Frank Sisson and Robert Wise talk about their WWII military history book “I Marched With Patton” (William Morrow, 2020)

Frank Sisson Robert Wise WWII

Frank Sisson and Robert Wise talk about the WWII military history book “I Marched With Patton”

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3lQUOwO

Interview Summary

Frank Sisson joined the US Army in 1943 at the age of 18. He went into the artillery and fought in Europe alongside Patton’s forces. He wrote his memoir with Robert Wise and I spoke to them about Frank’s wartime experiences from Texas, to France, and finally on to Berlin where he ended his Army days working as a military policeman.

(THE AUDIO PLAYER IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST.)

1:08 – Frank and Robert talk about how the book was written.

2:02 – Frank talks about why he eventually agreed to writing a book on his time in WWII.

2:45 – Frank talks about how he joined the military when he turned 18.

3:51 – Frank talks about joining the artillery.

5:03 – Frank talks about what he was doing when Pearl Harbor was bombed and how people felt about the war.

6:12 – Frank talks about training at Fort Sill and in Texas and then going to Europe.

7:24 – Frank talks not wanting to live on the ocean.

(NOTE: 8:06: The audio was temporarily static y.)

8:06 – Frank talks about his time in the artillery.

9:57 – (Audio issues end): Frank talks about how nervous it was going to war.

11:23 – Frank talks about landing in Saint Lo France.

14:09 – Frank talks about his feelings about the Nazis. He also talks about

speaking French and German.

16:13 – Frank talks about being in the Ardennes Forest. He saw Patton, Bradley, and Eisenhower there.

19:45 – Frank talks about doing their work in freezing temperatures.

23:00 – Frank talks about an experience on the Rhine river being attacked by black jet airplanes.

25:21 – Frank talks about crossing the Rhine.

25:26 – Frank talks about being a policeman in Berlin and dealing with the Russians. He mentions an event where he had to arrest a drunken Russian general and his drunken driver.

30:28 – Frank talks about hearing a profanity laced speech from Patton. He also discusses his own truck driver.

33:41 – Frank talks about being in Berlin after the German surrender.

34:40 – Frank talks about seeing Jewish prisoners of war being moved.

36:12 – Frank talks about how he became a police officer. He talks about a grisly discovery he made at the morgue.

40:32 – Frank talks about getting along with his officer supervisor in the military police.

41:24 – Frank talks about enjoying hearing the artillery guns going.

42:36 – Frank talks about being the boss in the military police and that he liked Berlin.

44:42 – Frank talks about war souvenirs.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/3lQUOwO

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/i-marched-with-patton-frank-sissonrobert-l-wise?variant=32117507555362

Thilde Kold Holdt and her Viking fantasy novel on Full Contact Nerd https://wp.me/p7CDU9-4YM

Bill Ayrey and Apollo 11 spacesuits on Technology and Space http://spacewalksmoneytalks.com/p/599

Contact Information

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar and on Instagram @crisalvarezwarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify Please see historyrabbithole.com for a list of my dozen or so blogs and podcasts. You’re sure to find something you like.

Guests: Frank Sisson and Robert Wise

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: Books, audio interviews, author, podcast, William Morrow, WWII, United States, Germany, Russia, France,

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3lQUOwO

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Paul Dickson discusses the US Army in WWII in his military history book The Rise of the G.I. Army, 1940-1941 (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2020)

Paul Dickson WWII

Paul Dickson discusses the US Army in WWII

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3lBmxRW

Interview Summary

Paul Dickson has written numerous books on American history ranging from WWII, to baseball, to the space program. He recently completed a book on the development of the US Army just before the start of WWII. We spoke about the book and how the United States was able to create such a large army in [the] a short period of time from 1940 to 1941.

(THE AUDIO PLAYER IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST.)

0:45 – Paul talks about why he wrote a book about the development of the US Army before Pearl Harbor. He mentions the Louisiana maneuvers and MacArthur’s comments about the US Army.

5:18 – Paul talks about the layout of the book. He talks about Greenville Clark being instrumental in developing the US military. Greenville gained experience during WWI and wanted a draft for WWII. Greenville used Omar Bradley to lead a new OCS program.

13:17 – Paul talks about Marshall having to deal with low quality senior officers.

He also mentions the development of Army films under Frank Capra.

16:03 – Paul talks about how they filled the ranks of middle grade officers.

17:18 – Paul talks about management of the budget and logistics for this newly expanded Army. He also talks about Eisenhower’s comments about training logistics in the US.

21:45 – Paul talks about a major portion of his book dealing with attempts to integrate the Army.

25:45 – Paul talks about the training this new army did. He mentions Piper Cub aircraft. He talks about citizen-soldiers.

29:07 – Paul talks about the resources he used for his research. He mentions the Eisenhower Library and Pritzker Library.

31:09 – Paul talks about how enjoyable it was to figure out the story of how the citizen Army was created.

35:25 – Paul talks about the planned enlistment times. He also explains why they started enriching flour during WWII.

40:40 – Paul talks about all the people who helped him prepare the book.

44:25 – Paul talks about how people felt abut the Korean War.

46:28 – Paul talks about what was done to keep morale up. He gives examples of how the GI Bill helped veterans.

50:13 – Paul talks about the US Army Air Corps. He talks about Jimmy Stewart being rejected and then working towards getting into the Army. He also talks about the Tuskeegee Airmen.

56:45 – Paul can be found at pauldicksonbooks.com, on facebook, and on twitter.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/3lBmxRW

https://groveatlantic.com/book/the-rise-of-the-gi-army-1940-1941/

http://www.pauldicksonbooks.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paul-Dickson/107581339271526

Contact Information

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar and on Instagram @crisalvarezwarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify Please see historyrabbithole.com for a list of my dozen or so blogs and podcasts. You’re sure to find something you like.

Guests: Paul Dickson

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: American history, Atlantic Monthly Press, audio interviews, books, Paul Dickson, podcast, United States, wwii,

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3lBmxRW

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.