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The Stars Were Big and Bright: The United States Army Air Forces and Texas During World War II
This book provides a worthwhile survey of the role of military aviation...anecdotal details keep the text lively...vintage and contemporary photographs make the book valuable for anyone interested in the military buildup that affected Texas communities...
The Stars Were Big and Bright: The United States Army Air Forces and Texas During World War II
This review first appeared in the April 2002 issue of DR AHEAD, the newsletter of the Air Force Navigators Observers Assoication.There is a saying, "Join the Navy and see the world. Join the Air Force and see Texas." In these two books Tom Alexander takes readers on a tour of Texas to visit 19 of the 65 Army Air Force bases which operated there during World War II.Volume I covers the bases which were at Amarillo, Pyote, Pecos, Sweetwater, Greenville, Waco, Harlingen, and San Antonio (which alone of these still survives as an active facility). Volume II adds to the tour the bases at Pampa, Hondo, Del Rio, Midland, Marfa, El Paso, Fort Worth, Lubbock, Austin, Big Spring, and Houston. Alexander tells how and when each base came into existence, what missions were fulfilled, who some of the people associated with the base were, how the thousands of Air Force men and women, mostly from outside of Texas, interacted with the nearby community, and what became of the facility. In addition the author looks at the nearby Texas communities before and after the bases were established and the impact that the bases had on the state as a whoe.Information about the bases is carefully researched and documented with endnotes. There are scores of histrical and contemporary photographs. The books are rich with ancedotal material. Alexander writes with skillThe heart of these books is Alexander's powerful descriptions of the opening, operation, and disposition of the bases and the resulting impacts on Texas. Those who spent Air Force time in Texas will enjoy these books. Libraries in communities which have or had a military base nearby should acquire them. This goes for communities across the country, not just in Texas, because the lessons they teach are about how war and peach change America.
The Stars Were Big and Bright: The United States Army Air Forces and Texas During World War II
I really enjoyed reading "The Stars Were Big and Bright." There was so much informative and humorous information in a well written format. It was very interesting learning about the diversity in the locations of the air bases and I loved the old pictures. It was a book I didn't want to put down.
The Stars Were Big and Bright: The United States Army Air Forces and Texas During World War II
I thoroughly enjoyed the portrayal of the life and times of Sweetwater as well as what it was like to be a WASP in a small Texas town!
The Stars Were Big and Bright: The United States Army Air Forces and Texas During World War II
"The Stars Were Big and Bright" is a compelling read about a time when people of the United States banded together in a common cause and about the Texas homefront during wartime. What makes this book an intereting read is that it contains not just the facts but the reactions of soldiers and Texans alike.
The Stars Were Big and Bright: The United States Army Air Forces and Texas During World War II
Alexander's subject is treated with both factual authority and writing skill...the prose style is graceful...makes good use of material, including quotations from veterans present at reunions in recent years. The book is comprehensive, fair, and a pleasure to read.