When I heard the story of Bush 41 surviving while
his crew perished I experienced a mental "Hmmm," but never went beyond that,
not knowing the details.

As a Navy backseater, I think we all went HMMMMMM when we heard the story the
first time.

I caught the author of "Flyboys" on C-Span recently
and listened to his presentation, as a result of which I ordered through our
local library the book, which hasn't come in yet. I hope it will clear up
doubts about what happened with Bush, as well as explain Japanese actions.
The
author seems to have spent as much time looking at Japanese motives from the
Japanese perspective as looking at the American side--something that's pretty
rare.

Your assessment is spot-on. The book does exactly this: it gives historical
background to the imperial "climate" that the Japanese faced from European and
American expansion in Asia, giving it as the main reason for the Japanese
military's climb to power and ultimate defeat. It gives an unflinching look
into how we were viewed by the Japanese, and just as importantly, why we were
seen that way. It was a grisly, horrible little book that I think deserves a
read, if only to answer the questions about Bush and the Japanese motivation
for what happened on Chichi Jima and other hellish places to die in the
Pacific.

v/r
Gordon
====(A+C====
USN SAR Aircrew

"Got anything on your radar, SENSO?"
"Nothing but my forehead, sir."