The topics covered are wide-ranging and eclectic, and include, among others, studies of the Battle of Amiens, the Halifax explosion, Charlie Chaplin and wartime propaganda in the Canadian ...Expeditionary Force, Newfoundland's contribution to the war effort, the leadership capabilities of Brigadier General Griesbach, and the wartime poetry of John McRae. Contributors include Major John Armstrong (ret.), author many articles on military history and an administrative specialist in the Canadian Forces for thirty-two years, including stints as an instructor in history at the Royal Military College; Laura Brandon, curator of war art at the Canadian War Museum and co-author of Canvas of War: Painting and the Canadian Experience, 1914-1918; Patrick Brennan, associate professor of history at the University of Calgary; Tim Cook, archivist at the National Archives of Canada; Owen Cooke, independent researcher and former chief archivist at the Directorate of History, Canadian Department of National Defence; Andrew Horrall, archivist in charge of military records at the National Archives of Canada; John Hurst, retired administrator from the University of Guelph and head of the Ontario Branch of the WFA ; Jeff Keshen, associate professor of history at the University of Ottawa; David Parsons, Lt. Colonel with the Canadian Forces in Korea and chair of the Newfoundland Branch of the WFA; Roger Sarty, director of Historical Research and Exhibit Development at the Canadian War Museum; Christopher J. Terry, director, Canada Science and Technology Museums and chair of the Aviation Museum Group of the International Association of Transportation Museums; and Sidney F. Wise, professor emeritus in history and former dean of Graduate Studies and Research at Carleton University.
America's curiosity about elite military units is greater than ever in today's crisis-ridden World. And while numerous books have examined the various elite forces, Bunker Hill to Bastogne goes much ...further to show the relationship between these special units and the societies that gave birth to them. Though America in general has often regarded its military establishment as an unfortunate necessity, elite formations have nearly always emerged in moments of crisis. And while their exploits have fostered the cherished image of the individualistic but loyal rifleman-ranger, these legends have not always corresponded to reality.America's roster of heroic images has long included esteemed elite units, running the gamut from Roger's Rangers at Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolution to Berdan's Sharpshooters during the Civil War and the paratroopers of Normandy in World War II. But despite Americans' reverent regard for, and patriotic depiction of, elite units,...
AmericaÆs curiosity about elite military units is greater than ever in todayÆs crisis-ridden world. And while numerous books have examined the various elite forces, Bunker Hill to Bastogne goes much ...further to show the relationship between these special units and the societies that gave birth to them. Though America in general has often regarded its military establishment as an unfortunate necessity, elite formations have nearly always emerged in moments of crisis. And while their exploits have fostered the cherished image of the individualistic but loyal rifleman-ranger, these legends have not always corresponded to reality.
AmericaÆs roster of heroic images has long included esteemed elite units, running the gamut from RogerÆs Rangers at Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolution to BerdanÆs Sharpshooters during the Civil War and the paratroopers of Normandy in World War II. But despite AmericansÆ reverent regard for, and patriotic depiction of, elite units, they initially distrusted the idea of a standing army given such abuses as the quartering of soldiers in citizensÆ homes. Indeed, the egalitarian American spirit caused the Founding Fathers to discourage a class of emperor-making military elites. And yet, elite units did emerge during every major American conflict. But the evolution of such forces has taken place in fits and starts, with units often demobilizing after a particular crisis had passed. Only since World War II have elite units become a consistently relied-upon arm of the military for dealing with constantly erupting global crises.
Bunker Hill to Bastogne is a unique and timely chronicle of the birth and evolution of elite forces and the American publicÆs reactions to them. It shows that despite AmericansÆ wariness of a possible military elite, their love of the fabled rifleman-ranger has seldom dwindled, though in the twenty-first century their hero might wear a green beret rather than a coonskin cap.
