America at War 1941-45 Next Meeting Topic

The next lecture will be Tuesday April 15, 2014 as usual, at 7 p.m. at the Millburn Library. Our lecturer will be Dr. James P. Kane, B.S. in Education, M.A., P.D., Ed.D. Dr. Kane is a former teacher, prep school headmaster, principal and, for twenty five years, a Superintendent of Schools. He presently is a professor of history at William Paterson University. He holds a bachelor's degree from Fordham University, a master's degree from Columbia University and a doctor of education from New York University. Dr. Kane is a graduate of the Officers Candidate School, United States Marine Corps, at Quantico, Virginia, and holds the rank of Captain, USMCR.

The subject of Dr. Kane's lecture will be America at War 1941-1945. He has given this lecture often to enthusiastic audiences and we are fortunate to have him lecture to our organization. The lecture will include unusual and rarely seen slides of Pearl Harbor, life on the Home Front, the war in the Pacific, the landings at Normandy, the the Battle of the Bulge, and the flag raising at Iwo Jima.

Mark Your Calendar - Future Programs

• May 20: Richard Breitman - FDR and The Jews
• September 16: Barbara Boyer - Unit 731
• October 21: Bruce Tucker - Operation Storm: The Secret Japanese Submarine

David Roll at Next Meeting

The next meeting of the NJ World War II Book Club will be on Tuesday March 18, 2014 at 7 PM, as usual at the Millburn Library 200 Glen Avenue Millburn, NJ.

Our speaker will be David L. Roll who will talk about his just released and highly acclaimed book The Hopkins Touch. In The Hopkins Touch, David Roll shows how Harry Hopkins, an Iowa-born social worker who had been an integral part of the New Deal's implementation, became the linchpin in FDR's, and America's relationships with Churchill and Stalin, and spoke with an authority second only to the president's.

 In 1940, gaunt, nearly spectral, and malnourished following an operation to remove part of his stomach, the newly widowed Hopkins accepted the president's invitation to move into the White House. Hopkins thereafter remained Roosevelt's closest advisor, speechwriter, sounding board, and friend nearly to the end.

 Between 1940 and 1945, with incomparable skill and indefatigable determination, Hopkins organized the Lend-Lease program and steered the president to prepare the public for war with Germany. He became FDR's problem-solver and fixer, helping to smooth over crises. Beloved by some, such as Churchill, who believed that Hopkins "always went to the root of the matter" and trusted by most, including the paranoid Stalin, there were nevertheless those who resented the influence of "the White House Rasputin."

 To be with us David is traveling from Washington, D.C. and will be introduced by Dr. Steven Lomazow, one of our members, who is a Trustee of the Board of the FDR Library and who arranged for this event.

February 18 Meeting Cancelled

Due to the weather, tonight's meeting is cancelled and will be rescheduled.

The next meeting of the NJ World War II Book Club will be on Tuesday, February 18, 2014 at 7 PM, as usual  at the Millburn Library.

Our speaker will be Barbara Boyer. Barbara is currently a teacher at South Plainfield High School. She is a summa cum laude graduate of Rider University. She holds a Master's Degree in Spanish Linguistics from Penn State and a second Masters Degree from Kean University.

Barbara has a keen interest in Asian history and in the summer of 2012 she traveled to China on a scholarship to study Chinese history. The focus was on China and Japan during World War II. Barbara will present a lecture on the little known but  profoundly disturbing  book by Peter Williams and David Wallace,  Unit 731 Japan's Secret Biological Warfare in World War II.

During World War II Japanese scientists, with full knowledge and approval of their superiors,   secretly carried on a series of cruel and painful  medical experiments on prisoners of war, such as  injecting them with deadly bacteria, subjecting them to oxygen deprivation, submersing them in freezing water,  operating on them without anesthesia and much more, all in an effort to determine the outside limits of human endurance.   Thousands died from these callous experiments, yet the persons responsible were never punished after the war. Barbara will tell of of the secret agreement made between those responsible for these inhuman acts of torture and the Allies, and the reasons for the suppression of this story of man's inhumanity to man, and its legacy.

