Military

American Prisoner of War Camps in Colorado describes the experiences of prisoners of war in the state, such as the story of two POWs who escaped from a camp in Trinidad. Was it treason, or were the three Japanese enemy alien sisters seduced by the German POWs who used their map? Stories of other escapes are detailed, such as two men who were shot to death as they tried to flee. All fifty-one prisoner of war camps and hospitals in Colorado during World War II are described, along with the names and burial locations of the seventeen German, Japanese, and Italian POWs who died in Colorado. These experiences are well documented through interviews with former prisoners and guards, translators, and civilians who worked with the prisoners of war. They are further documented by visitation reports from the Vatican Secret Archives, the prisoner of war files at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, and by many books and articles published after the war by former prisoners, guards, and scholars.

The generally humane treatment of the prisoners, led by the Geneva Convention of 1929, as well as the friendship formed between the prisoners and their guards and the farmers whose land they worked, was essential to the development of our current positive relationships with the countries of Germany, Italy, and Japan.

For fifty years, Blytheville was home to a fleet of one of the most versatile pieces of machinery in history. From the Cuban Missile Crisis, through the Vietnam War and Korean Conflict, to the fall of the Iron Curtain in the early nineties, B-52 Stratofortresses cruised the sky, and stayed on alert to be America's first line of defense. Now that America no longer has a need for its "Global Shield," many United States Air Force bases lay dormant and decaying, sinking into the earth from which they came.

From its early beginnings as farmland to a highly secure, fiercely patrolled Strategic Air Command base, to overgrown lawns and decrepit buildings filled with asbestos, to becoming the site of the National Cold War Center, follow along as author Gage Fears digs up history on a crucial part of Arkansas and military history to tell the story of the long abandoned Eaker Air Force Base.

Abandoned Arkansas: Eaker Air Force Base is a unique collection containing new information, interviews of veterans that served on the base, and rare photographs.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Heritage started in 1849 with the opening of the Aurora Branch Railroad in Illinois from Aurora to Chicago's west side. This grew into the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, which in a 1970 merger with several railroads became the Burlington Northern Railroad. A 1995 merger of the Burlington Northern Railroad with the Santa Fe Railway created the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railway, the largest railroad in North America at that time. This book carefully covers the heritage of this very successful railroad.

Established during World War II, Malmstrom Air Force Base (AFB) has supported the defense of the United States for nearly eight decades. Originally a heavy bomber training base, Great Falls Army Air Base was a nexus of fascinating war stories, from Women Airforce Service Pilots ferrying fighter aircraft to Soviet pilots transferring the same aircraft to the Eastern Front during the closing days of World War II. After the war, Great Falls AFB was selected to train pilots for the Berlin Airlift.

Nuclear deterrence took center stage in the early Cold War years, with Malmstrom AFB providing air defense, command and control, and aerial refueling over the Northern Tier. Reflecting unmatched excellence, Malmstrom AFB was selected to operate the first wing of Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles in 1961. This legacy of being the first has earned the wing the nickname "Wing One," with a storied history to follow. The men and women of Malmstrom AFB continue to work grueling jobs in often difficult conditions, but still maintain the pride and excellence in service that defined their predecessors' successes.

Berthed today at NAUTICUS, the National Maritime Center, the USS Wisconsin (BB-64) was the last authorized of the four Iowa-class battleships, the largest American dreadnoughts ever built. Wisconsin saw action in World War II and the Korean Conflict for which the Big Wisky earned a collective six battle stars. Brought out of mothballs and recommissioned a second time on October 22, 1988, the Wisconsin saw action again during the Persian Gulf War but was decommissioned a third time on September 30, 1991. But this great piece of American history was not destined for a lengthy slumber. Resurrected by the city of Norfolk and USS Wisconsin Foundation, working in lockstep with the Navy, it has become a museum ship and Navy heritage site that continues the legacy of duty, honor, and country that was the calling card of Wisconsin's crew, and to inspire future generations of Americans.

"The earliest physicians arriving in Pittsburgh had their roots in military service. The legacy of these physician-soldiers extends from pioneer days through modern times. The involvement of military contingents, physicians serving with or trained by military units, and the myriad organizations that were created to respond to their efforts have played a critical role in the long-term development of healthcare in the city.

It started with the first physician-soldiers who came with the British army. Initially, they came to evict the French and claim the area in the king's name, and later they returned to protect the Ohio Land Company's first settlements. Initially, their presence was fleeting; they stayed only as long as orders required. It would not be long before the settlements grew and an initial few decided to stay and make the area their home.

As Physician-Soldiers at the Forks demonstrates, the military left an indelible mark on the city's medical practices. Today, Pittsburgh is a city driven by its medical and education sectors, both grown from roots that were planted more than 250 years ago on the day that the first physician-soldier landed at the forks.

