January 2010 Mailbag

By Armchair General

Where in the World is ACG?
Miss Ella Gyllenhaal (1.5 years of age) being carried by her dad on a mountain (name escapes me) in the Arctic area of Sweden, late September 2009. And yes, Ella IS very enthusiastic about hiking.

Cheers,
Lars Gyllenhaal

Dear Lars, like father like daughter. ACG would like to thank Lars for continuing to keep us posted on events in the Arctic and its WW II history.

Bob Knight Interview
Wow, I just received copies of the Armchair General issue with my Coach Bob Knight interview [“10 Questions,” January 2010], and it looks fabulous! Thanks so much for the terrific layout and your presentation of the story. I could not be more pleased with the final product, and recognize all the work you put into it to maximize the content and look.

I hope your ACG readers also enjoy the “extra” questions and answers from my interview with “The General,” Coach Knight, that ACG is posting on the website.

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It has been a pleasure working with you again, and quite pleasing to see the fruits of our efforts published in your high-quality publication!

John Ingoldsby

Dear John, thank you for this superb interview with Coach Knight. Readers interested in John’s other articles can check out his interview with pitcher Curt Schilling [“10 Questions,” January 2008] and his short article on Larry Izzo [“Dispatches,” May 2009.]

FDR’s "Germany First" strategy
Dear Editor,

Thank you so much for sharing with me a preview of the upcoming Hard Choices article on FDR’s "Germany First" strategy in World War II. The article has, in my view, captured concisely and crisply the essential guts of FDR’s failed Eurocentric policy (later adopted by Truman at the end of WW II).

Once again, thank you for writing an article with a Philippine perspective, showing how such Washington-based policies had horribly affected the lives of millions of loyal Filipinos who put their faith in the United States.

Romulo “Mo” Ludan
Camano Island, Washington

Dear Mo, thank you for your comments after reading a preview of our upcoming Hard Choices department article that our readers will see in the May 2010 issue of ACG. FDR and the Allies’ “Germany First” strategy (expending maximum effort to defeat Germany at the expense of fighting Japan in the Pacific) was the fundamental strategy decision of the war from which all subsequent strategy decisions flowed. Although it is seldom even questioned by historians, let alone criticized, the profound effect it had on our US and Filipino forces fighting the war’s early stages in the Pacific demands a closer look at its roots, basic assumptions and effect on the war. We hope this revealing article gives our readers some food for thought!

Long Range Desert Group vs. SAS
Dear Editor,

I received my copy of the January 2010 issue today. I would point out one correction. On p. 49 [in the cover story, “War: A Photo Essay”] the lower right photo is not the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG), but the Special Air Service (SAS). You can tell this from two sources. One, the men have jump wings, the LRDG did not go through jump training as a matter of course. Two, go to the website iwmcollections.org.uk and click ‘Photos,’ then enter ‘E 21338’ in the field for the photo referenced. It is captioned by the Imperial War Museum as:

THE CAMPAIGN IN NORTH AFRICA 1940-1943 The Axis Offensive 1941 – 1942: A Special Air Service jeep patrol is greeted by its commander, Colonel David Stirling, on its return from the desert.

Andrew Hershey
Virginia

Dear Andrew, thank you for taking the time to point this out to us.

Lincoln, Grant and Patton
Dear Editor,

I read Mike Pearlman’s “The Union at Risk” article about Lincoln and Grant in the November 2009 issue and just wanted to send my compliments along. I also enjoyed the Patton article [“Patton’s Finest Hour,” by Carlo D’Este].

Carl Schenker

Dear Carl, thanks very much for your compliments on Pearlman’s and D’Este’s articles. I have passed your email along to both authors and they greatly appreciate your feedback. As a Civil War scholar and W. T. Sherman expert, your compliments on Pearlman’s article is especially meaningful.