This lecture was originally scheduled for June 13, 2013 but was cancelled due to a severe weather forcast.

           

Tonight's Meeting Cancelled

The scheduled meeting of the World War II Book Club this evening January 21, 2014 is cancelled due to the severe snow storm warning. Richard Osborne's lecture about the life and times of Prime Minister Winston Churchill will be rescheduled.

Richard Osborne Is January Speaker

Our speaker for our next meeting, Tuesday January 21, 2014 will be Richard G. Osborne. Mr. Osborne is a former classmate of John J. McLaughlin at Columbia High School, Maplewood, New Jersey. Like many high school graduates, they depart school, do not keep in touch, and often do not see each other for many years. Such is the case with Richard Osborne.

Recently, John was privileged to be at an event where Richard was the guest speaker. The subject of the lecture was Winston S. Churchill. Richard gave a remarkable speech about Mr. Churchill, without notes, and without the ubiquitous teleprompter, the absence of which would render most politicians speechless.

We learned that after graduation from high school Richard served a tour in the United States Army with the A.S.A., the forerunner of the N.S.A. He earned a B.A. from Rutgers University followed by a law degree also from Rutgers. He spent 50 years as a professional manager of various privately held companies. He traveled widely and lived for a time in Greece and the U.K. All during this time he read widely in history, and became fascinated with the career of Winston Churchill. He is a founding member of the Churchill Center and a member of the Churchillian N.E. Chapter. Richard maintains a private library of over 3000 books. By any definition Mr. Osborne is truly a historian, and we are honored to have him as our guest. We look forward to a wonderful evening. Please mark the date.

Bruce Tucker Video Available

Many thanks to Jasen Aziz and Ryan Sullivan, sophomores at Millburn High School, who filmed and edited the lecture!

Tucker Lecture Draws Crowd

On November 19, 2013 Bruce Tucker gave a lecture to a crowd of 75 at the Millburn Library. Mr. Tucker's subject was the little known story of the British attack and destruction of the French Fleet anchored in North Africa on July 3, 1940. This event is consigned to a mere footnote in most history books and by many historians, but the event had profound consequences both for subsequent strategic military decisions and, perhaps more importantly, for the chilling effect it had on British and French relations, both during the rest of the war and thereafter. Charles de Gaulle, for one, the leader of the Free French never forgave Prime Minister Churchill, the one who ordered the attack. It poisoned their relationship for many years. Churchill's decision was driven by the fear that Hitler would commandeer the fleet, the third largest in the world at the time, and his decision is controversial to this day.

 

With dozens of pictures projected onto the screen and a vast knowledge of the subject, Mr. Tucker held the audience enthralled for the entire lecture. By the account of many it was one of  the best lectures the World War II Book has sponsored. For those unable to attend the lecture, it will be available for viewing by clicking on to the name of the lecture on the web site in about two weeks. We thank our young videographers Ryan Sullivan and Jasen Aziz, both students at Millburn High School for their professional service in videotaping the proceedings.  We also thank Sharon Austin, our photographer for taking and posting on our web site many pictures.

 

Holiday Party

 

There will be no lecture in December. The World War II Book Club will host its annual Holiday Party on Tuesday December 17 at Mayfair Farms in West Orange, NJ. Cocktails will be served at 6:30 and dinner at 7:30. The Cost is $50 per person. Complimentary wine will be provided. All other beverages  will be cash bar. Attendance is limited to dues paid members. Send checks to Dr. John J. McLaughlin 10 Farmstead Road Short Hills, NJ 07078.

 

Next Lecture

 

On Tuesday, January 21, 2014,  Richard Osborne will journey from Cape Cod and present a lecture on Winston Churchill. Mr. Osborne is a historian with a vast knowledge of Churchill, said by many to have been the "Man of the Century." John McLaughlin has heard Mr. Osborne's presentation and has declared it to be outstanding. Please mark your calendar.