D-Day celebration in Normandy - best coverage

This is the best coverage I found on the D-Day celebration in Normandy:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/06/d-day-landings-70-years-anniversary-live

It's a time-stamped blog feed with great photos, so read from the bottom. There are many extra great articles on the right side of the blog.

One item of note is the clip of the RAF Red Arrows.

Thanks for stopping by.

D-Day 6 June 1944 - 70th anniversary

Please take a moment to remember the men who died in the invasion of Normandy 70 years ago.

NBC has a show at 7:00 PM CDT about Normandy that will include interviews with men who went ashore that day.

Memorial Day 2014

To all veterans: Please accept our gratitude for your service and sacrifice. Always know we respect you and hold you in the highest regard and esteem.

To the families of veterans: Thank you for your love and support toward your veteran. Your sacrifices are remembered today, too.

To the WWII veterans who went ashore on 6 June 1944: the 70th anniversary of D-Day is coming up. The people of the entire world owe you a deep gratitude that can never be repaid. The best we can do is to try to pay forward your courage, dedication, determination, and sacrifice.

In memory of my mom and my uncles who served:

Olga - U.S. Coast Guard
Amos - U.S. Army, Silver Star
Hugo - U.S. Army, Purple Heart
Norman - U.S. Army 
Lester - U.S. Navy

European theater versus the Pacific theater - Battle of Midway

While my books are focused in Europe, I have a keen interest in the Pacific war. As I've mentioned before, I read a lot of WWII non-fiction to deepen my knowledge. Additionally, I record and watch many shows on the Military and History channels. 

One recent show was about the Battle of Midway between Admirals Nimitz and Yamamoto. It gave a particularly good account of the battle. It highlighted the Japanese arrogance including their own operational security failures such as mentioning "Midway" in clear radio transmissions prior to the battle.

In what can only be described as the fog of war, or perhaps merely drawing the wrong conclusions from intelligence, the Japanese made terrible command decisions. Among them were events that led to having fueled and armed aircraft parked on the deck far too long, and the Zero air cover being too low (fighting off the Avenger torpedo bombers). This resulted in allowing the Dauntless dive bombers to arrive at the correct altitude. 

In another show, a Dauntless pilot talked about making the first hit on the aft of a carrier deck: the stress of the near-vertical dive, releasing at the right moment to get the bomb to fall where the zig-zagging carrier would be, and then pulling up out of the dive which took all of his strength. 

The final outcome was four carrier losses for the Japanese. This turned out to be the fatal blow for them because they never recovered their naval strength again. The Battle of Midway was when momentum shifted in the Pacific. From that time on, the United States began to win over and over again. This is not to say it was a forgone conclusion, that would be insulting to the sailors and marines and soldiers who died after June 7th.

This Memorial Day, please take a moment to remember those before us who gave everything. 

Why write about WWII? - Part 3

In a previous post I mentioned reading Up Periscope by Robb White, my first war story. Other things that I loved were the TV shows Combat! and 12 O'clock High. Occasionally, on Saturday morning, one of the Kansas City stations showed WWII movies, not all of them with John Wayne, but many were. The land battles, especially those with tanks, were exhilarating, the submarine movies tense, the dogfights incredible. I was always awed by the credits scrolling by at the end thanking the the Department of the Navy, or the US. Army, etc. Wow! They approved this movie! Finally, let's not forget the Rat Patrol!

On top of all that, there were two fabulous comic books about WWII: Sgt. Rock and Sgt. Fury. A few blocks from my house was a used comic book and record shop. Most of my meager weekly allowance was spent there, handed over with glee to the small, dark-haired man behind the counter. If I had to choose between a comic book or a Coke, the comic book won.

We're all products of our past. So is my writing. My fascination with WWII had its genesis as shown above. As I grew older, the fascination didn't abate, I just changed sources. In high school and college I studied some history and military history. In 1977, at age 25, I first read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer. I own the 1960 version, not the abridged version. I have subsequently read it twice more, all 1,242 pages of a view into utter evil. This is a must-read for anyone wanting to learn more about WWII.

It's my goal to provide my readers with several things in each book:

• a fast-paced book with lots of battle action.
• characters you can love (and care what happens to them) and others you can hate and want them to get their just rewards.
• tidbits of facts interwoven within the story.

From the feedback I receive by way of reader emails and reviews, I'm on target.

I'm working on the third Sgt. Dunn novel, which is untitled, but to which I refer as sd3. I didn't set out to recreate Sgt. Rock and Sgt. Fury, and until yesterday, hadn't thought about them much at all, and not during the writing of the books. Sgt. Dunn is clearly defined in my head and on paper, and while I owe part of my WWII fascination to Sgts. Rock and Fury, Sgt. Dunn is his own man. 

Thanks for stopping by today.

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would to love to hear from you.

D-Day, June 6, 1944; The Climactic Battle of World War II by Stephen E. Ambrose

D-Day, June 6, 1944; The Climactic Battle of World War II by Stephen E. Ambrose.

I finished reading Ambrose's book on D-Day recently. It's a 600 page account of the lead up to and then the day itself as seen from the perspective of men on the different beaches as well as the airborne units who landed inland to take out specific targets. 

My impression of the men who participated in the invasion is one of utter awe. There are so many stories of bravery and determination. Doing the impossible seemed to be the order of the day and was the norm not the exception. 

Ambrose's storytelling is compelling, as if the topic itself wasn't enough, and his easy style makes the book a terrific read. He doesn't pull any punches and criticizes certain military leaders whenever their decisions or lack of them nearly ruined various operations. On the other hand, earned praise is given, too.

Do yourself a favor and either buy this book or borrow it from the library. While I borrowed it from the library, I'll have to order my own copy to have as a reference.

Now I'm reading A Man Called Intrepid by William Stevenson. The subtitle is: The Incredible WWII Narrative of the Hero Whose Spy Network and Secret Diplomacy Changed the Course of History. The book's person of focus is William Stephenson (what are the odds a man would write a book about another man with a similar name?).

Although I write action thrillers and have no plans for a spy thriller, the insider's view of the intelligence world is fascinating. And I do have a British spy character who appears in the Sgt. Dunn novels, just saying. On page 57 of 497. . . 

Thanks for stopping by.

Ronn

Happy New Year!

Wishing you a Happy New Year.