John J. McLaughlin - General Albert C. Wedemeyer: America’s Unsung Strategist in World War II

John J. McLaughlin

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Copyright 2012 John J. McLaughlin

ISBN: 978-1-4804-0661-2

Casemate Publishing
908 Darby Road
Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishing.com

This edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media
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To Mary Jean McLaughlin

I n the four years that it has taken me to research and write this book, there have been a large number of people who have been tremendously generous to me, both with their time and their advice, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them.

The idea for this book originated with my dissertation on General Albert C. Wedemeyer when I graduated from Drew University in 2005. My dissertation advisors William B. Rogers, Ph.D., and George Sirgiovanni, Ph.D., each encouraged me to expand the dissertation into book form. When I initially started my research I thought it would be a good idea to associate myself with a group of like-minded persons who had an interest in World War II, and the easiest way to do that would be to join a book club. The interaction with the members, I thought, would be a good opportunity to meet others interested in the Second World War and to expand my knowledge. To my astonishment I discovered that there was not a single WWII-oriented book club in the entire New York/New Jersey metropolitan area! More than one librarian told me that there does not seem to be that much interest in that subject any more. This was very disturbing, and I decided to start one. We now hold monthly meetings at the Millburn, New Jersey Public Library, where we feature lectures by authors, historians, and others knowledgeable about World War II. We have about 100 members. The program has been a success, and Club members have been very supportive of my work. Many ideas in the book owe their origin to information supplied to me by these interested men and women, and, happily, some younger members! In particular, I single out my dear friend Rob Gagnon, a former Marine Captain and Vietnam veteran, the Book Clubs first member and most ardent supporter. Robs great interest in history generally, and World War II in particular has been very helpful both to me and the success of the Club. Rob was responsible for introducing me to the resources of the wonderful Brookdale College Center for World War II Studies, run by the indefatigable Paul Zigo, and the New York Military Affairs Symposium (NYMAS), which I attend regularly and where I often take the opportunity to engage some of their speakers. The Book Clubs web address is ww2bookclub.blogspot.com, and we get inquiries from interested people all over the world.

A General Wedemeyer website that my friend Brian Greer of Orillia, Ontario, a recognized internet expert, set up for me (www.general-wedemeyer.com) has put me in touch with many historians, authors, and others interested in the generals life. The site also allowed me to locate some of Wedemeyers family. Through the internet I met Pamela Wedemeyer, who had a very close relationship with her grandfather, and she has been especially helpful, supplying me with a good deal of information about the General, including pictures and correspondence she maintained with him during his long life. Nicole W. Miller, a professional genealogist from Champaign, Illinois, has been helpful in giving me some information about the generals ancestors. My friend Frank Alexander has been an indispensable assistant in guiding me through the mysteries of the internet and the computer and has always been available for instant advice, when an inadvertent key stroke threatened to derail hours of labor. Dr. Steven Lomazow has been generous with his time reading, commenting, and editing many of the chapters, and I thank him especially for his efforts. One of my early supporters in the Book Club, Sharon Austin, our official photographer, has worked tirelessly with Nancy Webster, the brilliant videographer and CEO of White Horse Communications, who tapes all the lectures at the Book Club, and I thank them both.

Writing a book would be impossible without the unstinting support, assistance, and encouragement of the many archivists and librarians who labor in the shadows, but without whom a book like this would never be possible. In particular I want to thank the expert personnel at the National Archives, the Hoover Institution, the FDR Library in Hyde Park, the George C. Marshall Library at Lexington, VA, the archivists at Carlisle Barracks, PA, and the local librarians at the New York, Newark and Millburn, NJ libraries who have been extremely helpful in locating rare, out-of-date books, documents, and newspapers. Especially helpful in locating many historical documents and government reports, was Beth Patterson at Drew University Library who deserves a special note of thanks. All these people deserve a lot of credit for their assistance to writers and historians, and I for one state that without their assistance a work like this would not be possible.

Finally, and most important of all, my devoted wife Mary Jean deserves a tremendous amount of credit for her unflagging support, advice, and encouragement throughout the entire period of writing this book. She has accompanied me to all of the places where I have done research and has sat patiently reading a book or magazine while I wrote, copied, or took digital images of literally hundreds of pages of photos, documents, and other material. She has helped me sort out this mass of paper and put it into some semblance of order this mass of paper so it would be useful. She has located numerous papers, books, documents and other items that I have misplaced or lost in the mountain of paper that accumulates in writing a book. She has also proofread every page of this work and made many excellent suggestions.

This work would not have been possible without her and it is dedicated to her with love.

John J. McLaughlin

Short Hills, New Jersey

March 2012