Call Me Stormy

Thinking Man’s John Wayne

Comedian Jon Stewart once called Harry Truman a war criminal for ordering the atomic bombings of Japan during World War II, although Stewart later recanted his “stupid” remark after it elicited a firestorm of criticism. Today, on the 67th anniversary of Little Boy being dropped on Hiroshima, some more seasoned and veteran perspective on that historic event is offered by Jack H. McCall Jr., author of two companion histories of WWII. McCall says many of the soldiers fighting in the Pacific Theater kissed the ground upon hearing of Truman’s decision, knowing he had averted the deaths of more than one million GIs who likely would have been killed if a ground invasion of Japan had taken place.

One of McCall’s books examines the war through the perspective of Professor Christopher Donner, who McCall bills as “the thinking man’s John Wayne,” a trained historian fluent in multiple languages who nevertheless volunteered for the US Marines, serving in the fierce battles on Okinawa. Among Donner’s recollections: His fateful encounter with US Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., the son of a Kentucky governor and the highest-ranking US officer killed in combat during WWII.

McCall shares anecdotes from his books with Glenn Reynolds on PJTV’s InstaVision.