Book Review: Flyboys by James Bradley

This book was painful to read. 

The first 8 chapters are basically the same first 8 chapters in his other book The Imperial Cruise. It’s all the historical backstory of how the Japanese became Imperialist war-mongers = they learned it from the British and the Americans. America’s hypocrisy is plainly exposed but apparently Bradley wanted to make sure we got the point. The book drags along with no real movement to the supposed point of the book – the story of the American flyers that found themselves as POWs in the hands of the Japanese.

I put down the book twice. I kept coming back because Flags of Our Fathers was one of the best books I’ve read so I knew that Bradley could tell a great story. Plus I had a friend tell me how wonderful this book was. This is the same friend that sings John Denver songs on a ski life so take it for what it is worth.

As bad as the first 8 chapters are – the last half of the book is outstanding. It’s as if Bradley found the overdrive button. We hear the stories of the POWs, the atrocity of their captors, the hypocrisy of the US bombing runs, the moral dilemma the Air Force found itself in concerning the atomic bomb. We hear the horror from the Japanese perspective as they endured the burning of Tokyo to the ground, their complete ignorance of what was really going on in the war.

Bradley handles the hypocrisy of the United States quite well. You will cringe and be revolted at what the Japanese soldiers do to the American flyboys. There is no word to describe this kind of savagery. However, as soon as our moral superiority kicks in, Bradley reminds the reader that the American treatment of Filipino POW’s decades earlier was eerily similar.

The issue of bombing civilians is another example. The United States historically preached against such a practice. They would publicly chastise any government that would partake of such villainy. However, the U.S. had no such qualms in Doolittle’s attack against Tokyo or in subsequent bombing runs. One might argue that Japan practiced total war, putting strategic military targets in the middle of the civilian population. And that Japan was getting ready to arm women, old men, and children as the U.S. military approached Japan. But the U.S. still made the decision to bomb civilians with Japan but did not with Germany.

The decision “in the moment” to bomb Tokyo to the ground was about saving lives in the long run. The thinking was when the Japanese see the kind of destruction that the US could rain down on their cities, they would surrender and the war would be over. When Japan didn’t surrender, the decision was then made to drop the atomic bombs. That decision was about saving US soldiers lives. I agree with Bradley assessment – while the theory of civilian bombing is atrocious to me, in the case of Japan – she made it impossible to avoid.

The book ends with some nice epilogue moments. The family members getting closure on what really happened with their sons, George Bush returning to the island where he was shot down, as well as the ‘rest of the story’ for the Japanese soldiers involved in the story.

So what to do with this book? If you’ve read Imperial Cruise, take warning. The first half of the book is going to be a re-read and a painful one at that. In Imperial Cruise, it fit. In this one – it felt forced. If you haven’t read the Imperial Cruise, this may read just fine.

To be clear – I am glad I finished the book. The book is a graphic reminder of what price the Greatest Generation paid for our country. It’s a price that I pray no other generation has to pay. It’s a reminder of the legacy of compassion and courage we have as a country as well.

Book Review: A Table In The Presence by Lt. Carey H. Cash

One of my congregants put this book in my hands.  I’ll be thanking him when I get back.

Before I brag on the book – and there is a lot to brag on – I do have a suggestion for Cash and his editors.  Put me, the reader, in the story.  Don’t just relay the facts to me.  I want to hear and experience the pauses, the stillness, the conversations.  For the first half of the book, this doesn’t happen.  It reads like an officer brief.  It’s not bad but it’s not good either.  Only when Cash starts speaking of the battle for Saddam’s Palace does this change.  Then it’s good…very good.  He takes us and puts us in those AAVs and soft-sided humvees.

If you ever wondered exactly what a military chaplain does – this book will answer all of those questions.  I actually wanted more.  Having been a platoon leader for a combat engineer company as well as an XO – I’ve heard men cuss like a Marine in one breath only to pray like a pastor in the next.  For those on the outside – it sounds like hypocrisy.  But it isn’t.  It’s the perfecting of a faith in front of your eyes as these young men – many with no church or religious background at all – figure out how to make Jesus a vital part of their lives.  And it is a process starting with the inside parts first.  Those outside parts – language included – are often the last ones to get polished up.  And that’s okay.  I’m guessing that Word publishers couldn’t exactly put in print half of what is said in a line platoon.  But I wanted that because I think it more vividly paints the miracle of salvation that Cash talks about.

Cash spends a little time talking about the concept of just war and why we were right in going to Iraq.  I think his insights here are well-spoken and well thought out.  I also agree with him. While most of the media harp on how there were no weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq, they seem to miss the larger picture.  And some of that is squarely on the politicians shoulders.  It was foolish to use the WMDs as the trump card as to why we were going to Iraq.  How about to get the man who attacked civilians on 9/11?  Or to bring democracy and safety to a country being ruled by a tyrant?  Or to final answer the call of a dictator who continued to harass and attack American citizens?  What about the good that our military has done?  I’m proud to have served with a military that leaves the places they occupy in better condition than how they found it.  What other military can say that?

There are faith traditions that refuse to pick up arms for any reason.  I have incredible respect for those traditions and am glad they are a part of the fabric of body of Christ.  We need them.  We need them to remind us that over all other things we are called to be ministers of the peace of Christ.  While I respect them and gladly worship with them, I also believe there are times when it is just and right to pick arms to fight.  How much of that is my family tradition versus the scriptures?  I’m not sure.  Cash does an excellent job of pointing to Joshua and David as warrior leaders of God.  He does an outstanding job in outlining his reasons for belief in a just war.  I can’t do any better than what he wrote on that subject.

Cash tries to end the book dealing with the difficult subject of God’s sovereignty in the area of life and death on the battle field.  Why is that some are given a reprieve under the most ridiculous of circumstances while others die?  If God “chose to save” some, is He not then responsible for the death of others?

Cash uses the the two very different stories of Daniel and Stephen.  Daniel was saved from the lion’s den, Stephen was stoned to death.  I appreciate the stories but I think Cash misses a very important point in regards to the military.  We signed up for this. It’s not that everyone in a combat unit has a death wish – far from it. We just know that death is part of the gig. We are going to do all that we can to minimize that risk but it’s there…always there.

In fact, all of our training is focused on two harsh truths of war. First, a war is won by killing the enemy. As fast and as ferocious as possible. Second, a war is won by staying alive to accomplish point number 1. All combat training can be categorized into one of these two purposes.

Cash’s story is compelling and despite my two minor complaints above – I really enjoyed the book, especially the back half. It’s worth the read.