William A. Renzi - Never Look Back: History of World War II in the Pacific

A HISTORY OF WORLD WAR II IN THE PACIFIC

William A. Renzi and Mark D. Roehrs

First published 1991 by M.E. Sharpe.Inc

Published 2016 by Routledge

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Copyright 1991 by Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Renzi, William A., 1941

Never look back : a history of World War II in the Pacific / by William A. Renzi and Mark D. Roehrs.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-87332-808-6

1. World War, 1939-1945CampaignsPacific Area. I. Roehrs, Mark D., 1965-II. Title.

D767.9.R46 1991

ISBN 13: 978-0-87332-808-1 (hbk)

For Judy and David
and
In memory of Uncle Bill

The MarianasMacArthur Returns to the PhilippinesThe Battle of Leyte GulfThe Kamikazes Leyte and Luzon IslandsWestern Prisoners of WarThe Liberation of the Philippines

Maps

Photographs

This book exists for several reasons. First, the authors have devoted years to the study of the Second World War, one having had his interest in the topic begun by the late Gordon W. Prange, for whom he was graduate assistant for five years. In the last decade, moreover, a spate of fresh primary and secondary source materials has become available. As our bibliography attests, we have made liberal use of these riches, together with, of course, the best of the old, or standard, works on the topic that are likely to remain classics.

We have concentrated on the Japanese-American episodes of the conflict in The Great Pacific War (which is what the war is called in Japan) for the simple reason that they were decisive. British participation, as well as Australian and New Zealander efforts in the struggle and the China-Burma-India theater, are all dealt with, but not to the same degree. We do not mean to negate or disparage the action in these other theaters, but since the conflict was primarily a Japanese-American one, this central perspective is maintained in order to retain a balanced narrative.

The reader will remember, of course, that Japan lies across the International Date Line. Like almost all other authors, we have retained zone times (also known as local, real, or actual times) in the narrative. Thus, December 7, 1941, was December 8 in Japan, and Pearl Harbor Day, a national holiday by imperial proclamation, was celebrated on December 8 in Japan during the war years. We have not used a standard system of transliteration for Oriental names, for the simple reason that many of the actors are already well known and being doctrinaire in the matter might well be confusing; in most instances, we have employed the usual or most common transliteration for the family names involved.

We have tried to give both the Japanese and American points of view toward the conflict, in both its origins and actual conduct. The American side is relatively well known to many English-language readers; the Japanese side, perhaps less so. We have tried to keep a relatively even balance, but if we tend occasionally to explain Japanese motives and values a bit more than American ones, it is in the simple belief that they will be of greater interest to the reader.

The authors are in the debt of a fair number of people who aided them in the course of their research. Among these are Professors David Healy and David Buck, who read all or parts of this manuscript. We have profited greatly from their suggestions and criticisms. Gail Jacobsen, our departments chief secretary and an author in her own right, provided many favors, including financial assistance for the photographic work. Michael Weber, our chief editor, not only worked with us very constructively but also did a good deal of line editing himself (he wont get a chance to edit this line out). M. E. Sharpes project editor was Alexandra Koppen; the manuscript was copyedited by Bessie Blum. The United States Army, Navy, and Air Force, and the National Archives provided many of the photographs used in the text, and Patrick Steele and Jeanine Pagliaro drew the maps. Lastly, many veterans on both sides of the Pacific shared their memories with us, and we owe them a debt greater than can be stated. If their individual efforts have not been acknowledged, it is only because our debt is so great. For any errors we alone are responsible.