Category: author

Modern warfare history book – “Tools of War, Tools of State” (SUNY Press, 2018) – Robert Tynes interview

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Robert Tynes is a former journalist and an academic who has studied African politics and the use of child soldiers by various groups. I spoke to him about his new book on the subject.

1:20 – Robert Tynes talks about how he got into the study of child soldiers. He lived in Kenya for a few months and became interested in African politics.

4:21 – Robert talks about what is considered a child and what is considered a soldier for this study.

10:00 – Robert talks about the book and what it discusses.

13:02 – Robert talks about Mao’s ideas of protracted war and how it connects to child soldiers.

14:30 – He mentions the Hitler Youth groups and how that connects to protracted war.

19:40 – Robert talks about how ISIS, Al-Shabab, and Boko Haram use child soldiers.

28:46 – Robert talks about how he collected his data for the research.

39:20 – Robert talks about Libyan training camps for children.

49:00 – We talk about science fiction looks at how children are used in war.

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar

Guests: Robert Tynes

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, Africa, Lords resistance Army, RUF, ISIS, Al-Shabab, Boko Harum, children, Hitler Youth, Mao, tactics

18th and 19th C US Army history book – “The Soldiers of Fort Mackinac” (Michigan State University Press, 2018) – Phil Porter interview

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Phil Porter is director of Mackinac State Historic Parks and has studied the Mackinac area extensively. We talk about his latest book on the soldiers of Fort Mackinac.

1:49 – Phil talks about how he got into Mackinac history 46 years ago. He’s written about US military authority after the American Revolution and he’s written another book on Fort Mackinac history.

5:27 – The book is a collection of images of soldiers who served at Fort Mackinac but also discusses the life of these soldiers and why they were at the Fort.

8:30 – Phil talks about some of the history of the British retaking of the fort in the War of 1812.

11:00 – Phil talks about the importance of the fort in the region.

18:05 – Phil talks about images of soldiers at the fort during the pre-War of 1812 period.

20:00 – We talk about uniform variations among soldiers at the Fort from the rest of the US Army.

23:31 – Phil talks about famed medical Dr. Beaumont who was a pioneer on digestive processes.

29:30 – Phil talks about relations between Native American and he soldiers of the fort over time.

31:07 – Phil talks about Civil War soldiers who had served at Fort Mackinac. One was Confederate officer John Pemberton.

36:00 – Phil talks about a soldier that served in the First Barbary War.

37:30 – Phil talks about three wealthy Confederates who were imprisoned at Fort Mackinac for a few months.

45:55 – Getting permissions to use images was a long and tedious process.

47:20 – They found a photo of soldiers playing baseball at the fort. They still play baseball at the fort at the same field.

54:43 – The parks’ books can be found on Amazon and on their website mackinacparks.com.

55:35 – Phil explains why the spelling is Mackinac but is pronounced Mackinaw.

Links of interest

Mackinac State Historic Parks

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar

Guests: Phil Porter

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, Revolutionary War, War of 1812, US Civil War, Mexican-American War, Native American, british, militia, First Barbary War, military prison, Michigan history

Vietnam War history book – “Uncommon Valor” (Naval Institute Press, 2018) – Stephen L. Moore interview

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Stephen Moore is a marketing executive and journalist. He’s written numerous books and given lectures on Texas history and WWII. He’s written a new book on heroes of the Vietnam War and I spoke to him about this book.

1:34 – Stephen talks about how he got into this project through a family connection.

2:45 – Stephen talks about the book and how he interviewed the men the book is about. He attended their reunions to meet them. he interviewed Green Berets and also the pilots who flew them around in Vietnam.

4:51 – The book starts in Spring 1966 in Vietnam and goes into 1970. The area covers an area near Laos and Cambodia in North Vietnam.

8:40 – Stephen talks about their training and their rotations.

10:45 – Stephen talks about the Green Beret work with the Montagnards and how they earned their awards.

15:55 – Stephen also attended a 57th Helicopter Assault Company reunion too.

18:45 – Stephen talks about the helicopters would get the teams into the mission target area.

22:09 – Stephen talks about what information he gathered and used to do his research.

26:07 – Stephen talks how he reconciled differing stories.

28:46 – Stephen’s favorite part of the research was talking to the guys. He talks about prisoner snatch missions.

40:00 – Stephen was able to track down who was flying a plane that crashed during a Vietnam War mission. This information was unknown for 40 years.

42:50 – Stephen talks about some funny things that happened during the missions.

47:00 – Stephen talks about some of the stuff the Green Berets learned from the Montagnards.

53:10 – His website is StephenLMoore.com.

Links of interest

http://stephenlmoore.com/

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar

Guests: Stephen L. Moore

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, vietnam war, green berets, special forces, Navy SEALs, Helicopter assault, air force commandos, MACV-SOG, vietcong, medal of honor, purple heart, sacrifice, veterans, WWII