Military tourism has exploded. Last year, more than 30 million Americans bought a ticket to visit a military destination setting visitation records from New York to California. But what destinations, and where did they go? The truth is that there are uncounted military sites you can see and visit, some on --and some off -- the beaten path. There are secret missile sites, life sized dioramas, outdoor tank, ship, and bomber parks, and incredible exhibits with stories to tell that will astound you. All you’ll need is this book and a driver’s license to find and visit them, and perhaps a map for the most hidden of them all. Did you know that the Coast Guard mounted a rescue effort on 9.11 and evacuated more than 100,000 New Yorkers from Manhattan by boat? Go to the little-known Naval Air Station Wildwood Museum in Cape May, New Jersey to discover that story. How about the remnants of the helicopter from Blackhawk Down or the lifeboat from Captain Phillips – or even the Airbus pulled from the Hudson River that was piloted by Sully Sullenberger? We’ll tell you where to go to find all of these objects -- and many, many more. Perhaps intrigue is more your suit. You can’t go into Area 51 but the government now acknowledges that it exists so we can suggest a drive near the perimeter that lets your imagination go wild. And while you’re in Nevada we’ll tell you how to join an almost-secret caravan of cars that goes out to the exact spot where atomic bombs were once detonated, that and all the info you need to see a fantastic museum in Las Vegas that features all of our formerly secret nuclear air-to-air missiles, nuclear howitzers, nuclear artillery shells and nuclear who-knows-what. And so it goes. Fire the gun on a Sherman tank, walk the decks of an aircraft carrier, go inside a hush-hush submarine, sit in a F-4 Phantom, fly in a Huey, see the trenches of World War I, walk the beaches of D-Day, see a CIA airbase – all of it here in America, all waiting for you to explore.
Where was the Luftwaffe on D-Day? Following decades of debate, 2010 saw a formerly classified history restored and in it was a new set of answers. Pointblank is the result of extensive new research that creates a richly textured portrait of perhaps the last untold story of D-Day: three uniquely talented men and why the German Air Force was unable to mount an effective combat against the invasion forces. Following a year of unremarkable bombing against German aircraft industries, General Henry H. “Hap” Arnold, commander of the U.S. Army Air Forces, placed his lifelong friend General Carl A. “Tooey” Spaatz in command of the strategic bombing forces in Europe, and his protégé, General James “Jimmy” Doolittle, command of the Eighth Air Force in England. For these fellow aviation strategists, he had one set of orders – sweep the skies clean of the Luftwaffe by June 1944. Spaatz and Doolittle couldn't do that but they could clear the skies sufficiently to gain air superiority over the D-Day beaches. The plan was called Pointblank.
Enjoy the fun photos and heartwarming stories of WWII's American soldiers and their dogs. One of the most effective forms of American propaganda during World War II was the morale-boosting dog (or buddy) photo. The photos reassured folks back home that despite the horrors of the war, their boys were still boys. Buddies: Heartwarming Photos of GIs and Their Dogs in World War II is chock-full of photos of warriors and their pups, along with stories of the dogs and their service in Europe and the Pacific. This new edition includes even more photos and tales of furry friends on the front. Max, a Boxer, was a full-fledged paratrooper in the Army who earned his wings after five jumps. Skippy, a pit bull pointer, was such a big part of his bomber crew that members painted him on their B-17 Flying Fortress and fitted him with a custom oxygen mask. Don't forget the salty dogs of the navy such as Hobo, who followed his pals when they took a beach. "Private" Chico, a marine mutt, promptly dug his own foxhole after landing on Bougainville. The US Coast Guard counted many puppies who were born on ships among their furriest, and possibly most beloved, sailors. Pete the Pooch, a tenacious terrier, even helped bring in mooring lines! Although dogs were the most popular mascot, a few chickens, crows, cats, goats, and monkeys made their way into the hearts of our fighting men. Get the full story on these companions too!
In late November 1943, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his Joint Chiefs of Staff secretly boarded the battleship USS Iowa to attend a conference in Tehran with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin, where the Allies would come to an agreement on a war plan to defeat Germany. Although Roosevelt’s preparation at sea established the groundwork for the American position on D-Day, it was in the heated and electrifying debates that followed in Tehran—and only through those intense debates—that a deal was ultimately struck. In The Eleventh Hour, critically acclaimed author L. Douglas Keeney explores FDR’s covert conferences on the battleship and provides stunning insight into the formerly secret, behind-the-scenes transcripts from the meetings in Tehran. Brilliantly chronicling the three days of aggressive debates between the heads-of-state, Keeney demonstrates that Tehran, although remembered as a diplomatic conference with a well-known outcome, was in reality chaotic, conflicted, and subject to numerous heated, closed-door sessions—with a petulant, irritable Churchill; a strikingly reserved, detached Roosevelt; and an assertive but unexpectedly diplomatic and even charming Stalin, winning over his guest, President Roosevelt, whose quarters were bugged by the Soviets. Seamlessly stitching together the private papers, diaries, meeting notes, and letters home of those on board, The Eleventh Hour narrates declassified transcripts, exposes surprising secrets, and illuminates how the debates of three men would ultimately end WWII.
The Lives They Saved is the story in artifacts and oral histories of the 300,000 New Yorkers who were evacuated from Manhattan on 9/11…by boat. It is a story that has not yet been written about or told. It includes hundreds of oral histories and many photographs of this high drama, set against the terrifying backdrop of the day when the Earth stood still, every airport in the U.S. was closed down, and Manhattan was seized by gridlock. , For perspective, the boatlift that saved Britain’s expeditionary force from the beaches of Dunkirk removed approximately the same number of people: 300,000. ,
Packed with startling revelations, this inside look at the secret side of the Cold War exposes just how close America came to total annihilation During the Cold War, a flight crew had 15 minutes to get their nuke-laden plane in the air from the moment Soviet bombers were detected—15 minutes between the earliest warning of an incoming nuclear strike and the first flash of an enemy warhead. This is the chilling true story of the incredibly risky steps our military took to protect us from that scenario, including: • Over two thousand loaded bombers that crossed American skies. They sometimes crashed and at least nine times resulted in nuclear weapons being accidentally dropped • A system that would use timers and rockets to launch missiles even after everyone was dead • Disastrous atmospheric nuclear testing including the horrific runaway bomb—that fooled scientists and put thousands of men in uniform in the center of a cloud of hot fallout • A plan to use dry lake beds to rebuild and launch a fighting force in the aftermath of nuclear war Based on formerly classified documents, military records, press accounts, interviews and over 10 years of research, 15 Minutes is one of the most important works on the atom bomb ever written.
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