Scrimmage for War: A Story of Pearl Harbor, Football, and World War II
In late November 1941, two college football teams—Willamette University and San Jose State—set sail for Honolulu for a series of games with the University of Hawaii. Instead of a festive few weeks of football and fun, the players found themselves caught up in the first days of the United States’ war with Japan. For two weeks after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, the young men were recruited to dig and man trenches, string barbed wire, guard hotels, and join patrols as martial law took hold in Honolulu. They arrived home on Christmas Day after a dangerous journey back across the Pacific. Almost all of the players would go on to fight in the war. This is a different kind of war story, blending battle and gridiron—along with a strong dose of human interest, of college-aged young men unexpectedly caught up in the world war. This is a story of war and football, of Pearl Harbor and the first moments of the U.S. in World War II. It is a story of the very first days of World War II as experienced by a group of young men who witnessed it firsthand—and would soon be fighting it (indeed, who were already fighting it). This is a story of heroism, courage, self-sacrifice, and duty in the maelstrom of war.
1130975248
Scrimmage for War: A Story of Pearl Harbor, Football, and World War II
In late November 1941, two college football teams—Willamette University and San Jose State—set sail for Honolulu for a series of games with the University of Hawaii. Instead of a festive few weeks of football and fun, the players found themselves caught up in the first days of the United States’ war with Japan. For two weeks after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, the young men were recruited to dig and man trenches, string barbed wire, guard hotels, and join patrols as martial law took hold in Honolulu. They arrived home on Christmas Day after a dangerous journey back across the Pacific. Almost all of the players would go on to fight in the war. This is a different kind of war story, blending battle and gridiron—along with a strong dose of human interest, of college-aged young men unexpectedly caught up in the world war. This is a story of war and football, of Pearl Harbor and the first moments of the U.S. in World War II. It is a story of the very first days of World War II as experienced by a group of young men who witnessed it firsthand—and would soon be fighting it (indeed, who were already fighting it). This is a story of heroism, courage, self-sacrifice, and duty in the maelstrom of war.
34.95 In Stock
Scrimmage for War: A Story of Pearl Harbor, Football, and World War II

Scrimmage for War: A Story of Pearl Harbor, Football, and World War II

by Bill McWilliams
Scrimmage for War: A Story of Pearl Harbor, Football, and World War II

Scrimmage for War: A Story of Pearl Harbor, Football, and World War II

by Bill McWilliams

Hardcover

$34.95 
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Overview

In late November 1941, two college football teams—Willamette University and San Jose State—set sail for Honolulu for a series of games with the University of Hawaii. Instead of a festive few weeks of football and fun, the players found themselves caught up in the first days of the United States’ war with Japan. For two weeks after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, the young men were recruited to dig and man trenches, string barbed wire, guard hotels, and join patrols as martial law took hold in Honolulu. They arrived home on Christmas Day after a dangerous journey back across the Pacific. Almost all of the players would go on to fight in the war. This is a different kind of war story, blending battle and gridiron—along with a strong dose of human interest, of college-aged young men unexpectedly caught up in the world war. This is a story of war and football, of Pearl Harbor and the first moments of the U.S. in World War II. It is a story of the very first days of World War II as experienced by a group of young men who witnessed it firsthand—and would soon be fighting it (indeed, who were already fighting it). This is a story of heroism, courage, self-sacrifice, and duty in the maelstrom of war.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780811738675
Publisher: Stackpole Books
Publication date: 09/19/2019
Pages: 400
Product dimensions: 6.90(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Bill McWilliams graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and went on to join the U.S. Air Force and complete a combat tour of 128 missions in Vietnam. He has written for numerous newspapers in California, Nevada, Texas, and New Mexico and for VFW Magazine and various military and professional publications. His previous books include On Hallowed Ground: The Last Battle for Pork Chop Hill. He lives near Provo, Utah.

Table of Contents

Author's Note vii

Foreword ix

Part I Inspirations and Reality

Chapter 1 Voyage to a Dream 3

Chapter 2 Disbelief and Bitter Reality 26

Chapter 3 Attack! 34

Chapter 4 War and Martial Law Come to Punahou School 49

Chapter 5 The Guards at Punahou School 62

Chapter 6 Orders to Evacuate 69

Chapter 7 The Enemy Below: A Precursor 77

Chapter 8 A New Adventure: The Mixed Blessing 82

Chapter 9 Under Way 88

Chapter 10 They Came from the Early Morning Mist 99

Chapter 11 Rolling North to Home and a Joyful Welcome 104

Part II Duty, Sacrifice, and Honors

Chapter 12 Mobilization and Accounting 113

Chapter 13 Changed Directions in Life 125

Chapter 14 Above and Beyond the Call of Duty 176

Chapter 15 Leaders with Quiet Knowledge and Experience 185

Chapter 16 Life before and after Pearl Harbor for 1940 High School Classmates from Portland, Oregon 215

Chapter 17 Two Teammates Who Served as Marines in the Pacific Theater 249

Chapter 18 From Marine Corps Aviation and Postwar Education: Two Distinguished Judges 278

Chapter 19 A Marine's Safe Journey in the Pacific and His Teammate, a B-17G Copilot Shot Down over Berlin 307

Chapter 20 Vancouver High School Classmates and the Trappers' 1939 Football Teammates 325

Photographic Credit Abbreviations 355

Bibliography 357

Acknowledgments 367

Index 375

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