This volume records the proceedings of a symposium held in July 1995 at the Naval Officers' Club, Bethesda, Maryland. Contents: Grand strategy in the Pacific war / Gerhard L. Weinberg -- Joint operations / Walter S. Poole -- The island campaign / Edwin H. Simmons -- Intelligence methodologies in the Pacific war / John Prados -- The sea war against Japan / William S. Dudley -- Military technology and the Pacific war / Richard P. Hallion -- Strategic intelligence and war termination / Edward J. Drea -- Revolutionizing submarine warfare / Eugene B. Fluckey -- The strategic air war against Japan / William M. Leary -- The decision to drop the atomic bomb / Theodore H. McNelly. Photos.

"In this riveting narrative, WWII is uniquely experienced through letters exchanged by a young couple, she on the home front, he on the war front. This intimate and suspenseful dialogue between two lovers, mates, and parents offers readers a poignant look at two people during wartime."--Back cover.

In observance of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Air Force History and Museums Program sponsored a symposium on the War in the Pacific held at the Bethesda, MD, Naval Officers' Club. The gathering offered a unique opportunity for its guest panelists -- participants in that war or historians of it -- to reflect on a variety of subjects: Japanese objectives; American military preparedness and grand strategy; the interaction between U.S. Army, Air, and Navy leaders; combined operations; political and diplomatic intrigue; the challenges of ground, air, and sea warfare within differing Pacific theaters; military science and technology; the essential role of intelligence; the proposed Allied invasion of the Japanese home islands; and the use of the atomic bombs. For the United States, World War II began and ended in the Pacific, from Japan's aerial attack on Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941, to its surrender in Tokyo Bay, on September 2, 1945. For all but 5 months of those years, Americans and their Allies were compelled to hold the line in Asia, doggedly opposing imperialist Japan while a "Europe First" policy against Nazi Germany and fascist Italy prevailed in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. The United States operated over huge distances, from China, Burma, and India, to countless Pacific islands. Contents: "Grand Strategy in the Pacific War," by Gerhard L. Weinberg; "Joint Operations," by Walter S. Poole; "The Island Campaign," by Edwin H. Simmons; "Intelligence Methodologies in the Pacific War," by John Prados; "The Sea War Against Japan," by William S. Dudley; "Military Technology and the Pacific War," by Richard P. Hallion; "Strategic Intelligence and War Termination," by Edward J. Drea; "Revolutionizing Submarine Warfare," by Eugene B. Fluckey; "The Strategic Air War Against Japan," by William M. Leary; and "The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb," by Theodore H. McNelly. Sixty-five photographs are included.

Before this book, general readers who wanted a compact but comprehensive history of American military action in World War II had nowhere to turn. Now, in this concise, lucid, and balanced account, D. Clayton James and Anne Sharp Wells provide the first one volume history of the U.S. armed forces in the war. Examining the strategy, logistics, high command, operations, and home-front aspects of the military campaign, they narrate the story .in slightly more than 200 pages, with a clarity and perspective that virtually any reader will appreciate. In addition to describing the major operations and battles, and analyzing strategy and tactics, From Pearl Harbor to V-J Day contains crisp portraits of major military leaders and a background of political, diplomatic, economic, and social developments in the warring nations. Also receiving attention are the role of women and minorities in the military; the relation of armed forces personnel to the American home front; the impact of technology; and the breakthroughs of communications intelligence. In a final chapter the authors consider the consequences of the war for American society and suggest that romanticized views of the conflict should finally be laid to rest.

In observance of the fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War II, the Air Force History and Museums Program sponsored several commemorative events. One, co-sponsored by the Air Force Historical Foundation was a symposium on the War in the Pacific, held at the Bethesda, Maryland, Naval Officers' Club. The gathering offered a unique opportunity for its guest panelists-participants in that war or historians of it-to reflect on a variety of subjects: Japanese objectives; American military preparedness and grand strategy; the interaction between U.S. Army, Air, and Navy leaders; combined operations; political and diplomatic intrigue; the challenges of ground, air, and sea warfare within differing Pacific theaters; military science and technology; the essential role of intelligence; the proposed Allied invasion of the Japanese home islands; and the use of the atomic bombs. For the United States, World War II began and ended in the Pacific, from Japan's aerial attack on Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941, to its surrender in Tokyo Bay, on September 2, 1945. During those years, for all but five months, Americans and their Allies were compelled to hold the line in Asia, doggedly opposing the imperialist Japan while a "Europe First" policy against Nazi Germany and fascist Italy prevailed in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The United States operated over huge distances, from China, Burma, and India, to countless Pacific islands from the Aleutians to the Coral Sea. It sent its Army, Navy, Marine, and Air forces into gruelling and horrific battles against a Japan bent at all costs on expanding its empire across thousands of miles and exploiting human and natural resources wherever it conquered. The momentous Allied victory in World War II made the United States the superpower it has been for half a century and, in large measure, determined its military planning into the present day. The War in the Pacific in particular proved that American military personnel fought bravely in many climes, on many fronts, against the odds, with amazing ingenuity and purpose. The discussions on World War II in general and the War in the Pacific in particular presented herein deal frankly with a time that tested America's resolve as it was never tested before and has not been tested since.

In observance of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Air Force History and Museums Program sponsored a symposium on the War in the Pacific held at the Bethesda, MD, Naval Officers' Club. The gathering offered a unique opportunity for its guest panelists -- participants in that war or historians of it -- to reflect on a variety of subjects: Japanese objectives; American military preparedness and grand strategy; the interaction between U.S. Army, Air, and Navy leaders; combined operations; political and diplomatic intrigue; the challenges of ground, air, and sea warfare within differing Pacific theaters; military science and technology; the essential role of intelligence; the proposed Allied invasion of the Japanese home islands; and the use of the atomic bombs. For the United States, World War II began and ended in the Pacific, from Japan's aerial attack on Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941, to its surrender in Tokyo Bay, on September 2, 1945. For all but 5 months of those years, Americans and their Allies were compelled to hold the line in Asia, doggedly opposing imperialist Japan while a "Europe First" policy against Nazi Germany and fascist Italy prevailed in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. The United States operated over huge distances, from China, Burma, and India, to countless Pacific islands. Sixty-five photographs are included.