Robert J. Mrazek's "To Kingdom Come"

In a blog entry written in May 2010 (http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.com/2010/05/dawn-like-thunder.html), I recounted how, 28 years ago, I hosted a meeting between a visiting U.S. Congressional fact-finding delegation and Major Hadad, commander of the South Lebanese Army, at the Arazim Hotel in Metula, which is a stone's throw from Israel's northern border. Among those participating in the meeting was Congressman Robert J. Mrazek from Long Island. Bob and I instantly became friends, and I avidly followed his political career, which included a run for the U.S. Senate. As a congressman, Bob wrote the law that saved the Civil War Manassas (Bull Run) battlefield from being developed into a shopping mall.

The years went by, and Bob abandoned politics in order to pursue a successful literary career, which has included both fiction and non-fiction. Earlier this year, NAL Caliber published Bob's latest book, "To Kingdom Come", which describes the September 1943 deep penetration attack by the American Eighth Airforce against Stuttgart, Germany, from the vantage point of those who participated in the mission.

As noted in "To Kingdom Come", the casualty rate among American bomber crews in 1942 and 1943 was in excess of 50 percent, and only one man out of five completed the original combat tour of 25 missions.

The Stuttgart mission was a failure: Owing to dense cloud cover, the American B-17 Flying Fortresses failed to identify their target, and without accompanying fighter support, they were chewed up by German Focke-Wulfs and anti-aircraft fire. Many of the Flying Fortresses, after circling Stuttgart three times, also ran out out of fuel on the way back to England.

Bob Mrazek tells the stories of the U.S. servicemen who ordered the mission, who died or were wounded, who were captured in Germany, who escaped with the assistance of the French underground, and who landed and were interned in neutral Switzerland.

I could not put this remarkable book down.

I've waited a few days before describing my reading experience. I still find myself admiring the courage of this slowly dwindling generation of Americans, who never flinched when carrying out their duty. Today, in an era of narcissism and instant gratification, how many of us would be willing to contend with such odds and knowingly make the ultimate sacrifice?

Thank you, Bob, for this stunning achievement.

"A Dawn Like Thunder"

I just finished reading "A Dawn Like Thunder", which I couldn't put down, which at times left me near tears, and which I cannot forget. In this instance, I am also privileged to know the author, and before describing the book, allow me a few words concerning how we became acquainted.

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In 1982, following the attempted assassination by the Palestine Liberation Organization of Israel's ambassador to the U.K., Shlomo Argov, the Israeli army attacked the PLO in Lebanon and threw Arafat and his forces out of Beirut, creating a power vacuum. Although Lebanon's Shiites at first welcomed the Israeli forces, who had liberated them from the PLO, their attitude gradually grew hostile as the Israeli army and its proxy, the South Lebanese Army, commanded by a Lebanese Christian, Major Saad Hadad, occupied southern Lebanon in order to prevent future cross-border terror attacks.

In 1983 the border between Israel and southern Lebanon was in an unusual state of flux. The "Good Fence" allowed Lebanese to cross the border into Israel to seek medical treatment and also to take jobs in northern Israel. In addition to this traffic, there was a constant flow of reporters, U.N. personnel, diplomats, intelligence operatives and smugglers, all adding to a unique environment. Sometime that summer, I was asked to host a meeting between a visiting U.S. Congressional fact-finding delegation and Major Hadad, commander of the South Lebanese Army at the Arazim Hotel in Metula, which is a stone's throw from the border.

As was his wont, Major Hadad was extremely cautious in his remarks, and I think little came from the meeting. (Hadad succumbed one year later to cancer.) However, I personally met a young U.S. Congressman named Robert Mrazek, and we instantly became friends. Subsequently, Bob invited me to visit with his family at his Long Island home, and I avidly followed his political career, including a run for the U.S. Senate.

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The years passed, and as happens given the distance, Bob and I lost touch, until suddenly something awoke in me, and I felt the need to rekindle the contact. Bob wasn't hard to find: He had abandoned his political career, and in an unusual move for a former Congressman, Bob had become an extremely successful author of fiction and non-fiction. I sent Bob an e-mail, he immediately responded, and was also kind enough to send me a copy of his latest book, "A Dawn Like Thunder", a history of U.S. Torpedo Squadron Eight during World War II.

Bob spent years researching the lives of Torpedo Eight's pilots and crew, whose personal valor and willingness to face daunting odds helped enable the U.S. Navy to defeat the Japanese at Midway and turn the tide of battle in the Pacific theater. The cost: At Midway, forty-five of the forty-eight officers and men serving in Torpedo Eight lost their lives. Subsequently, at Guadalcanal, seven more squad members died.

As recounted in this history, the men of Torpedo Eight often went into battle without fighter cover and knew they were destined to die, but never once hesitated to sacrifice their lives for their country.

When I finished reading this remarkable book, I felt as if I was saying a final farewell to family members, most long gone, who had graced my life with their heroism.

Thank you, Bob. I hope to see you again soon.