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Dispatches from the Pacific Lib/E: The World War II Reporting of Robert L. Sherrod
In the fall of 1943, armed with only his notebooks and pencils, Time and Life correspondent Robert L. Sherrod leapt from the safety of a landing craft and waded through neck-deep water and a hail of bullets to reach the shores of the Tarawa atoll with the US Marine Corps.Living shoulder to shoulder with the marines, Sherrod chronicled combat and the marines' day-to-day struggles as they leapfrogged across the Central Pacific, battling the Japanese on Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. While the marines courageously and doggedly confronted an enemy that at times seemed invincible, those left behind on the American home front desperately scanned Sherrod's columns for news of their loved ones.After Sherrod's death in 1994, the Washington Post heralded his reporting as "some of the most vivid accounts of men at war ever produced by an American journalist." Now, for the first time, Ray E. Boomhower tells Sherrod's story in this intimate account of thePacific front war efforts.
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First published February 1, 2008
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About the author
Ray E. Boomhower
40 books28 followersFrom famed World War II correspondent Ernie Pyle to unlucky astronaut Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, author and historian Ray E. Boomhower has produced books on a variety of notable figures in Indiana and American history.
Currently senior editor at the Indiana Historical Society Press, where he edits the quarterly popular history magazine Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History, Boomhower has also published books on the life of Civil War general and author Lew Wallace, reformer and peace activist May Wright Sewall, U.S. Navy ace Alex Vraciu, and journalist and diplomat John Bartlow Martin.
In 1998 he received the Hoosier Historian award from the Indiana Historical Society and in 2010 he was named winner of the Regional Author Award in the annual Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Awards. In 2009 his book Robert F. Kennedy and the 1968 Indiana Primary was selected as the winner in the historical nonfiction category of the annual Best Books of Indiana contest sponsored by the Indiana Center for the Book. His books have also been finalists in the annual Benjamin Franklin Awards from the Independent Book Publishers Association.
Currently senior editor at the Indiana Historical Society Press, where he edits the quarterly popular history magazine Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History, Boomhower has also published books on the life of Civil War general and author Lew Wallace, reformer and peace activist May Wright Sewall, U.S. Navy ace Alex Vraciu, and journalist and diplomat John Bartlow Martin.
In 1998 he received the Hoosier Historian award from the Indiana Historical Society and in 2010 he was named winner of the Regional Author Award in the annual Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Awards. In 2009 his book Robert F. Kennedy and the 1968 Indiana Primary was selected as the winner in the historical nonfiction category of the annual Best Books of Indiana contest sponsored by the Indiana Center for the Book. His books have also been finalists in the annual Benjamin Franklin Awards from the Independent Book Publishers Association.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 21, 2019
I had the good fortune to meet and talk on more than one occasion with Robert L. Sherrod in the last decade of his life. He was very soft spoken with just a hint of a lingering southern accent, understated in all that he did. There was no hint of bombast or any desire to stand at center stage. Yet when he talked and expressed an opinion I had the impression that it was well thought out and based on wealth of experience. By this point I had read _Tarawa: The Story of a Battle_ so I knew something about who I was dealing with, but I did not know the half of it. Ray Boomhower's _Dispatches from the Pacific: The World War II Reporting of Robert L. Sherrod_ fills in a great deal of information about Sherrod's wartime work in the Pacific. It is but a partial life which I found disappointing. I hope that Boombower's book may inspire some subsequent author to undertake that task.
