Overview

Covering the period 1940-1945, Dingman describes Japanese language officers’ selection, training, and service in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps during the war and their contributions to maintenance of good relations between America and Japan thereafter. Arguing that their service as “code breakers” and combat interpreters hastened victory and that their cross-cultural experience and linguistic knowledge facilitated the successful dismantling of the Japanese Empire and the peaceful occupation of Japan, this is a major new work on the history of Pacific warfare during World War II. Also examining the nature in which the war changed relations between the Navy and academia, the book explores how the lives of these 1200 men and women were also transformed, and set onetime enemies on course to enduring friendship. Its purpose is twofold: to reveal an exciting and hitherto unknown aspect of the Pacific War and to demonstrate the enduring importance of linguistic and cross-cultural knowledge within America’s armed forces in war and peace alike. An exciting and previously unknown story of men and women whose intelligence and devotion to duty enabled them to learn an extraordinarily difficult language and use it in combat and ashore to hasten Japan’s defeat and transformation from enemy to valuable friend of the Allied forces. About the Author Roger Dingman is an American, international, military, and naval historian with a particular interest in 20th century trans-Pacific relations. His research focuses on Japanese-American relations, and he is currently teaching at the University of Southern California.

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9781591142119

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Roger Dingman was educated at Stanford and Harvard and was professor of history at the University of Southern California for thirty-six years. He and his wife divide their time between Harbor City, CA, and Glade Park, CO.

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