MWSA Book Review

Aviation Engineers Avenging Pearl Harbor!

Authors: Bob George

Publisher:  Lulu

Reviewer: Bill McDonald – President of the MWSA

Army Engineers in WWII – A History of the 864th Aviation Engineers

Who better to write a unit history then someone who honorably served in it during WWII. Author and Army veteran Bob George has captured and preserved the unit history of the old 864th Aviation Engineers in his book called “Aviation Engineers Avenging Pearl Harbor!” This book dispels the myth that all the work in the Pacific was done by just Navy Seabees. It opens up the real history of those who served and what they did. I think the men of the 864th have much history to be proud of. George has certainly done this unit a great service with all his detailed research – allowing future generations to have access to an important element of the war effort by the Army.

The book details the training, bases, equipment and even the operations they were involved with but the strength of the book is the personal little stories about the men in the 864th that makes this a standout telling of history. George adds photos and documents to the back of the book along with orders and letters as well.

I would think that anyone who served as an Army engineer or has had a relative do so would love to read the story of this particular unit – which I think is representative of many such units in that war. The book is easy to read and profanity free – a refreshing change to the recent trend of telling of war stories. It is family friendly and can be read at any library or class presentation.

The writing is organized well and the author does a creditable job presenting his old unit’s history. I would think that those surviving members of his old unit will find this an excellent preservation of their story.

Reviewer: Joe Fabel – MWSA Review Board

The fighting forces in the Pacific Theater of Operations needed professionally prepared men to build airfields, construct roads, erect housing, hospitals, hygiene facilities along with a host of other needed buildings. All of these needs were supplied by a group of Aviation Engineers.

Of course, the public was familiar with the C B’s, those important men often portrayed in movies. The Aviation Engineers performed identical construction; however, such was done in connection with airfields and their needed support facilities.

The routine was to locate a suitable area on an island, clear away the brush and fill in the ditches, crush local rocks or coral; in short, build an airfield as quickly as possible for those planes desperately needed to push the enemy back to their homeland. Often the landing strip was barely completed when a damaging or short on fuel aircraft needed to make an emergency landing. So much equipment and lives were saved due to the dedicated work and efforts of the men belonging to these Aviation Engineer groups.

Bob George provides us with his experiences as a member of these troops. He presents much detail in his book in order to assist us in understanding what took place and what was needed to provide the physical means to win the war.

Yes, often their work was performed close to the fighting and danger lurked around them. Nevertheless, their tasks were vitally important and they performed brilliantly in those times of conflict.