The first essay, written by Ronald H. Spector, was Strangers in Strange Lands. Spector examines the experiences of over 1,250,000 Americans who served in the Pacific and Asian theaters of operations from the Aleutian Islands, the Polynesian islands, to the jungles of Burma. The Pacific war in differed from Europe as it involved fighting in unfamiliar and inhospitable remote locations. Troops endured long periods of isolation, monotony, and loneliness, with brief periods of intense fighting, while troops in Europe often spent months on the battle line. The Infantrymen who made up a significant percentage of unit strength, suffered up to 90% of the casualties, with Army Divisions remaining in combat over 3 months expecting that all 132 of their second lieutenants killed or wounded. On a positive note, Spector points out those wounded in the Pacific had a better chance of living with the development and availability of new sulfa drugs, penicillin, blood plasma and the advent of air evacuation of the wounded to medical facilities.
Spector describes the unique concerns and experiences of over 1,000,000 Black men and women who served, compared to less than 4,000 Black service personnel prior to the war.…show more content… In 1941, women were able to serve in the Army and Navy Nurse Corps wore military uniforms, were subject to military control, but lacked military grade, equal pay, retirement benefits or Veteran rights, serving more as an Army/Navy Auxiliary. By the summer of 1941, the War Department established the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAACs) with full Army status, equivalent rank, and equal pay. The WAACs had 30,000 applicants by the spring of 1942 and 440 officer candidates were selected. In November 1942 the first WAACs, arrived in North Africa in response to Eisenhower’s urgent call for skilled typists and telephone
