American Warriors: Five Presidents in the Pacific Theater of WWII [Hardcover]

Duane T. Hove (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2003

Five United States presidents served their country as Naval Reserve officers in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Presidential biographies gloss over this important period of their lives and are often inaccurate. American Warriors reconstructs the presidents' wartime roles based on interviews with more than one hundred veterans and on primary sources such as action reports, ships' logs, war diaries, and letters.

Lyndon B. Johnson and John F. Kennedy were commissioned officers before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford sought and received officer’s commissions in 1942. George H. W. Bush entered the Naval Reserve as a seaman, second class, after graduating from high school in 1942 and was commissioned in June 1943 during flight training.

During the war, Johnson conducted an inspection tour of MacArthur’s newly formed Southwest Pacific command and embarked as an observer on a bombing mission over New Guinea. Kennedy skippered two PT boats in the Solomon Islands, one of which was lost in a collision with a Japanese destroyer. Nixon commanded ground aviation support units in the Solomon Islands. Ford, officer of the deck of the light aircraft carrier USS Monterey, survived an encounter with a deadly typhoon. Bush, flying off the light aircraft carrier USS San Jacinto, parachuted to safety and was rescued at sea when his TBM Avenger fighter-bomber was shot down over Chichi Jima in the Bonin Islands.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Duane Hove’s five years of research and interviews shed new light on this period of our leaders’ history. His accounts provide detailed descriptions, void of folklore, of the presidents’ wartime military service.

Featured Presidents:
John F. Kennedy
Lynden B. Johnson
Richard M. Nixon
Gerald R. Ford
George H. W. Bush

About the Author

Duane T. Hove is a graduate of the California Institute of Technology. A scientist by training, he has published articles in scientific journals and national and international symposiums. He is the author of the afterword to the 40th anniversary edition of PT 109: John F. Kennedy in World War II. A resident of Manhattan Beach, California, this is his first full-length historical book.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Burd Street Press; 1St Edition edition (July 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572493070
• ISBN-13: 978-1572493070
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,194,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warriors Who Would Be President, January 7, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: American Warriors: Five Presidents in the Pacific Theater of WWII (Hardcover)

American Warriors is a detailed, annotated account of five American Presidents who also happened to serve their country as soldiers in the Pacific theater during WWII. The author has thoroughly researched the naval careers of each of these men, and has skillfully annotated their records by interviewing the many veterans who served with them.

The thoroughness of the research in American Warriors does not affect its readability. The accounts range from Lyndon Johnson's reconnaissance mission for General MacArthur, to the rescue of George H. W. Bush after his near fatal glide-bombing attack in his VT-51 Avenger. The details describing John F. Kennedy's heroism and dedication to his crew after the ramming of his PT-109 provide an equally important "rest of the story." The particulars of Richard Nixon as a young ground aviation officer stationed in the Solomon Islands present an interesting contrast to the Machiavellian characteristics that he later exhibited. And the natural leadership qualities of Gerald Ford are clearly displayed during his duty under fire as officer-of-the-deck on the carrier Monterey. In summary, the exploits documented in American Warriors serve as fascinating prologues, that should enhance the reader's knowledge of the more well-known political personas later developed by these Commanders-in-Chief.

American Warriors is highly recommended for those interested in modern presidential history.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing and Timely, December 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: American Warriors: Five Presidents in the Pacific Theater of WWII (Hardcover)

As we currently ponder our country's military involvements and the credentials of those who would be President, a.k.a. Commander in Chief, this is a timely book to digest.

American Warriors is a highly readable, yet detailed account of the naval service of five United States presidents. Before picking up this informative book, I knew that presidents Kennedy and Bush Sr. served in World War II. I certainly did not know that five presidents were naval officers in the Pacific.

I am particularly impressed with the author's interviews of well over 100 veterans who served with the presidents. American Warriors is a reflection of his diligent pursuit of the details that are often passed over by political biographers. Time and again he sorts out conflicting testimony with rational explanations of events seen through multiple eyes.

Many Americans are aware that President Kennedy was the skipper of PT 109, which was sunk by a Japanese destroyer. I would venture a guess that very few are aware that Kennedy skippered a second PT boat, or equally surprising, that Presidents Nixon and Ford each served in the Pacific longer than either Kennedy or Bush.

American Warriors sets the standard for reporting these five presidents' military service. Presidential biographers would do well to take note of this insightful book. Military history fans will be delighted.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Presidents Send Others to War-- These Were There!, January 1, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: American Warriors: Five Presidents in the Pacific Theater of WWII (Hardcover)

American Warriors chronicals the time spent by Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Bush in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Most of us knew these five men from their times as President and their poltical careers prior to becoming President. Some of us knew about President Kennedy and the PT-109 story and the dangers he faced while serving his country in WWII; but few of us knew that the other Presidents served in the war and faced life-threatening situations that shaped their future views of the world prior to entering the political area.
All of these Presidents had to make decisions during their Presidency to send others to war. The book shows that these men knew war first-hand and were undoubtedly influenced in their future political careers by their dangerous wartime experiences. American Warriors provides information on these five Presidents that is not typically addressed in other biographies using interviews with veterans who were there to corroborate events during these Presidents' service in the Pacific Theater of WWII.