Hello fellow WWII buffs: This is jobezee here. I am 33 and from Dallas, Texas where I have lived all my life. I first became interested in WWII history as a high school honors student. I found these years to be fascinating to a student of history. Of course, at that time, I concentrated on the major battles of the war. It was only in later years that I began reading various biographies of the military and political commanders of the day. I began to do that because I often wondered, "Who were these people? What were their motives? What kind of backgrounds did they come from? What were their opinions (in the case of military leadership) of the politicians of the countries for which they were fighting?" I have to say that the more I study this war, the more the answers lead to more questions. I guess that happens to all students of history. I will say that I respect all sides of this war and am welcome to opinions from all sides. In university, I was only exposed to a distinctly "American" version of history.Through my readings of other opinions written by German, Russian, and British authors, I've discovered a whole different angle to the War. I'm new to this forum and I must say that after reading some of the threads, most of you all put my knowledge of the War to shame. I enjoy reading the biographies and autobiographies of the commanders. Overthe last few weeks, I've concentrated my studies on Field Marshal Walther Model with the two biographies documenting his life and his work. The two books are "Flawed Genius: FieldMarshall Walther Model: A Critical Biography" by Marcel Stein and"Hitler's Commander: Field Marshall Walther Model--Hitler's FavoriteGeneral" by Steven Newton. Some of my favorite WWII movies include: The Great Escape,Stalag 17, Tora! Tora! Tora!, Bridge of the River Kwai, The Bridge at Remagen,Empire of the Sun, and the lesser known films A Midnight Clear and WhenTrumpets Fade. I also appreciate films concerning the Holocaust to include: TheDiary of Anne Frank (I've read the entire diary, Very moving), Triumph of theSpirit, Escape from Sobibor, Bent, and of course, Schindler's List. I've seen many others, and I'm sure that youfellows will enlighten me on some that I have never seen. As a student of history and of humanity, I feel it isimportant to remember those who went before us, those who lived in"interesting" times, and those who fought valiantly and honorably for their country, no matter what their nationality. I believe, as WWII historians,that we all know that our "leaders and politicians" got us into this mess. It was men like Model, and Bruce Clarke, and Patton, and von Rundstedt,and von Mantueffel, and Zhukov (there are many more too numerous to name here)that conducted this war in a respectable manner. To be certain, there were thosewho committed atrocities and we must not forget that. I look forward to talking with you gentleman (and perhaps alady or two) about our common history, how the War shaped our modern world, and how we remember the fallen soldiers of the War and the important part they played in world history. They are, after all, too important to forget. Thanksfor letting me be a part of this forum.
If you are enjoying the biographies on Model then I think you should take a look at a couple of recent works on Manstein (including one by Marcel Stein - with the other by Benoit Lemay). I really enjoyed them and reviewed both of them on my website (I also reviewed a good book on Raeder) - here are the links: Field Marshal von Manstein | The Globe at War Erich von Manstein | The Globe at War Just so you know, I only review books that I strongly recommend (though don't get me wrong, there are plenty of others I would like to if I only had the time). Anyway, you can check out my reviews and see for yourself (by the way, I think there is also another book that recently came out on Manstein but I have not had the time to take a look at it). Welcome!
Welcome to our house....Come in...sit by the fire....light yer pipe...Oh...I see you don't have a copy of Monty's memoires....Borrow mine....When you have finished....coluld you tell me who was best...Monty or Patton...I'll go now before Belsar comes and fires his big boaty gun things at me.
Best at mouth shooting of course...I was not around at the time otherwise the result would be a forgone conclusion.....Although I believe Texas has bigger things than other places....
A very warm welcome, Jobezee & a very nice intro you have written ! Please feel free to join in any threads, old or new, which interest you... ( And PS : the other recent Manstein biography is by British author Mungo Melvin )
Yes, that would be a close contest. In the confusion I forgot to say greetings to jobezee1 from Texas-glad to have you.
My father served with Patton during the war. And he was a much better man for it. Patton, I mean. Welcome!
I've a ewe lamb called Monty...I serve her....I'll have to look at the flock and see if any look like Patton...I do have one that pushes through the rest and merrrrrr's louder than the others...She's now Patton...
You two better watch out or old George will get himself reincarnated (if he hasn't already!) and give you a good slap.
Welcome aboard from just a tad bit West-ish of you! Can I assume you've visited (perhaps have a dedicated parking spot as well?) Cavanaugh, Meacham, and Love Field museums??? I've never gotten to Cavanaugh when Tex Hill was there, but I'd love to meet him, especially now that I'm about half-way through a book on Chennault....Mr. Hill gets more than a few mentions with regards to the AVG. Also, if you haven't yet, try to get over there when Fifi is around....if you can catch her on her way in or out, its quite the sight to see a B-29 in the air. Vintage Flying Museum at Meacham has a B-25 and C-47 that are common sights at the airshows around the country, I work over in north Ft Worth and get to see the C-47 flying in and out on a fairly regular basis. Have to force myself not to laugh when folks call it "that bomber", remembering that it wasn't all that long ago that I wouldn't have known the difference either. Love Field, last time I was there, didn't have many airplanes, they mainly had models and parts/pieces/memorabilia....the best part of that visit, though, was the volunteers....most of whom had some form of military experience in one war or another. I got to shake hands with a British gentleman who piloted Horsha's when we crossed the Rhine, he had some funny stories to tell about the foibles of wind in conjunction with smoke machines, and troops standing in the middle of the smoke-shrouded field where the glider was supposed to land....and did....leaving a trail of very soiled trousers in its wake... Cavanaugh Flight Museum - Addison Airport, Dallas, Texas Welcome to the Vintage Flying Museum a 501c(3) museum located at Meacham Airport (KFTW) in Fort Worth, Texas Frontiers of Flight Museum - Dallas, Texas Almost forgot to add, if you haven't already, take a Saturday and head east on I-30 to Greenville. Its only about an hour drive. Once there, keep an eye over to your left, and take the next exit when you see the huge statue of Audie Murphy holding the MG42. Do a U-turn and head back. Wife and I stopped there last year on our way to Oklahoma, but didn't stay long enough to visit the museum. I'll fix that error next time I'm over on that side of the metroplex... American Cotton Museum Homepage