Sherrod, a reporter for Time, covered the Army's Louisiana maneuvers. He met and personally talked to Generals Marshall and Patton and a certain Colonel Eisenhower. He later observed that he had made some great contacts that would have served him well if his magazine had sent him to cover North Africa and the European Theater of Operations. Instead, he went to the Pacific. He rode in one of the first US convoys to Australia. He arrived about the same time that MacArthur did coming from the Philippines. Sherrod was not one of the general's warmest admirers but he did concede that he was one of the greatest actors of his or any other generation. After about six months he returned to the US and was appalled to discover how seemingly everyone on the home front expected an easy war. He set out to puncture that illusion, an effort that culminated in a private meeting with FDR to report upon equipment shortages and the inferiority of at least some American equipment, especially fighter aircraft, to the Japanese. He wanted to return to the combat zone. Time sent him to cover the Aleutian campaign. He narrowly missed death. He happened to be aboard a naval vessel writing a dispatch (there were no typewriters ashore) when the Japanese launched a banzai attack, broke through the 7th Infantry Division lines, and surged into the rear areas. All five of Sherrod's tent mates were killed. Sherrod returned to New York and lobbied to go on what he perceived as the most important offensive yet in the Pacific--the push in the Central Pacific. He had not been impressed all that much by the Army formations in the Pacific. The few Marines he had encountered had impressed him, however. This time he wanted to cover the real professionals, as he put it, the Marines. Thus he found himself with the 2d Marine Division off Tarawa in late November 1943. He wanted to convey to the American people the gritty reality of combat--that there were no easy technological solutions. The only way he knew to do that was to go up front to the combat zone. So it was that he was on a Higgins boat in the 5th wave landing at Tarawa. His boat hung up on the reef and he and the Marines had to disembark and wade across the lagoon to the beach, all the while under Japanese machine gun fire, at times in water up to their necks. Sherrod made it ashore, not all of his boat mates did, and dug a shallow fox hole behind the sea wall, where he spent the night. The next morning he discovered that Marines to his right and left in similar holes had been killed by Japanese mortar fire. By then too the Marines had begun to enlarge their perimeter. More equipment, including tanks, were coming ashore. Sherrod was able to go back to his ship to write and file his story--a story of heroism and loss and as much grit as the Navy censor would allow. He wrote his book on the battle nights and weekends, while he continued to advocate more realistic reporting from the front lines at Time. He also met again privately with FDR to talk to him about Tarawa and to advocate release of photographs of American dead as needed to bring home to the public what kind of effort it would require to win the war. Roosevelt did over the objections of the censors. Sherrod lobbied Time to send him back to the Pacific. This time he covered three difficult campaigns in succession without a break--Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. By Okinawa he was pretty well burned out. He left after about two weeks, before heavy land fighting began but while the Navy was fully engaged with the Kamikaze menace. He was back in the United States when the war ended.
Sherrod clearly identified with the Marine Corps, so much so that he sometimes lost his objectivity. He took the Marines' side in the Smith vs. Smith controversy, going so far as to label soldiers in the 27th Infantry Division as cowards--something he later regretted. He also became embroiled in the controversy over Joe Rosenthal's iconic photograph of the flag raising at Iwo Jima suggesting that it was staged. Here fatigue may have led him to not investigate the evidence as thoroughly as he ordinarily have done. Again in retrospect he regretted his too hasty action.
Ray Boomhower has done an impressive amount of research and he lays it out in clear, easy to understand prose. I did find some of his organization off putting. On more than one occasion he begins a chapter with an anectdote or incident, then drops back to where he was at the end of the previous chapter and describes what happened leading up to the incident, then explains the incident in the context of what was happening around the event. I think this weakens the climax to a chapter. Such foreshadowing may be useful when the author is first introducing his subject to his readers, but repetition dulls the impact. I much prefer a chronological arrangement. That bit of inside baseball aside, this is a book that will appeal to readers interested in World War II, the campaigns in the Pacific, the US Marine Corps, wartime reporting, the role of the war correspondent, and a very impressive individual named Robert L. Sherrod.
