| Army Gi, Pacifist Co: The World War II Letters of Frank Dietrich and Albert Dietrich Contributor(s): Dietrich, Frank (Author), Dietrich, Albert (Author), Bennett, Scott H. (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0823223787 ISBN-13: 9780823223787 Publisher: Fordham University Press OUR PRICE: $47.50 Product Type: Hardcover Published: April 2005 Annotation: Frank and Albert Dietrich were identical twins whose lives took very differentdirections during World War II. Drafted into the Army Air Corps and trained asa radio operator, Frank was shipped to the Philippines in 1945, where as a sergeantin the Fifth Air Force he prepared for the invasion of Japan. Albert, a pacifist, struggled mightily to become a conscientious objector and spent two yearsbuilding dams, saving farmland, and helping the poor at Civilian Service Campsin South Dakota, Iowa, and Florida.Raised in a close, religious, Pittsburgh family, Frank and Albert were inseparable asboys, sharing a strong social conscience. Divided by war, they kept in touch bywriting hundreds of letters to each other. The correspondence concerns everythingfrom the daily drudgery of serviceloneliness, lousy foodto heartfelt debatesabout war, peace, and patriotism.This absorbing selection of letters offers fresh perspectives on the Americanexperience during World War II. The first published correspondence betweenGI and CO brothers, the letters are an uncommonly articulate chronicle of militaryservice and life on the home front, including GI marriage and parenthood. Backand forth, Frank and Albert also argued about the uses of armed force and pacifistnonviolence in the face of fascism and Nazism.Frank Dietrichs letters from Manila are vivid descriptions of a liberated city underan uneasy occupation. Albert provides an insiders view of the pacifist experience, especially the protracted efforts pacifists often had to wage to obtain CO status.Together, the letters bring to life different ways Americans chose to serve theircountry during one of its most dangerous and demanding times. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | United States - 20th Century - History | Military - World War Ii |
| Dewey: B |
| LCCN: 2005003332 |
| Series: World War II: The Global, Human, and Ethical Dimension (Hardcover) |
| Physical Information: 1.3" H x 6.44" W x 9.14" (1.54 lbs) 408 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 1940's - Chronological Period - 20th Century |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Frank and Albert Dietrich were identical twins whose lives took very differentdirections during World War II. Drafted into the Army Air Corps and trained asa radio operator, Frank was shipped to the Philippines in 1945, where as a sergeantin the Fifth Air Force he prepared for the invasion of Japan. Albert, a pacifist, struggled mightily to become a conscientious objector and spent two yearsbuilding dams, saving farmland, and helping the poor at Civilian Service Campsin South Dakota, Iowa, and Florida.Raised in a close, religious, Pittsburgh family, Frank and Albert were inseparable asboys, sharing a strong social conscience. Divided by war, they kept in touch bywriting hundreds of letters to each other. The correspondence concerns everythingfrom the daily drudgery of service-loneliness, lousy food-to heartfelt debatesabout war, peace, and patriotism.This absorbing selection of letters offers fresh perspectives on the Americanexperience during World War II. The first published correspondence betweenGI and CO brothers, the letters are an uncommonly articulate chronicle of militaryservice and life on the home front, including GI marriage and parenthood. Backand forth, Frank and Albert also argued about the uses of armed force and pacifistnonviolence in the face of fascism and Nazism.Frank Dietrich's letters from Manila are vivid descriptions of a liberated city underan uneasy occupation. Albert provides an insider's view of the pacifist experience, especially the protracted efforts pacifists often had to wage to obtain CO status.Together, the letters bring to life different ways Americans chose to serve theircountry during one of its most dangerous and demanding time |
Contributor Bio(s): Bennett, Scott H.: - Scott H. Bennett is an associate professor of history at Georgian Court University in Lakewood, New Jersey. He holds a Ph.D. from Rutgers University. At Georgian Court, he teaches courses on modern American history, peace history, and nonviolent social movements. He has published and spoken widely on peace history, radical pacifism, nonviolent social movements, and World War II conscientious objectors. He has written Radical Pacifism: The War Resisters League and Gandhian Nonviolence in America, 1915-1923 (Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse Studies on Peace and Conflict Resolution [Syracuse University Press], 2003) and edited Army GI, Pacifist CO: The World War II Letters of Frank and Albert Dietrich (New York: Fordham University Press, 2005). He is completing a book manuscript on the lives and World War II prison letters of radical pacifist siblings Igal and Vivien Roodenko. He is president of the Peace History Society. |