The foundations that were laid by these physician-soldiers should not be forgotten, and this is their story."

Weak maritime nations have always sought to augment the strength of their coastal defenses and navies by the use of "diabolical" contrivances for destroying an invader's ships.

The history of the adoption of the torpedo as a recognized implement of warfare is not unlike that of gunpowder or of exploding shells. Each in its turn was met by the cry, "Inhuman, barbarous, unchivalrous."

During the American Civil War, the Confederate Navy employed submerged mines, called torpedoes, and explosive charges mounted on a long pole referred to as the "spar torpedo" which was bumped into the hull of an enemy vessel exploding on contact. These weapons enjoyed great success during the conflict.

In July 1869, the Secretary of the Navy announced the establishment of the Naval Torpedo Station on Goat Island in the harbor of Newport, Rhode Island, for development of a more sophisticated and deadlier self-propelled torpedo. From its founding until the end of the Second World War, the Naval Torpedo Station has been the Navy's principal center for the design of torpedoes.

Newport continues as the home of the U.S. Navy's most important laboratory for research and development of modern weapons' systems.

A once-remote auxiliary air station that sprung from the mud flats of old Princess Anne County near the whistle stop of Oceana, from which it gets its name, Naval Air Station Oceana has advanced in the decades since World War II to become the navy's East Coast master jet base and one of the largest and most advanced air stations in the world. Through interviews, exhaustive research and rare and often never-before-seen photographs, author and historian Yarsinske tells the story of vision, courage and commitment that reinforce what Admiral Michael G. Mullen, then chief of naval operations, said of Oceana when he testified before the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) commission regional hearings on August 4, 2005, his words just as relevant today as they were then. "We know how important it is to our training. We know how important it is to our preparation for warfighting. We know how important it is to be good neighbors, and we will continue to be. Our sailors and their families - and I include my own family on that list - enjoy living in the wonderful communities of the great state of Virginia," he continued. "Mr. Chairman [Anthony Principi], I need now - your navy needs now - Naval Air Station Oceana."

American Prisoner of War Camps in Southern California describes the impact of the large number of prisoners of war on the population of Southern California, as well as the impact of the people of Southern California on those imprisoned there. Providing detail on the care and employment of prisoners of war according to the Geneva Convention of 1929, the lives of POWs are illustrated, along with the details of camp locations in Southern California and the deaths and burials that occurred among them. Some prisoner names are included, as well as references to source materials at various repositories. Historical photographs serve to provide depth to the story.

Plenty of tales of heroism have been shared about the Second World War, but few illustrate the anxiety and injustices endured on U.S. soil. Dick is a fatherless boy and the only man in a household of nine. Anthony is your average Italian kid from Boyle Heights. He's courting Stevie's baby sister, Lucy. Stevie's a go-getter whose reality is carved by his father's sink or swim devotion to LA business. Frankie's a glamor guy attending USC and the privileged son of a notorious Sicilian gambling czar. His kid sister Anna fears the same fate as the Japanese. War was never part of the plan. But more than simple war ties them. Italian-Americans made up the largest ethnic group to serve, yet sadly, more than half a million of their relatives living stateside became "enemy aliens." The Fight Abroad honors the military service of Los Angeles Italians, while The Fear Back Home centers on the hardships they faced along the California coast--property seizure, curfew and travel restrictions, forced relocation, shame, and even internment. The quiet stigma is no longer hidden.

Thousands of immigrants from the southern Italian region of Calabria came to the Chicago-area in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. As many as 8,000 of them served in the U.S. military during World War I, and until now no effort has been made to document their story. Historian Peter L. Belmonte has been researching these men using military, immigration, naturalization, census, family, and other records for more than twenty years. This book recounts the military history of more than 380 men from the province of Cosenza, Calabria. Their history highlights the role of the U.S. military in World War I; they served in every type of unit, from stateside camps to the trenches of France and even to the frozen wasteland of Siberia. Some of them earned medals for bravery. Many of the men suffered life-changing wounds, and some made the supreme sacrifice. Long without a voice in historical works, their story is finally told here.

Over the past thirty-five years, a small team of explorers have surveyed the southern basin of Lake Michigan in search of World War II US Navy aircraft. The aircraft were lost during mishaps that occurred during an almost forgotten naval project which had trained thousands of aircraft carrier pilots between the years of 1942 through 1945.
Because the explorers became so proficient at locating and recovering the aircraft, the Director of the National Naval Aviation Museum engaged them in an effort to rescue dozens of aircraft for presentation to the American public. Today, these wonderful machines, which had been used by the Greatest Generation to preserve the world's freedom and liberty, are viewed by and touch the lives of millions of people each year.
As with all good things in life, it is the end result that is most known. The trials, troubles and effort to get there is almost always forgotten. This book tells the stories of how the exploration team succeeded through an odyssey within a realm no others have dared to enter.