{"product_id":"2940015872798","title":"Pearl Harbor: I Was There","description":"Pearl Harbor: I Was There tells about and enlisted man in World War II.  Bill was sure that the United States would get in the war, so he enlisted in the Navy in March, 1941.  Training in San Diego, he was sent to Pearl Harbor in October.  Two months later, the Japanese attacked the base, killing over 2,000 American servicemen.  Bill was a survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack, which started at 0855  on December 7, 1941, a Sunday morning.  His words describe in detail what happened that day, as the wounded and dying are brought into the enlisted men's mess hall and are helped.  Bill says that some of them were \"burned to a crisp.\"  He also tells of the bravery of the ones in the boats who are picking up the men from the water and taking them off the burning ships.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe account follows him as he serves on a PBY-5 patrol plane searching for Japanese ships and aircraft in the Pacific.  The patrols go on for hours and hours\u003cbr\u003eat a time.  Most of the time, no sight of a Japanese ship or aircraft ever occurs.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA considerable history of China, Japan, and Korea are presented, starting in the 1800's.  This tells of trade with  China, of Commodore Perry's expedition to Japan in 1853, '54, and of the treaties signed with Japan.  The Sino-Japanese War, also called the China-Japan War, 1894-95, is discussed, the some of the consequences are given.  Japan easily won the war.  One prize was Taiwan, which Japan took and held until defeat in 1945.  Also, the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-05 is noted.  Japan \u003cbr\u003eattacked the Russian Fleet at night, with no notice, at Port Arthur, a port in China.  The Russian fleet was defeated.  But fearing the stronger Russia, Japan asked the United to invite the Russians to negotiate with Japan.  This was done in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and the Treaty of Portsmouth came from those negotiations.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom Commodore Perry's expedition to Japan until the late 1920's or very early 1930's, Japan and the United States were on very good terms.  During those times, however, militarists began to take over the government, assassinating many officials who sincerely wanted peace.  The brutality in China in the late 1930's was done without the approval of the civilian government in Japan.  China's capital had been moved to Nanking, but that was taken over in December, 1937.  What happened there for a period of several months is recorded in this work.  That horror came to be known as The Rape of Nanking.  Actual documentary evidence is given, with verbatim reports of Japanese atrocities.  Again, this was without the approval of Tokyo.  One of the generals in China was convicted after the war and hanged for not controlling the soldiers under his command.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis work also tells of what is happening in the United States, from months before the attack until the war is over.  Many of President Roosevelt's Fireside Chats re given, word for word.  His speech giving the reason for the Selective Service Act is quoted.  He met Prime Minister Winston Churchill before the war, and they put out what was called The Atlantic Charter.  The history of Japanese-American relocation from their homes in California and Oregon is detailed.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA great deal of information is given on the effects of the people at home. This includes the draft, rationing of many, many items, price-fixing of goods and wages, and the creation of Daylight Savings Time.  The huge impact of the income tax is shown.  Before the war, a lot of people didn't even have to file.  The war changed that.  Also, many, many women went to work in the war plants, doing the work previously done by men, such as welding and operating complicated machines.\u003cbr\u003eThe Executive Order creating the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps is given and, later, the one greatly increasing the number.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen Bill returns from home leave, he is reassigned.  A new unit has been formed.  He is sent to Argentia, Newfoundland and flies on Convoy patrol, looking for submarines.  The plane is a PB4Y-1, a B-24.  After a few months there, the squadron is sent to Dunkeswell, England,  on antisubmarine patrol over the Bay of Biscay.  On Valentine's Day, February 14, 1944, Bill's plane is shot down by German aircraft, the JU-88's.  He spends the night in a life raft and is rescued the next day by the British Air-Sea Rescue Service.  Their motto is \"The sea shall not have them.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter getting back to his base, Bill is off flight duty for a while.  When he returns to patrol, within a very few months, he is rotated back to the States.  There, he is in two locations for a fairly short period.  President Roosevelt dies in April, 1945, and Hitler commits suicide one month later.  The war in Europe is soon over, and that is called V-E Day.  In August, an atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.  A few days later, another is dropped on Nagasaki.  The Japanese surrender and the World War II is over.  Bill gets out of the Navy in December, 1946.  He is happy","brand":"Aladdin Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47172522803440,"sku":"2940015872798","price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940015872798_p0.jpg?v=1763625802","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940015872798","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}