Includes bibliographical references (pages 303-308) and index.
Contents:
The field marshal's Air Force -- Into the crosshairs of calamity -- For whatever came next -- A shoestring Air Force -- Battle line and Port Moresby -- Hitting the ground running -- Closing in on Buna and Gona by land, air, and airlift -- On the rim of the Bismarck Sea -- Fighter boys -- Cartwheel over the Bismarck Rim -- Cartwheel over Rabaul -- The races of aces -- Stepping stones to Hollandia -- Leaping north to Leyte -- Air war over Leyte -- Balikpapan, the Polesti of the Pacific -- The bloody road to Manila -- The superfortress -- Climax in the Southwest Pacific -- The last stepping stones to Japan -- Operation Downfall -- Ultimate downfall -- Americans in Japan -- The Shogun and his Air Force -- Land of morning surprises -- Korean disaster, Korean deliverance -- From a position of strength -- Reversal of fortune -- The final act.
Summary:
"General Douglas MacArthur is one of the towering figures of World War II, and indeed of the twentieth century, but his leadership of the second largest air force in the USAAF is often overlooked. When World War II ended, the three numbered air forces (the Fifth, Thirteenth and Seventh) under his command possessed 4,004 combat aircraft, 433 reconnaissance aircraft, and 922 transports. After being humbled by the Japanese in the Philippines in 1942, MacArthur and his air chief General George Kenney rebuilt the US aerial presence in the Pacific, helping Allied naval and ground forces to push back the Japanese Air Force, re-take the Philippines, and carry the war north towards the Home Islands. Following the end of World War II MacArthur was the highest military and political authority in Japan, and at the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 he was named as Commander in Chief, United Nations Command. In the ten months of his command his Far East Air Forces increased dramatically and saw the first aerial combat between jet fighters."-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.