaw Ridge"! ;)

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    3. I' m sure a visit to the Pacific will happen, just not sure when. It was a massive and very complex campaign, two campaigns really, MacArthur's and Nimitz'.

      Might be interesting to take it further and assume the bombs weren't used...

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  12. Personally, I'd like someone to approach you with a book deal, and pay you to edit a screen play. In my opinion, you book is as compelling as "Saving Private Ryan", and should be treated with the same respect.

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    1. High praise, I'd rather like that too!

      (And I want a say in who plays who!)

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    2. I think it's considerably better, than Saving Private Ryan.

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  13. If you decide to do a Pacific book, come down to Fredericksburg and visit the museum. And let me know when you do, I'd like to buy you a beer and sit and visit. You can revisit the much changed AF bases here, and Ft. Sam's medical museum.

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    1. When he does visit, he'd better let me know, or else. Oh, and I'll buy you both a beer.

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    2. I do need to get down that way.

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    3. Sneak past you juvat? I don't see that happening. 😁

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  14. First vote, Oran to Normandy for the 26th. Second vote, French and Indian wars. Your site has been a morning visit with tea prior to the daily telecons in this Covid environment. Thoroughly enjoyable. Would love to see a chapter on the guys (both sides) return home to book end WW2.

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    1. I like the idea of a prequel. Good stories there!

      Thanks!

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    2. The prequel would give us more Stump. All that needs be said.
      Boat Guy

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  15. I'll bet this story (the one we just finished) just happened rather than being planned. When the next one is ready it will happen too.

    I will admit that writing about the war between the states (1861-1865) today is almost current affairs... I've no real idea why that should be but it is, I suspect that someone behind the curtain pulling the strings wants it like that, so it is. We are living in strange times.

    I'd like to hear your version of what happened in Lexington that morning of April 19, 1775 that lead to the deaths of John Brown, Samuel Hadley, Caleb Harrington, Jonathon Harrington, Robert Munroe, Isaac Muzzey, Asahel Porter, and Jonas Parker.

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    1. I visited Lexington a few years back and was very moved by the place & the event that took place there

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    2. Rob - You should read this. I've always wanted to continue that story.

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    3. Lexington - Hallowed ground to a real New Englander.

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  16. I hope you'll be keeping good notes to journalize The Second Great Tragedy.
    For my grandson 'cause I won't be reading it: I understand paper burns too quickly down there.

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    1. Let's hope neither of those things comes to pass!

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  17. I think Oran to Normandy for the 26th also, write the entire journey for them. Then publish it. I was on a Zoom meeting with Sgt Mom (Celia Hayes) yesterday and she was giving publishing advice to another person in the meeting. Her publishing website is watercresspress.com and has a lot of information regarding the process and steps to take. Check it out!

    Then the Pacific.

    Ever think about WWI?

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    1. I shall check out that site, Sgt Mom is good people.

      I have thought about WWI, even wrote a short series on it. Go here and look for WWI - The Last Week.

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    2. Sgt. Mom is thoroughly Badger Approved!

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  18. There is, of course, in regards to the book you just wrote, all your other European WWII stories that are just as compelling. Don't know if you can mesh those in with Our Americans and Germans, but...

    As to what to write next? You know what to do. You just have to let it flow. Sitting down and saying "Ima writing a Pacific story" when your mind wants to write something else is how GRR Mountain hasn't finished his long, slogging, screwed by TV story....

    Frankly, to tell the complete truth, I'd read anything from you, as your writing style and attention to detail make the stories seem true. (nothing is worse than garbage attention in a story. Me mum sent me basically a semi-bodice-ripper version of the Great Unpleasantness and the errors within the first 40 pages made me put down the 12 volume set. And I've read the whole of the 'Vicompte de Bragalone' series by Dumas that 'the man in the iron mask' is one part of the 15 book set. Damn, Dumas could write and write and write and write and write...)

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    1. It has to flow, otherwise it will feel forced and will probably be a bad read. So yes, I'll wait for The Muse to get her 2x4 out and smack me with it...

      Dumas could definitely spin a tale!

