The misery of war, the insurmountable task of taking New Guinea, and the picture that McArthur painted, are all in this book. The terrain of New Guinea is so daunting, and the men were not prepared for the jungle, or the terrifying terrain. Their supplies were not jungle supplies, the amount of equipment they had to carry was overwhelming. The jungle life, animals, bugs, snakes, crocs, and the changes in altitude as they climbed up and down mountains offered incredible odds. Disease stalked the men, while they held on to dreams about home and their families, that kept them alive and moving each day.
The natives were cannibals, the Japanese wrote home about cannabalizing their own, this is how bad the job was for both sides. Our troops had to fight against Japanese soldiers whose culture honored death before surrender, and an Emperor that told them to fight to the death. Surrender was not an option for our men, because life was not honored by the Japanese fighting men, who were starving and hung the Australians that they caught from trees, then stripped their flesh, wrapping it in leaves for future meals.
Our men on the way to New Guinea, impregnated the Australian wives and girlfriends of the Australian troops and created enemies of our partners in the war to win against the axis. I actually cried about 1/2 way through the book. It is daunting to read, but something you can not put down. You know that some of the men returned and that is how we have the story now, about one of the fiercest battles in the 2nd World War.
No comments:
Post a Comment