Sherrod, a reporter for Time, covered the Army's Louisiana maneuvers. He met and personally talked to Generals Marshall and Patton and a certain Colonel Eisenhower. He later observed that he had made some great contacts that would have served him well if his magazine had sent him to cover North Africa and the European Theater of Operations. Instead, he went to the Pacific. He rode in one of the first US convoys to Australia. He arrived about the same time that MacArthur did coming from the Philippines. Sherrod was not one of the general's warmest admirers but he did concede that he was one of the greatest actors of his or any other generation. After about six months he returned to the US and was appalled to discover how seemingly everyone on the home front expected an easy war. He set out to puncture that illusion, an effort that culminated in a private meeting with FDR to report upon equipment shortages and the inferiority of at least some American equipment, especially fighter aircraft, to the Japanese. He wanted to return to the combat zone. Time sent him to cover the Aleutian campaign. He narrowly missed death. He happened to be aboard a naval vessel writing a dispatch (there were no typewriters ashore) when the Japanese launched a banzai attack, broke through the 7th Infantry Division lines, and surged into the rear areas. All five of Sherrod's tent mates were killed. Sherrod returned to New York and lobbied to go on what he perceived as the most important offensive yet in the Pacific--the push in the Central Pacific. He had not been impressed all that much by the Army formations in the Pacific. The few Marines he had encountered had impressed him, however. This time he wanted to cover the real professionals, as he put it, the Marines. Thus he found himself with the 2d Marine Division off Tarawa in late November 1943. He wanted to convey to the American people the gritty reality of combat--that there were no easy technological solutions. The only way he knew to do that was to go up front to the combat zone. So it was that he was on a Higgins boat in the 5th wave landing at Tarawa. His boat hung up on the reef and he and the Marines had to disembark and wade across the lagoon to the beach, all the while under Japanese machine gun fire, at times in water up to their necks. Sherrod made it ashore, not all of his boat mates did, and dug a shallow fox hole behind the sea wall, where he spent the night. The next morning he discovered that Marines to his right and left in similar holes had been killed by Japanese mortar fire. By then too the Marines had begun to enlarge their perimeter. More equipment, including tanks, were coming ashore. Sherrod was able to go back to his ship to write and file his story--a story of heroism and loss and as much grit as the Navy censor would allow. He wrote his book on the battle nights and weekends, while he continued to advocate more realistic reporting from the front lines at Time. He also met again privately with FDR to talk to him about Tarawa and to advocate release of photographs of American dead as needed to bring home to the public what kind of effort it would require to win the war. Roosevelt did over the objections of the censors. Sherrod lobbied Time to send him back to the Pacific. This time he covered three difficult campaigns in succession without a break--Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. By Okinawa he was pretty well burned out. He left after about two weeks, before heavy land fighting began but while the Navy was fully engaged with the Kamikaze menace. He was back in the United States when the war ended.
Sherrod clearly identified with the Marine Corps, so much so that he sometimes lost his objectivity. He took the Marines' side in the Smith vs. Smith controversy, going so far as to label soldiers in the 27th Infantry Division as cowards--something he later regretted. He also became embroiled in the controversy over Joe Rosenthal's iconic photograph of the flag raising at Iwo Jima suggesting that it was staged. Here fatigue may have led him to not investigate the evidence as thoroughly as he ordinarily have done. Again in retrospect he regretted his too hasty action.
Ray Boomhower has done an impressive amount of research and he lays it out in clear, easy to understand prose. I did find some of his organization off putting. On more than one occasion he begins a chapter with an anectdote or incident, then drops back to where he was at the end of the previous chapter and describes what happened leading up to the incident, then explains the incident in the context of what was happening around the event. I think this weakens the climax to a chapter. Such foreshadowing may be useful when the author is first introducing his subject to his readers, but repetition dulls the impact. I much prefer a chronological arrangement. That bit of inside baseball aside, this is a book that will appeal to readers interested in World War II, the campaigns in the Pacific, the US Marine Corps, wartime reporting, the role of the war correspondent, and a very impressive individual named Robert L. Sherrod.
February 2, 2018
You would think this esteemed journalist would be an Honorary Marine but he is not. He was at Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. After the war he was in the Marine Corps Historical Association. He was in the thick of the fighting too, not back safely on ship filing stories. I suspect what got him into trouble was his interjecting himself into several controversial incidents: Marines relieving Army general on Saipan; and the two flag raisings on Iwo. He also got banned by Nimitz which was overturned by King. And he was with the Army in the Aleutian Campaign. He seemed to be everywhere and he ruffled feathers.
The reader gets a real appreciation about what a journalist did to get his stories out. Of course censorship was unbelievable. That could not happen today for sure. Also such a contrast to Vietnam where the military’s view of the media as being on their team did a 180. Sherrod was a proponent of the truth. He argued that the American people needed to see firsthand the carnage of combat. Thus the release of combat camera footage by FDR. Sherrod’s book on Tarawa was a best seller much like Guadalcanal Diary by Richard Tregaskis.
So this book is specifically about Sherrod’s WW II experience with only one chapter on the next 50 years of his life. Sort of sad. He is deserving of more attention.
