Vets or researchers: willing to correct details in my novel?

I'd like some WW2 vets to proofread my ms for accuracy.

If you are willing, please e-mail me at mr.gsd (that is, @netscape.com) and I'll send you some chapters.

My hero gets shipped to Europe just after D-day, and gets transferred around various units (so I can keep him in the action as much as possible)... at Battle of the Bulge, with Patton, etc. until end of April, first of May near Bavaria when V-E day arrives.

Fred

I saw a program this morning about the Jewish Brigade, which consisted of 99% Jewish soldiers fighting under British command, first in N. Africa, then on to battles in Italy (Cassino) and finally in Germany itself. All these men knew that for them there could be no surrender or they would be killed, yet they fought on bravely in many battles until war's end when they saw the need for a Jewish state for the many tens of thousands of displaced people and "appropriated' from the British Army trucks, food, and guns for the battle they new was coming next, in Palestine.

Can you imagine the look of terror on the face of a captured SS man when he realized his captors were all Jews? Sometimes there is some small justice in this world...

Dogdaddy

1942 : Doolittle leads air raid on Tokyo

On this day in 1942, 16 American B-25 bombers, launched from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet 650 miles east of Japan and commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, attack the Japanese mainland.

The now-famous Tokyo Raid did little real damage to Japan (wartime Premier Hideki Tojo was inspecting military bases during the raid; one B-25 came so close, Tojo could see the pilot, though the American bomber never fired a shot)--but it did hurt the Japanese government's prestige. Believing the air raid had been launched from Midway Island, approval was given to Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's plans for an attack on Midway--which would also damage Japanese "prestige." Doolittle was eventually awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

A book describing the raid, 30 Seconds Over Tokyo by Ted Lawson, was adapted into a film starring Spencer Tracy in 1944.

1945 : Ernie Pyle killed at Okinawa

On this day in 1945, Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Ernie Pyle was killed by Japanese machine-gun fire on the island of Ie Shima off the coast of Okinawa. Extremely popular, especially with the average GI, whose life and death he reported on (American infantrymen braved enemy fire to recover Pyle's body), Pyle had been at the London Blitz of 1941 and saw action in North Africa, Italy, France, and the Pacific. A monument exists to him to this day on Ie Shima, describing him simply as "a buddy."

Burgess Meredith portrayed him in the 1945 film The Story of GI Joe.

I recently signed up for Netflix so I don't have to buy every single WWII documentary I want to see, and have been very happy with both the selection and service! Today I watched a terrific DVD titled "Embedded '45 Shooting War in Europe". The film is all black & white but extremely clear and crisp, unlike many films of the war. This program follows the US Army on the march through Germany from February '45 till May '45, and shows some of the best footage of the American Infantryman I've ever seen as they fight house to house in the rubble of Nazi Germany..I think all of you Vets here would really approve of this one. While watching this I have thought about many of the stories that have been shared here on this website, and it makes me appreciate it all that much more. This is not Hollywood BS with Clark Gable in a tailored uniform, but alot of Willie and Joe types on the screen with unshaven, tired looking faces and mud on their boots. Run time is 108 minutes. Haven't checked Amazon to see if it's for sale anywhere yet but I will. This one is really tops, and this endorsement comes from a guy with a large collection of WWII documentaries...

Dogdaddy

I was sent this question today:

I have a question for one of your vets:

Assuming a man is decorated on the front by some visiting general or officer, and has his dress uniform on for the ceremony, but has to go back into action, what did he do with medals, clean uniforms, and personal property when he was in a foxhole or other frontline work?

Thanks.

Fred