Cultures In War 1: Harold J. Goldberg and Anderson Giles

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• published: 16 Feb 2015
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HAROLD J. GOLDBERG, the David E. Underdown Distinguished Professor of History at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, teaches World War II as well as other history courses. He is the author of a four‐volume series on Soviet‐American relations, has contributed many articles to the Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History, and is the author of articles on the Battle of Saipan in both Ground Warfare: An International Encyclopedia and the Encyclopedia of World War II: A Political, Social, and Military History. Currently he is a frequent book reviewer for the Journal of Military History. His book D‐Day in the Pacific: The Battle of Saipan was a selection of both the History and Military Book Clubs in 2007. More recently he has published Fighting Words: Competing Voices from World War II in Europe, a book that has been published in paperback as Europe in Flames and is part of the Military History Series of Stackpole Press. In the summer he leads student study trips to visit World War II sites in England, France, and Germany. “SEEKING A PARADIGM OF THE WARRIOR EXPERIENCE: THE BATTLE OF SAIPAN BEYOND 1944" While the Battle of Saipan stands as one of the decisive engagements of the War in the Pacific, my presentation looks beyond 1944 to examine ways in which this specific struggle transcends time, place, and nationality. After establishing a framework based upon the works of several military historians who have analyzed battles through different centuries, my paper compares the experiences of marines involved in the Battle of Saipan with warriors in other historical settings. Battle experiences in the Hundred Years War, Waterloo, the Somme, and D‐Day in France establish a counterpoint to the 200 interviews I conducted with marine veterans of Saipan and provide insight into laws of battle, war, and human behavior that prevail in the midst of chaos. The voices of the marines who fought here allow us to see the Battle of Saipan as part of a continuum of the warrior experience. Specific themes will include: the rise and fall of empires, friction, the fog of war, group solidarity, leadership, fear and courage. PROFESSOR ANDERSON GILES from the University of Maine at Presque Isle has a unique background, which combines decades of research in the Pacific Islands involved in World War II and a career as an accomplished artist, photographer, documentary filmmaker, and University teacher. He wrote, directed, and produced the epic award‐winning two‐hour documentary film, THE THUNDER FROM TINIAN, as well as ECHOES FROM THE APOCALYPSE. He has given numerous presentations on his work across the United States and abroad. Giles has lead countless tours for World War II veterans returning to the Marianas and has interviewed hundreds of these veterans in the course of his research. Professor Giles served as lead historical lecturer on a series of lengthy Pacific Theater cruises sponsored by Princess Cruises and Cruise West from 2002 through 2008. Giles’ father was a 4th Division Marine (Saipan/Tinian) and his uncle was a 67th Seabee who helped construct North Field and the Atom Bomb Assembly Facilities on Tinian. “THERE WILL NEVER BE ANYTHING LIKE THIS AGAIN" In his presentation, he makes a case for the emergence of a modern mythological tale reminiscent of some of the great leg‐ ends of antiquity, which tell of incredible scientific, architectural, and military achievements by a group of extraordinary individuals who, after accomplishing great feats, abandoned the sites and vanished. These groups left behind astonishing ruins, which awe us today and are a link to events, which had profound historical significance. He believes that the gargantuan feat of the construction of the world’s largest airfield complex on the small and remote island of Tinian, in conjunction with the top secret construction of facilities in which the atomic bombs were assembled and then deployed against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is a compelling example of an evolving current mythological scenario. Young warriors coming from far away lands, constructing a facility where some of the world’s most advanced scientific minds, aircraft and weapons were based, leading to the dropping of the atomic bombs, then abandoning the site to see it be devoured by nature, leaving only ruins, is a saga of the emergence of a modern mythological story. These events literally changed world history. His presentation studies all phases of the astonishing construction feat, the great B‐29 air campaign, and the construction and use of the atomic bomb facilities and their deployment. He discusses the process of how man and nature have transformed the site to the ruins, which tell their own story at present. Music: "Tenth Dimension-Triumph", Sencit Music