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(More customer reviews)"With the 41st Division in the Southwest Pacific" by Francis Catanzaro is a very typical account of one soldier's journey throughout the Pacific in WWII. It has most of everything you could ask from a memoir in terms of length and subject matter. That said, the plainness of Catanzaro's writing gives a good picture and mentality of the average GI. There is little in the way of personal touch to the story; in fact it is so ordinary that I think it gives the reader a decent understanding of what it means to be in the infantry. Individuality is not something that is encouraged in the army and Catanzaro's story conveys that concept. The author seems to have adapted pretty well to army life and his story reflects the commonplace and dependable traits that were instilled in front line grunts. His tale gives a good idea of what it means to be part of a team or organization that is larger than the single person. I felt that his story was often omitting certain aspects of his personality, but it is quite possible that he was properly enmeshed in the army to the point of excluding his desires and feelings in the favor of his unit's objectives.
Catanzaro's story begins with his induction into the army in July of 1943. I must say that he seems more enthusiastic about his service than many other men who have written on it; his mode of thinking is very mathematical and procedural. If he had any problems adjusting to the regimen of army life there is no indication of it. He is basically reporting the facts, which is done throughout in a dependable and chronological order. This makes the book easy to read but lacks somewhat in the category of introspection or personal growth. It seems as if Catanzaro was born for the army.
After his voyage across the Pacific in early 1944 he joins I company, 162nd regiment, 41st Infantry Division in New Guinea. The 41st had been the second US division to see action in the SWPA under General Douglas MacArthur. Once again Catanzaro acclimates to his surroundings fairly well despite the common discomfort caused by the jungle. He doesn't seem to be to rattled by any thoughts of death or danger in his future; there is a calmness to his writing which pervades the entire story. I found this to be consistent but made the combat portions of the book rather bland in comparison with other memoirs.
His first combat landing is at Hollandia on April 22, 1944 in MacArthur's leapfrogging campaign in New Guinea. They encounter little enemy resistance because the area was manned by service troops and airmen. Catanzaro's induction into the combat zone is fairly interesting as he writes well on general army procedure of patrolling and NDP's (night defensive positions). Before long the 41st is shipped west to invade the island of Biak on May 27th. This is probably the best part of the book as one of the smaller but most savage battles of the Pacific takes places. The author uses a lot of source material to back up his personal account; this makes for a complete depiction of the battle for the coastal road, airdromes and coral ridge to the north. Biak was a "little Peleliu" in the style of defense and type of combat. The army's choice to lay siege instead of a full on Marine type of assault saved many lives, but made the campaign drag on for two months.
The final action is on Mindanao in March through July of 45. I was a little disappointed here; the obscure campaign never receives much attention and the pages here are no different. It is a quick summary with little detail; I think time may have erased some of the events for the author, a common problem with most memoirs. The book is rounded out with occupation duty in Japan and the trip home. A solid and dependably written book, but not the most engaging read.
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"[W]e began our advance toward the Mokmer Airstrip.... The road climbed aridge 15 or 20 feet high and we found ourselves on a flat coral plateau sparselycovered by small trees and scrub growth.... As we moved westward along the road, twoof our destroyers were sailing abreast of the lead elements of the advancing column.The first indication of trouble was the roar of heavy artillery shells sailing overour heads... aimed at our destroyers.... Shortly after that our forward movementstopped, and we heard heavy firing from the head of the column.... As we waited, webegan to hear heavy fire from the rear.... We were cut off and surrounded!"In the enormous literature of the Second World War, there aresurprisingly few accounts of fighting in the southwest Pacific, fewer still bycommon infantrymen. This memoir, written with a simple and direct honesty that israre indeed, follows a foot soldier's career from basic training to mustering out.It takes the reader into the jungles and caves of New Guinea and the Philippinesduring the long campaign to win the war against Japan. From basic training at CampRoberts through combat, occupation, and the long journey home, Francis Catanzaro'saccount tells of the excitement, misery, cruelty, and terror of combat, and of theuneasy boredom of jungle camp life. A member of the famed 41st Infantry Brigade, the"Jungleers," Catanzaro saw combat at Hollandia, Biak, Zamboanga, andMindanao. He was a part of the Japanese occupation force and writes with feelingabout living among his former enemies and of the decision to drop the atom bomb.With the 41st Division in the Southwest Pacific is a powerful, gritty, and movingnarrative of the life of a soldier during some of the most difficult fighting ofWorld War II.
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