Military Review English Edition January-February 2017 | Page 145
BOOK REVIEWS
of the photos place dogs in whimsical poses, while
others show dogs relaxing with the GIs, and still others
show dogs recovering from battle wounds.
If a reader is looking for a World War II book on
campaigns and national strategy, this is not it. If the
reader is looking for a book on military working dogs, or
dogs used for policing or explosive detection, this is not
it. If the reader is looking for information on mascot pets
or purebred dogs that live a pampered life, this is not it.
If the reader is looking of a book about mutts and strays
that find a GI to take care of them and provide comfort,
this is definitely the book.
The book has seven chapters, with five dedicated to
the buddies of the Coast Guard, Army, Army Air Force,
Navy, and Marine Corps. The two remaining chapters
are dedicated to “War’s End” and “Humor in the Face
of War.” Every
photo in the
book is an
official military
photo that was
researched at
the National
Archives in
Washington,
D.C. Each
photo has a
caption, which
the author
edited to eliminate personal information and needlessly
offensive language from the 1940s that is no longer used
today. Journalists who were drafted or volunteered for
the service wrote many of the captions. The intent of the
photos was to keep the public feeling good about the war
when times were hard and the news from the front was
not always go od. The photos let the American public
see our soldiers and sailors making the best of some very
difficult situations.
Some of these dogs have great combat stories, such
as a dog named Cherbourg, who was at Normandy on 6
June 1944 when a tank landing ship landed. He decided
it was a good time to get off the beach and run onto the
ship. In addition, there is Skippy, a member of a B-17
crew serving in Northwest African theater with bombing runs over Tunisia and Sicily.
This book is not relevant to the study of World
War II history or to the current security concerns of
MILITARY REVIEW January-February 2017
the nation. However, it is a very good book for seeing
World War II from a different perspective of soldiers
and their adopted pets.
Boyd Plessl, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
COURAGE, COMPASSION, MARINE
The Unique Story of Jimmie Dyess
Perry Smith, iUniverse, Bloomington, Indiana,
2015, 220 pages
F
rom start to finish, readers sense the pride and
passion of the book’s author, Maj. Gen. Perry
W. Smith, U.S. Air Force, retired, who took
ten years to research and write Courage, Compassion,
Marine: The Unique Story of Jimmie Dyess. The story
resonates with the author because Smith is married to
Jimmie Dyess’s daughter and only child. Together over
the years, the Smiths have represented this American
hero’s extraordinary achievements at multiple and
various events around the globe.
The book moves effectively in a chronology beginning with Jimmie Dyess’s prewar years, progressing to
the Carnegie Medal, the evolution of U.S. Marine Corps,
the war in the Pacific, the 4th Marine Division and its
role in Operation Flintlock, perspectives on the Medal of
Honor and courage, and a litany of Dyess’s honors and
events. However, the book needs a more effective ending
as Smith spends too much time discussing the anatomy of
courage, which detracts from the book’s strengths—Dyess
and historical research.
As an Augustan, I reveled in the book’s description
of “early Augusta”—the city, its citizens, and the attractions that made it the “before Florida” winter playground
for wealthy northerners. Here, readers glimpse a young
Jimmie Dyess who willingly risked his life to save two
drowning strangers and who later would give his life
to save marines on the twin islands of Roi Namur. The
firsthand accounts by men who served, trained, and
fought alongside Dyess capture the man who embodied the character and presence attributes of the Army
Leadership Requirements Model.
Smith’s book is not only a responsible and personal
portrait of Dyess, but also a revealing historical account
of the Marine Corps. This account examines the strategic
contributions made by five men who influenced Marine
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