Pick up a copy of Max Hastings’ new book, “Retribution,” on this theater of the war. Hastings is a British historian and has some surprising things to says about the Allies, most remarkably the Australians. One of his take-away points was the Brits, French, Belgians and Dutch fully expected to have their holdings in Africa and Asia “returned” to them at the war’s conclusion. The Americans had no such understanding and this difference in outlook created much suspicion and mistrust.
When I was four (early fifties) in the newly minted suburbs of LI nearly every kid’s dad had a WW2 story to tell (mine was 15th Air Force in Libya and Italy). I have a strong memory that the guy across the street had everyone trumped...he was one of Merrill’s Marauders.