In this Book
- Letters to Lee: From Pearl Harbor to the War's Final Mission
- Book
- 2009
- Published by: Fordham University Press
- Series: World War II: The Global, Human, and Ethical Dimension
summary
In his 36 years of military service, Lt. General James V. Edmundson had extensive experience in combat operations and command at every level in the Air Force. He had over 10,000 hours of pilot time in 137 types of airplanes. In addition to the 107 combat missions in World War II, he led 32 combat missions in Korea and 42 in Vietnam. Two years after General Edmundson's death in 2001, his daughter, Celia discovered a trunk of his letters and was particularly fascinated with the correspondence between her father and mother, Lee. This very personal story is told through chronological vignettes, letters, newspaper and magazine articles of the period. The vignettes were written in 2000 - the letters begin in 1939 in the beautiful Territory of Hawaii. The two are interwoven and provide incredible descriptions and detail of the conditions both before and after the U.S. entry into the War; of the early fighting in the South Pacific; of the highly secret development and implementation of the Superfortress, which ultimately brought an end to Japan's war against the United States; and of the China-Burma-India Theater, as the war accelerates and the last mission is flown. Correspondents from the United Press and Newsweek who accompanied Edmundson on combat missions enrich the story. Letter to Lee is a first person account of two of the heroes of World War II and of the love that they shared across the years and miles. They lived their lives with integrity and courage, one example of this great generation and this incredible period in time.
Table of Contents
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- 2. I Meet My Queen
- pp. 11-14
- 3. How about a Martini?
- pp. 15-16
- 4. Kiss an Angel in the Moonlight
- pp. 17-22
- 6. Down with Uniforms
- pp. 24-26
- 7. Papaya Trees for Sale
- pp. 27-29
- 8. B-18 in a Sugar Cane Field
- pp. 30-32
- 9. Gunnery Camp
- pp. 33-35
- 10. Wedding Bells and Tin Cans
- pp. 36-37
- 11. Unexpected Guests
- pp. 38-39
- 12. Lumpy Gravy
- pp. 40-42
- 13. Lovely Hula Hands
- pp. 43-44
- 14. How to Road-Test a Tank
- pp. 45-54
- 15. Gathering War Clouds
- pp. 55-60
- 16. Speculation among Lieutenants
- pp. 61-63
- 17. December 7, 1941
- pp. 64-65
- 19. First Class Passage
- pp. 69-71
- 20. The Sunset Message
- pp. 72-94
- Part 3: The South Pacific, 1942-43
- pp. 95-96
- 21. From Long Beach to Guadalcanal
- pp. 97-98
- 22. How to Win While Losing, II
- pp. 99-103
- 23. Missionn of 19 August 1942
- pp. 104-113
- 24. Mission of 25 October 1942
- pp. 114-122
- 25. How to Win While Losing, III
- pp. 123-126
- 26. Together Again
- pp. 129-130
- 27. Where's the Pentagon?
- pp. 131-132
- 28. Washington Duty
- pp. 133-137
- 29. Marietta Georgia
- pp. 138-139
- 30. Salina, Kansas
- pp. 140-142
- Part 5: China-Burma-India, 1944-45
- pp. 143-144
- 31. Cigars and Mustache Wax
- pp. 145-146
- 32. How to Win While Losing, IV
- pp. 147-157
- 33. Tokyo Rose
- pp. 158-190
- Part 6: Tinian, 1945
- pp. 191-192
- 34. Winding Down the War
- pp. 193-200
- 35. A Whisper Away
- pp. 201-208
- Epilogue, 2001
- pp. 209-212
- From the Author
- pp. 213-216
- About the Author
- pp. 217-222
- Illustrations follow page 94 [image plates]
- pp. 223-238
Additional Information
ISBN
9780823248100
Related ISBN(s)
9780823230969
MARC Record
OCLC
811403318
Pages
252
Launched on MUSE
2012-06-26
Language
English
Open Access
No