March through Hell: A Novel of WWII

Have you read A March through Hell? If not, why not?

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Captain Kim Taylor has had enough of the Second World War.

After Taylor barely survived the Germans in North Africa, the authorities found him passed out in a Kentucky barn with a mayor's teenage daughter. They gave him a choice, the Pacific or prison.

Now Taylor is reluctantly leading a recon platoon with the 5037th Regiment (Provisional), the misfits of the U.S. Army better known as Merrill's Marauders.

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The Horror in Burma

Apparently Aung Sang Suu Kyi is some sort of leader (the title and powers are a little vague) of Myanmar. Ahhh, it will always be Burma to us:

We vaguely remember this woman as a trendy cause celeb in the mid-late 90's and even recall a rally in support of her at our university. She won the the coveted Nobel Peace Prize.

So, via the Guardian,  this is absolutely hilarious:

Oxford council bestowed the freedom of the city on her in 1997, when she was being held as a political prisoner by Myanmar’s military junta. 

The decision to remove the award comes after the Oxford college where Aung San Suu Kyi studied recently removed her portrait from public display.

The governing body of St Hugh’s college decided to remove the painting of the Nobel laureate from its main entrance.

It turns out the sainted Aung San is just another repressive Third World dictator, at best at best a Pervez Musharraf, but given current events more of an Idi Amin:

Meanwhile, a major fundraising appeal has been launched to help the hundreds of thousands of people fleeing violence in Burma. 

The 13 member charities who make up the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) took action to step up their humanitarian relief as more than half a million people sought medical care, food and sanctuary. 

The majority have been Muslim Rohingya people, who have fled to Bangladesh amid atrocities and fatalities in Rakhine state, on Mayanmar’s western coast, following clashes between insurgents and security forces in recent weeks.

Fleeing to Bangladesh? Jesus.

Now, Jews in good standing are supposed to declare their shock and outrage at this apparent ethnic cleansing, call for UN Peace Keepers, and declare Never Again.

We're not a Jew in good standing, We're 44 and cynical and couldn't care less.

Magazine Publications: Vinegar Joe

Over the years I've published about a hundred magazine articles. This is one of several magazine articles I've written about the Second World War in Burma:

Nicknamed “Vinegar Joe,” Stilwell did not make friends easily. He detested the British officer class, which he thought was snobbishly addicted to pomp and privilege, and he was no fonder of intractable Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, whom he nicknamed “Peanut” for his chronic timidity and foot dragging in the face of the enemy. Chiang, he said, was nothing more than “a grasping, bigoted, ungrateful little rattlesnake” who was more than happy to receive American supplies and equipment, while letting someone else—the British or the Americans—do his fighting for him.

The piece was at first about the Chinese army fighting in Burma. Several divisions were present, including two of the best in the Chinese Army. The editor of Military Heritage decided this was too narrow a focus and wanted the piece to be more about the American effort and Vinegar Joe Stilwell. Plenty of info about the Chinese made the cut though:

Outnumbered and without air support, the 200th repelled several Japanese attempts to cross the Sittang and get around its flank. Over the next several days, however, the Japanese slowly ground down the 200th Division and by March 22 had turned both its right and left flanks. Meanwhile, the Chinese 22nd Division, commanded by General Liao Yao-hsiang, had taken position north of Toungoo, with the 96th Division following close behind. A strong counterattack could have stopped the Japanese advance in its tracks, and Stilwell worked desperately to organize one. However, most Chinese commanders were experts at doing nothing and had ready-made excuses for why they could not obey Stilwell’s orders. By March 30, faced with annihilation,an enraged and dismayed Stilwell allowed the 200th Division to pull out of Toungoo, leaving behind more than 1,000 dead.

This was actually the first of many articles I've written on the war in Burma. I've written a 7,000 word article outlining the entire campaign, Slim's masterstroke at Meiktila, Orde Wingate and the Chindits. General Ferguson, commander of the 77th Chindit brigade.

Also, I've covered Merrill's Marauders. Heck I wrote a novel about them:

Captain Kim Taylor has had enough of the Second World War. After Taylor barely survived the Germans in North Africa, the authorities found him passed out in a Kentucky barn with a mayor's teenage daughter. They gave him a choice, the Pacific or prison. Now Taylor is reluctantly leading a recon platoon with the 5037th Regiment (Provisional), the misfits of the U.S. Army better known as Merrill's Marauders....