American Airpower Comes of Age: General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold's World War II Diaries - Volume 2 - England, Normandy, Italy, Iwo Jima, Paris and Germany

Gen Henry H. “Hap” Arnold, US Army Air Forces (AAF) Chief of Staff during World War II, maintained diaries for his several journeys to various meetings and conferences throughout the conflict. While volume 1 introduces Hap Arnold, the setting for five of his journeys, the diaries he kept, and evaluations of those journeys and their consequences, volume 2 encompasses General Arnold’s final seven journeys and the diaries he kept therein.

This volume has richly enhanced General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold's reputation as the father of today's United States Air Force. Major General John W. Huston, himself an Army Air Forces combat veteran of the war, has edited each of Arnold's World War II diaries and placed them in their historical context while explaining the problems Hap faced and evaluating the results of his travels. General Huston, a professional historian, has taught at both the US Air Force Academy and the US Naval Academy. A former Chief of the Office of Air Force History and an experienced researcher both here and abroad in the personal and official papers of the war's leaders, he has been careful to let Hap speak for himself.

The result is an account of the four-year odyssey that took Arnold to every continent but one as he took part in deliberations that involved Allied leaders in major diplomacy/strategy meetings with Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S Truman, Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin, Charles de Gaulle, and Chiang Kai-shek. At those meetings, Hap recorded the comments of the various participants. His 12 diaries contain his own thoughts, which range from being lost over the Himalayas to comforting the wounded as they were airlifted from the Normandy beaches. He experienced an air raid in London and viewed the carnage in recently liberated Manila. Arnold recorded his honest impressions, from private meetings with King George VI in Buckingham Palace to eating from mess kits with his combat crews in the North African desert—all while perceptively commenting on the many issues involved and assessing the people, the culture, and the surroundings.

This volume offers the best assessment we have of Hap as he survived four wartime heart attacks and continued to work tirelessly for proper recognition of airpower. It will also continue my emphasis while Chief of Staff of the US Air Force on encouraging professional reading through making historical accounts available to personnel of the finest air force in the world, a success achieved in large part because of Hap Arnold.

Contents * FOREWORD * PREFACE * EDITORIAL NOTES * Notes * HAP AT MIDPOINT * Notes * Chapter 6 * ENGLAND * 31 AUGUST-8 SEPTEMBER 1943 * Introduction * The Diary * Postscript * Notes * Chapter 7 * CAIRO, TEHRAN, PALESTINE, CAIRO, ITALY * 11 NOVEMBER-15 DECEMBER 1943 * Introduction * The Diary * Postscript * Notes * Chapter 8 * ENGLAND, NORMANDY BEACHES, ITALY * 8 JUNE-21 JUNE 1944 * Introduction * The Diary * Postscript * Notes * Chapter 9 * QUEBEC * 11 SEPTEMBER-16 SEPTEMBER 1944 * Introduction * The Diary * Postscript * Notes * Chapter 10 * PARIS, CANNES, ITALY, NORTH AFRICA, SOUTH AMERICA * 31 MARCH-8 MAY 1945 * Introduction * The Diary * Postscript * Notes * PHOTO SECTION * Chapter 11 * HAWAII, GUAM, IWO JIMA, PHILIPPINES * 6 JUNE-24 JUNE 1945 * Introduction * The Diary * Postscript * Notes * Chapter 12 * PARIS AND GERMANY * 10 JULY-30 JULY 1945 * Introduction * The Diary * Postscript * Notes * EPILOGUE * Notes