The Captains: The Brotherhood of War Series, Book 2

great story that takes less room and trouble to hear. love its on only 1 disc.

Starting with The Lieutenants and through The Captains, The Majors, The Colonels and The Generals, WEB Griffin chronicles World War II with a novelistic rendering replete with insight into the machinations of the military. Should be required reading at West Point.

With the Korean War starting, our protagonists start finding their way toward it. We see the sudden and devastating North Korean invasion, the enclave at Pusan, the breakout from there along with the Inchon Landing, the tide changing once more as China invades, and the war's settling into a stalemate.The path is most difficult for Mac MacMillan. The Medal of Honor he won in World War II proves an obstruction as the brass quail at the public relations impact should he get killed. Although he distinguishes himself in the war’s opening hours, evacuating troops (and a colonel’s mistress) in a daring flight, the highest orders are given to keep him away from the fighting. He doesn’t want to spend the war as a White House aide passing out hors d’oeuvres. A skilled operator – at heart still a master sergeant although he’s now an officer – MacMillan learns to fly a helicopter in addition to a light airplane and maneuvers first to get sent overseas, then to stay there and finally to work with a top secret coastal base infiltrating agents behind North Korean lines, conflicting with his orders to stay away from the front.Craig Lowell, called up from the National Guard as a tank commander, formulates a classically daring cavalry maneuver during the breakout from the Pusan perimeter. He leads a column of tanks deep into enemy territory, locating and destroying enemy gunnery positions, wreaking havoc and disrupting its communications, and he continues to distinguish himself during the retreat after the massive Chinese invasion. His men worship him and call him “the Duke” as he violates numerous Army regulations on their behalf. He is then relegated to staff work, and higher-ups keep being divided between those appalled at the notion of a 24-year-old tradition-defying major who is neither a West Pointer nor a college graduate, and those who work most closely with him and realize how good he is.Sandy Felter, deeply ensconced in the spook world as a military officer assigned to the new CIA, ends up commanding the spy base MacMillan works at.Phil Parker, despite distinguishing himself in the field, finds himself up on charges before a court-martial. Trying to stop a panicking unit from fleeing during before the surprise North Korean onslaught, he shoots a lieutenant. When Lowell learns of it he wants to do everything possible to help Parker avoid a seemingly certain murder conviction. What happens derails both of their careers. Neither can look forward to a career in armor, but they discover something: a brand-new combat role for Army Air, one that hasn’t really been created, offers a way up for those not wanted elsewhere.

In this chapter of the overall story, we are introduced to a different set of higher level officers although we still have Red Hanrahan showing up and a cameo by Bob Bellman. The setting is mostly Korea although it starts with the traditional effects of a country coming down from a war economy into peace time and trying to find a place for hundreds of thousands of ex soldiers at a time when manufacturing and production have almost stopped. As I read it the first time years ago, memories of my father's opinions viz-a-vie the handling of Korea and a U.N. "police action" through the removal of MacArthur rumbled around in my head. As I re-read it I began to suspect that the author just might be trying to point out how the current military and concept of the purpose of a military has undergone such a vast redefinition since our last true victory in 1945. As a history teacher, I of course had read Von Clausewitz's military theory and was aware that it was required reading at West Point. I doubt it is today. Korea was so NOT done according to that Prussian theoriest any more than it applied to Viet Nam or now the Iraqi/Afhghanistan/IS situation. There will be no more "Victory Wins" if we continue to act as if military actions are extensions of police actions. I also got that part of the problem was that a lot of "career" military men entered service at a time that did not offer them the chance to be heroes and decided that Korea was as good a second chance as any. The crux of the story in this chapter is real soldiers from WWII who fought to win while protecting those men serving under them vs Paperpushers and DC desk jockeys more worried about being politically correct and advancing up the chain of command by proving they are better than the WWII guys with the medals. I call it dark because like the real life of the time, our story heroes get shafted, experienced personal tragedy and more than one real hero was passed over because he didn't kiss enough butts. The right or wrong is that the Korean war, for all its costs-monetarily and humanly- didn't solve any issue and no one "won" yet we didn't learn anything and repeated it again in the mid 1960s. In the hands of W.E.B. Griffin, the story is told in such a manner that you feel involved & experience the pain and frustration -a full box of kleenex is recommended.

Brilent story follow up

Good

Items arrived in excellent condition and as advertised.

very pleased

Great book, in excellent condition.