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  19. As someone with deep roots in NE and the greater Northeast, I would toss my hat into the French and Indian Wars and then advance to the Revolution. If you go that way, let me know...living in Schenectady/Mohawk Valley region there are a lot of resources, and, you could do a road trip to Fort Ti. I would take you and the Mrs out to dinner if you wander this way.

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    1. I am leaning that way for sure. But a free dinner? That might seal the deal! 😉

      I've been up to Fort Ti (or Carillon as we Frenchies call it), love that place, need to go back!

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  20. The Pacific Theater would be interesting. Ever the one "sticking" out, the Napoleonic period would be awesome as well.

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    1. I've been wanting to do a Napoleonic series for quite a while, it's near and dear to my heart.

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    2. You know a lot about that era, too!

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    3. Master and Commander still remains one of the finest movies I have seen (conscious of the fact the movie was a compilation of three books, I believe).

      Also - The Siege and Relief of Vienna, or even a history of Poland during Jan Sobieski's reign (so many amazing things that are virtually unknown in the West).

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    4. I did like that movie, a lot.

      There are lots of stories in history that few in the West know of, Hell, the ways things are going most people in the West know damned little history to begin with.

      Sigh...

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    5. We sigh together. The wealth of knowledge at our fingertips and so many actively seek to learn less, not more...

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  21. (Don McCollor)...Well Well done. From the non-fiction accounts I have read, you could occasionally put "I" in place of one of the names of the (surviving) men, and it would read like an actual war story...

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  22. (Don McCollor)...Some worthless suggestions for the future. The Philippine rebellion. It only lasted a couple years. Jungle warfare like Vietnam, but without air or artillery support, communications or even regular resupply (one officer was shooting bats to feed his men. With visibility 20 feet in the rain.. In WW2, the campaign in the Aleutian Islands. And almost forgotten in WW2 is Burma, when the Allies fought to keep the Ledo road open after the Japanese closed the Burma road to supply China and keep her in the war. A polyglot mix of British, Indian, Gurkha, Chinese, Burmese, and American soldiers...

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  23. Ok, I'll repeat that I will pony up a C-note to help sponsor the book to be published. I'd be happy to be listed as one of the REMF's. Who's with me?

    Spin

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  24. I am sure you have read EB Sledge’s Account of the Pacific war as a marine. It was brutal and I think he wrote it in the 80s as sort of a cathartic experience

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    1. Bought it right after watching the HBO series The Pacific.

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  25. Building on a couple of notes above: The Destroy Escort Navy was vital and little recognized. You MUST get over the Albany, NY and visit USS SLATER (DE-766), the BEST RESTORED ship in the entire historic ship fleet. Tim Rizutto runs the show and is a history lover, and formerly ran USS KidD in Baton Rouge. Much of the restoration and maintenance has been by vets who served on DEs, but increasingly their kids or sailors from newer ships. Living conditions are a bit "primitive" compared to those you saw underway on the phantom contributor's bird farm.

    https://ussslater.org/
    https://www.facebook.com/USS.Slater
    their facebook page is filled with a variety of DE incidents to provide story lines.

    Perhaps some DE sailors related to characters in the 26th series could compare their experiences at BBQs etc?

    Those poor upstate NY folks circa 1750-1783 got their share of fighting. One vital, underappreciated, story with a diverse cast, features a 25 year old Boston bookseller, Henry Knox, self taught artillerist, and the heroic efforts he and the mostly local population to move 60 tons of captured artillery from Ft. Ticonderoga to enforce Washington's siege of Boston.
    Henry Knox is a character worthy of Phib's Full Bore Friday, and Paul Harvey's "Rest of the Story." Of course, he did not achieve this alone, and your ability to create the supporting characters could draw out a lot of that event.
    By all means, EVERYONE should at least read his Wikipedia entry- since schools don't teach history any more.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Knox

    John Blackshoe

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    1. Henry Knox is one of my heroes. Heavy-set guy who reads a lot...

      What's not to like?

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    1. Peut-être...

      J'ai plus de sang français que d'anglais. (Not to mention Scots and Irish, so les Anglais have been the "bad guys" since I was young.)

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  27. Phenomenal, Sarge. Thanks again for making this my first online score of each day. Take a pause as you will; whatever comes next will be worth watching for!

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Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

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