My father's war

Description

To the generation whose understanding of the military was shaped by the Vietnam War - those who fought in it, as well as those who did not or would not have - it is difficult even today to conceive of a cause so righteous that they would be willing to risk their lives for it. To the generation that fought World War II, such a sentiment is truly unthinkable. Peter Richmond's father was one of those men who went off to war, and came back, but always held a portion of himself and his experiences in reserve. At least that was how it seemed to Peter in the few years he knew him; Tom Richmond died in a domestic plane crash in 1960, when Peter was just six. Tom Richmond was a highly decorated officer in the Marine Corps, winner of the Silver Star for his actions on New Britain, one of the three islands in the Pacific where he fought. The other two, Guadalcanal and Peleliu, are legendary. Peter has now reached an age when he realizes he has been a father to his own son for longer than he had a father himself. As a result, he felt a longing to know more about who his father was and what he went through. His memories are shaped by a photograph of his father, in uniform, and of the souvenirs that be kept locked away in a trunk in the attic. Peter understood that his father's time in the military was the most important period of his life, and to understand him better he would have to learn more about those experiences, which are so foreign to Americans just one generation removed from that time. In My Father's War, Peter Richmond seeks out the men who knew his father, who fought under him and commanded him, who were wounded alongside him, and who risked their lives on his command. He travels to the islands and battlegrounds where his father fought, walking the trails and beaches that were so vital then and too little remembered today. On Guadalcanal, he is there when the U.S. Embassy is closed due to budget cuts and the American flag comes down for the last time. On Peleliu, scene of some of the bloodiest, most brutal, and most unnecessary fighting in history, he is viewed with suspicion by those who depend on the marijuana-based economy and who see any visiting American as a potential DEA agent. And on New Britain, he shares the story of his father's exploits with young villagers who know little of the island's history and are eager to hear it and pass it on. . It is Richmond's task - his own duty - to bear witness to the courage of the men who sacrificed so much for their ideals and their buddies, to hear and understand and describe both the heroism and the extraordinary ordinariness of their actions.

Subjects