Many have helped me write a better manuscript. My deep gratitude goes out to the late Joann Bowen, who read early sections of the World War II and Korean draft; Jake Butts, who read early sections of the draft and offered much encouragement; the late Thomas F. Cave, colonel, USMC (Ret.), my first real boss in Saigon, who was a wonderful mentor in the ways the armed forces function and operate; Stanley H. Cochran, Korean War naval veteran and former TRW colleague, who read parts of the draft and offered helpful comments and suggestions; Larry Crandall, a Vietnam CORDS veteran, who offered helpful pointers; David W. P. Elliott, professor emeritus, Pomona College, who read the Vietnam chapter; Andrew R. Finlayson, colonel, USMC (Ret.), a Vietnam veteran and published scholar, who read the Vietnam chapter and shared many valuable insights, including his two superb books about his service in Vietnam; Leo J. Flynn, professor emeritus, Pomona College, who introduced me to the importance of Dallas Isom’s Midway writing; George B. Forgie, professor, University of Texas, who read the manuscript and told me it needed more “connective tissue”—he was right; John P. Hamilton, who read an entire early draft and whose editing improved many passages; Stephen C. Hart, a former and venerable TRW boss, who read the entire draft multiple times and applied his formidable editing skills to the manuscript—Steve is the best there is; David J. Harbison, retired teacher, Cate School, Department of History, who offered helpful guidance; Peter Haslund, professor emeritus, Santa Barbara City College, a Vietnam veteran who served as a USAF intelligence officer and provided helpful operational insights into the execution of the Igloo White program; Mark Helprin, who read the entire manuscript and offered helpful guidance; Steve Hunnisett, who researched and found valuable World War II photographs at the Imperial War Museum in London; the late William B. Hussey, captain, USNR (Ret.), a World War II veteran whose private published memoir is cited in this work; Rodney P. Katz, retired reference librarian, Library of Congress, who answered many arcane questions—he is truly a national resource; R. DeWitt “Kyle” Kirwan, an army captain in Vietnam who commanded a USMC/US Army Mobile Advisory Team in I Corps in 1969; H. R. McMaster, PhD, lieutenant general, US Army (Ret.), a decorated Iraq and Afghanistan veteran of multiple tours and published scholar, who reviewed an early version of the entire manuscript and clarified important details about his service in Iraq and Afghanistan—General McMaster’s comments enabled me to improve the strategic architecture framework significantly; William P. MacKinnon, member of the Montecito History Forum, for leading me to the little-known official and unofficial histories of the extensive American Lend-Lease route to Russia via the rail and truck “Persian Corridor” in Iran between 1942 and 1945; Carter Malkasian, director, Operations Team 3, Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO), Department of State, who reviewed parts of the Iraq chapter, particularly with respect to his own service in the Garmser district of Helmand Province in Afghanistan; Frank Martini, cartographer, US Military Academy, Department of History, who was most helpful in navigating the department’s excellent atlases, available online, many maps of which have been downloaded and modified for inclusion in this work; Michael S. Melnyk, Northrop Grumman colleague, who introduced me to the little-known Hideyoshi, the Japanese shogun who invaded Korea in the sixteenth century and discovered the perils of advancing to the Yalu River 450 years before General MacArthur did; A. E. Keir Nash, professor emeritus, UCSB, who read some of the World War II sections and offered helpful corrections; W. C. “Peter” Naylor, professor, Santa Barbara City College, Korean War veteran, who read much of the early draft; the late Hon. Ralph H. Nutter, lieutenant colonel, USAAF, who flew with General Curtis LeMay in the 8th Air Force and 20th Bomber Command as his lead navigator in both the Europe and Pacific theaters and reminded me what a superb air commander LeMay was; Douglas M. Pell, TRW–Northrop Grumman colleague, who convinced me that Midway made no sense as a stand-alone narrative without inclusion of Guadalcanal and the naval battles fought in the Lower Solomons in 1942 and who offered trenchant critiques of the strategic architecture thesis; Jeffrey Race, PhD, lieutenant colonel, US Army Reserve (Ret.), a Vietnam veteran who read the entire manuscript multiple times, offered superb edits, and is the author of the best book on the Vietnam War; Thomas S. Schrock, professor emeritus, UCSB, who read multiple parts of the draft and offered excellent suggestions; Terry R. Schultz, cataloging librarian (until 2012); Carla I. Garcia, assistant librarian; Molly Krill Schlesinger, director of libraries (until 2016); and Kate Parker, director of library services, of the McBean Library, Cate School—Terry, Carla, Molly, and Kate were astonishingly resourceful in finding scores of academic titles and obscure documents; Robert V. Schwartz, colonel, USAF (Ret.), decorated Vietnam veteran, friend of many years, and former TRW colleague, who read the Vietnam chapter and provided helpful comments; Jay A. Stout, lieutenant colonel, USMC (Ret.), a Persian Gulf War combat veteran, F-18 fighter pilot, Northrop Grumman colleague, and published authority on the strategic bombing offensive, whose expert editing of this chapter made it much more accurate and readable; Elizabeth W. Woodworth, librarian and archivist emerita, Cate School, who read the entire draft and offered constant encouragement.
I am deeply grateful to my publisher, Rowman & Littlefield, for accepting my manuscript for publication. I especially want to thank Susan McEachern, senior editor and vice president, who recognized that the work of an unknown, unproven neophyte might be worthy of publication. I also want to express gratitude to her colleagues, Katelyn Turner and Janice Braunstein, for their expert guidance in introducing me to the rigorous process of turning a manuscript into this handsome volume.
I am particularly grateful to my wife, Karen L. Sketch, a professional graphic designer, who created or adapted all the many maps in this work, improved the graphics and numerous photo illustrations, and designed the cover image.