I wonder what is the proportion of those of us who had the misfortune to serve in Vietnam whose fathers had served in the South Pacific? Mine did, and I never heard one word about it. There must be a lot of us who are in the same boat. Maybe that's why I am drawn to these stories. When New Caledonia was mentioned a thought bubble appeared above my head "Dad was there!". I suspect I am not alone.
I wonder what is the proportion of those of us who had the misfortune to serve in Vietnam whose fathers had served in the South Pacific? Mine did, and I never heard one word about it. There must be a lot of us who are in the same boat. Maybe that's why I am drawn to these stories. When New Caledonia was mentioned a thought bubble appeared above my head "Dad was there!". I suspect I am not alone.
When I get on into describing what living and fighting on Guadalcanal was like, it will be very apparent why the survivors didn't talk much about it. My former father-in-law only talked about it when he realized I was a serious student of the topic and knew a lot, that I could understand his stories.
Thin Red Line yes, directly. Mailer's novel is a fiction inspired by the Guadalcanal fighting. BTW - don't waste time on Malick's movie - any relationship between that and the actual truth of Guadalcanal is coincidental.
I wonder what is the proportion of those of us who had the misfortune to serve in Vietnam whose fathers had served in the South Pacific? Mine did, and I never heard one word about it. There must be a lot of us who are in the same boat. Maybe that's why I am drawn to these stories. When New Caledonia was mentioned a thought bubble appeared above my head "Dad was there!". I suspect I am not alone.
When I get on into describing what living and fighting on Guadalcanal was like, it will be very apparent why the survivors didn't talk much about it. My former father-in-law only talked about it when he realized I was a serious student of the topic and knew a lot, that I could understand his stories.
the general assumption about both "The Naked and the Dead" and "The Thin Red Line" is that they're both about Guadalcanal. is this correct?
Thin Red Line yes, directly. Mailer's novel is a fiction inspired by the Guadalcanal fighting. BTW - don't waste time on Malick's movie - any relationship between that and the actual truth of Guadalcanal is coincidental.