Why We Fight ~ 1944

In this quick episode, I am joined by Andrew Woods, research historian at the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park. Andrew shares an article he wrote 20 years ago for the 60th anniversary of the Battle of El Guettar, and he and others associated with the First Division Museums will be contributing several episodes to this series sharing 1st Infantry Division history as it relates to the Why We F...

Dr. Luke Truxal joins me to talk about American Airpower in 1943 and the impact of the Casablanca Conference (January 1943) on the Allies' Air Forces, which we will see develop more throughout the year. This is a long episode and there wasn't really a place for me to break it in half that made sense so it's all in one. We also have a couple of cameos from Dr. Truxal's toddler and P...

TW: Holocaust episode In this episode, Dr. Benjamin Schneider shares the story of the Holocaust, which is something I have not been able to cover well to this point in these series. The first series was mostly focused on the US Army in 1939-1941, and the second series included a few threads on roundups and the news of the mass killings, but these are topics I haven't had the bandwidth to cover...

Trigger Warning:  This episode discusses the Nazis and, although not graphic, we do talk about some of the violence and crimes the Nazis committed during the war. You will notice that the episode music is different from the typical episodes to this point. In the first episode Dr. Philip Blood talks about where the Germans were in 1943. Dr. Blood is an independent historian and author of "Hitl...

Trigger Warning: This episode discusses the Nazis and, although not graphic, we do talk about some of the violence and crimes the Nazis committed during the war. You will notice that the episode music is different from the typical episodes to this point. Pixel Warning: Pixel decided to join us a couple of times throughout the episode and I left one or two of them in the final cut mostly because cu...

Dr. Sarah Myers joins me to talk about these amazing women pilots, fighting for their right to serve during WWII and then their struggle to be recognized as veterans for decades after the war.  Dr. Myers has a book on the WASP coming out in September! Link Earning Their Wings: The WASPs of World War II and the Fight for Veteran Recognition (Amazon https://amzn.to/3QvsW3N ) http://www.motheroftanks...

In this first episode on the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO), I'm joined by Kater Miller, a Marine Corps veteran and curator with the National Museum of the United States Marine Corps. Kater shares the story of Guadalcanal, which requires a little bit of back history since the battle lasted about six months and began in mid-1942. The episode is a couple weeks late but in February we had the 80...

Dr. William Nance joins me in this episode to talk about the "growing up" we had to do following the losses in February 1943. If you haven't already listened to it, I recommend listening to Episode 3 first, that one is on the German Offensive, Sidi Bou Zid, and Kasserine Pass with Dr. Mark Calhoun. Bill references that episode several times.  You can find Bill's books here: Sabers Through the...

Dr. Angela Riotto joins me to provide a good overview of the creation and challenges of the Tuskegee Airmen and when they will finally deploy in 1943. There are a couple of books mentioned in the episode so I will provide some links below. Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airmen and POW by Alexander Jefferson ( https://amzn.to/3SeZNsn  

In this episode I'm joined by Dr. Mark Calhoun, a military historian with the Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy at the WWII Museum, to discuss the German Offensive that began on 14 FEB 1943, the battle at Sidi Bou Zid, and Kasserine Pass.  Tuesday's thread on the Battle of Sidi Bou Zid provides visuals and some introductory information to help the audience get the most out o...

Joining me is MAJ Benjamin Griffin, the Chief of the Military History Division at the US Military Academy (West Point). Ben shares the story of the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442d Infantry Regiment, which were Japanese-American units organized in 1942 and 1943, respectively, to allow these Americans to serve their country in the war. Since this year's series is only just beginning, we will h...

In this first episode of the Why We Fight ~ 1943 podcast, Paul Sparrow joins me to talk about FDR, Churchill, and the Casablanca Conference.  Paul Sparrow is a very successful documentarian and TV producer who, among other things, served as the Director of the FDR Library and Museum.  You can read Paul's article on the Casablanca Conference and other fascinating stories on the FDR Librar...

This is the Why We Fight ~ 1943 series podcast which features historians, experts, Army leaders, and other special guests as we present select stories to expand the written content of the series. In this introductory episode, Sasha ("Mother of Tanks") provides details on this new line of effort for the Why We Fight series, as well as other changes to the series structure for this year (e.g. Facebo...