The reader gets a real appreciation about what a journalist did to get his stories out. Of course censorship was unbelievable. That could not happen today for sure. Also such a contrast to Vietnam where the military’s view of the media as being on their team did a 180. Sherrod was a proponent of the truth. He argued that the American people needed to see firsthand the carnage of combat. Thus the release of combat camera footage by FDR. Sherrod’s book on Tarawa was a best seller much like Guadalcanal Diary by Richard Tregaskis.
So this book is specifically about Sherrod’s WW II experience with only one chapter on the next 50 years of his life. Sort of sad. He is deserving of more attention.
August 17, 2009
1968 was a critical year for America, both politically and socially. I am particularly interested in the political aspects, and this book provides on all fronts. As the title implies, this is but a snapshot of Robert F. Kennedy's insurgent 1968 run for President, but it includes everything a political history junkie would want.
Indiana, in short, is a quirky state. Both of my parents are native Hoosiers, and the time I've spent in Indiana throughout my life allowed me a deeper understanding of the content of this book (a general understanding of Indiana is personally encouraged before reading). Throughout its 130+ pages, "Robert F. Kennedy and the 1968 Indiana Primary" presents an interesting, powerful, and exciting narrative of our nation at a crossroads. Most of us are familiar with the outcome of our nation's political and social struggles at the end of the 1960s; I posit that we don't know nearly enough about the details.
Highly recommended!
Indiana, in short, is a quirky state. Both of my parents are native Hoosiers, and the time I've spent in Indiana throughout my life allowed me a deeper understanding of the content of this book (a general understanding of Indiana is personally encouraged before reading). Throughout its 130+ pages, "Robert F. Kennedy and the 1968 Indiana Primary" presents an interesting, powerful, and exciting narrative of our nation at a crossroads. Most of us are familiar with the outcome of our nation's political and social struggles at the end of the 1960s; I posit that we don't know nearly enough about the details.
Highly recommended!
January 12, 2020
This is a fabulous account from a totally local perspective.
RFK jumps into the Presidential race in 1968 with hardly a plan, let alone an organization.
This book describes the evolution of a candidate and the evolution of a campaign...
Local Hoosiers were obviously a huge part of this win, which was anything but guaranteed.
Gene McCarthy's pie in the sky "intellectual" approach to a Presidential bare knuckles campaign is also intersting.
RFK jumps into the Presidential race in 1968 with hardly a plan, let alone an organization.
This book describes the evolution of a candidate and the evolution of a campaign...
Local Hoosiers were obviously a huge part of this win, which was anything but guaranteed.
Gene McCarthy's pie in the sky "intellectual" approach to a Presidential bare knuckles campaign is also intersting.
June 30, 2018
Boomhower uses an easily digestible journalistic prose to give the reader a good account of the work of Robert Sherrod, a World War II journalist noted for his on the ground reporting from some of the bloodiest fighting in the Pacific theater of operations.
I give it a four because at times Boomhower struggles with chronology. At times in the chapter on Okinawa his story is recursive, returning upon itself. It gave the account a bit of an awkward feel.
That said, it's a good book and worth the money. It's also worth sharing. After I write this I'm sending it off to Honolulu to a friend there, dispatching "Dispatches From The Pacific" to the Pacific to a retired Army colonel who I think will appreciate it.
I give it a four because at times Boomhower struggles with chronology. At times in the chapter on Okinawa his story is recursive, returning upon itself. It gave the account a bit of an awkward feel.
That said, it's a good book and worth the money. It's also worth sharing. After I write this I'm sending it off to Honolulu to a friend there, dispatching "Dispatches From The Pacific" to the Pacific to a retired Army colonel who I think will appreciate it.
December 9, 2022
This was an informative and insightful about Robert Sherrod, a WWII journalist who was embedded with the U.S. Marines in the Pacific. It was not a page turner, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.
June 2, 2023
Great summary of Sherrod's reporting
Enjoyed reading his first hand accounts of the bitter fighting in the Pacific. He was a meticulous word Smith and committed to detail.
Enjoyed reading his first hand accounts of the bitter fighting in the Pacific. He was a meticulous word Smith and committed to detail.
June 23, 2013
A missed opportunity - Boomhower is messy with repetitive details (do we really need to be told that Ethel Kennedy is Bobby's wife every time she's mentioned?) and parts of the campaign told un-chronologically without purpose. Despite the flaw's, Kennedy's Indiana campaign is one of the most enduring moments in American politics, and the magic of the story still translates more than 40 years later.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews