Comments for Gregory Crouch

Comment on America’s worst foreign policy blunder of all time by Peter Leben

Peter Leben — Sat, 18 May 2013 11:32:57 +0000

Good Points -Gregory

You would be in a better position to know more about the AAC getting caught on the ground in the Phillipines still 10 hours after the attack. – but what I’m curious about was whether there were any simulated alerts being practised during the many months prior to the attack. The Japanese spent exhaustive practice runs and intense training before the attack. What did we do? Plans on paper are quite meaningless if they aren’t actually field tested. Perhaps both the lack of simulated response attack missions along with a general malaise at AAC command were contributing factors. It is always risky making sweeping statements about major historical events – but I feel it’s safe to say from the entire chain of U.S. command: A egregious lack of strategic security.

Comment on America’s worst foreign policy blunder of all time by Gregory

Gregory — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:36:48 +0000

I agree that it was a massive intel failure. And failure of imagination. Despite the defeat of the Russians in ’05, I think there were some pretty racial biases in effect, too. “Well, the Russians weren’t a first rate Navy. The Japanese wouldn’t do so well against us.” I think there were plenty of voices in the intelligence community warning about the Japanese, and the Navy in particular had an eye focused on the Pacific. One of the reasons our aircraft carriers were at sea so much in 1941 was so they wouldn’t be caught in port by an attack. Intel reports had the Japanese making a move, but we guessed it would be a southward move. (It was that, too.) To me, the utterly grotesque neglect, sill unexplained, was how the AAC in the Philippines could have been caught on the ground at Clark airfield, midmorning, some ten hours after the Pearl Harbor raid, and after receiving lots and lots of notice. MacArthur should have burned for that.

Comment on America’s worst foreign policy blunder of all time by Peter Leben

Peter Leben — Fri, 17 May 2013 01:34:18 +0000

Gregory – very astute and insightful comments. My only response, (not refuting your comments) is that although we never imagined the unimagineable we should have when we’re dealing with Japan. I don’t think it’s “excusable” to say that we had no conept of Japan’s capability. Although our pre-war intelligence was weak and undeveloped we still could have had human intelligence infiltrate Japan – even prior to their invasion of Manchuria. Prior to Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were among our most patriotic citizens, had families in Japan who were not partisans. The Japanese complete destruction of the Russian fleet in t905 shocked the world. Any astute military historian would realize that some 30 years after this shocking and stunning event – should have been a wake up call for us as a nation. World War 1 was the best thing that could have happened to Imperial Japan. They watched (probably in glee) as Western European countries completed decimated each other’s military and will to fight. It’s unimagineable to me for members of our so called”brain trust” wouldn’t have tuned the scope on high toward Japan.

Comment on America’s worst foreign policy blunder of all time by Gregory

Gregory — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:43:47 +0000

True, but we considered sabotage to be the biggest threat at Pearl, and we did do something about that — line up all the airplanes so we could guard them easily.

Gross misunderstanding of the carrier based airpower of the Japanese. Worth noting that US naval air control wouldn’t advance to the point where we could coordinate 350 airplane strike until the Truk raid in late 1943. They had acquired an incredible capability that we had barely conceptualized.

Comment on America’s worst foreign policy blunder of all time by Peter Leben

Peter Leben — Thu, 09 May 2013 08:49:50 +0000

Thanks for your response Gregory. i would like to to add that along with this inane U.S. isolationist policy was a pervasive dearth of strategic political and military analytical thought in American Foreign Affairs. Major American corporations like Ford, General Electric and Westinghouse invested many millions into Hitler’s Germany without the slightest thought that this madmen clearly signaled his obsession with world power. There were at leats two strategic studies submitted to Naval Affairs professing not only the capability – but even the liklihood of Japan attacking our strategic fleet as we were the only threat to their complete domination of the Pacific.

Comment on America’s worst foreign policy blunder of all time by Gregory

Gregory — Tue, 07 May 2013 13:30:18 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Peter. It’s a disgrace that we didn’t stand with the other democracies through the middle and late 1930s.

Comment on America’s worst foreign policy blunder of all time by Peter Leben

Peter Leben — Tue, 07 May 2013 06:00:31 +0000

I totally agree with this premise. The U.S Congress starting their Isolationst Nose Dive when they vetoed Wilson’s League of Nations. Without the U.S joining the League it became a laughing stock toward the rise of Nazi Germany and Imperialist Japan. The U.S weak foreign policy left our brutally battered allies, France, England, even Russia to fend for themselves against the inevitable rise of Germany and Japan.

Comment on China’s Wings by Gregory

Gregory — Wed, 01 May 2013 17:03:48 +0000

Thanks Tom… So glad you enjoyed it. Sounds like you had a great trip with Diego, too. Cheers, Greg

Comment on China’s Wings by Tom Schmidt

Tom Schmidt — Wed, 01 May 2013 14:23:56 +0000

Greg…..I just finished your book while I was hanging out with Diego Kusak, Steve Kusak’s son, while on a road trip around Kunming and Dali…..your book is really one of the best compilations of the events of that era that I have ever read….

Diego has a wealth of collectables from his dad’s very complete preservation of his licenses, passports, log books, and endless memorabilia……

You started this project just in time…..It is sad to see all the pictures in your book of our CNAC friends who were just a few years ago were all alive…..Thank you so much for writing this great book……Tom

Comment on China’s Wings by Patrick McArdle

Patrick McArdle — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 03:25:33 +0000

Dear Mr. Crouch,

I bought my copy of “China’s Wings” at The Museum of Flight in Seattle. As an aerospace engineer, and devotee of the history of that period, I savored every page. Many years ago, I read Tuchman’s “Stilwell…”, and your book does for Mr. Wm. L. Bond what she did for “Vinegar Joe.”

I’m wondering if there is still a chance to meet you on book tour, and get your autograph on a copy. I would also relish the chance to meet Mr. Moon F. Chin, whose story you lovingly resurrect. His personal triumph, over both the grim circumstances of his native China of that period, and over the racism of his American homeland, makes an inspiring story for all of us.

Again, thank you very much for the book.

Most Sincerely,

Patrick