The leansubmariner just went over 225,000 visits today. That’s pretty cool. I can’t tel you how much I appreciate your visits and those that come back for a second and maybe even a third look.
Live has been pretty interesting lately. The place where I have been working is in the process of mothballing due to changes in the sales in our market. At first, it was pretty disheartening since I was comfortable and I was looking forward to a day sometime in the future when I could write full time. That may come sooner than I had expected but I am still measuring the impact of the shrinking workforce.
I have been very busy this spring so far posting on my World War 2 in the Pacific page on Facebook. Every day, there are entries from historic records and sprinkled in between are letters from my Dad to his parents during the same time period. If you get a chance, check it out. I intend to continue posting stories there until the anniversary of the end of the Second World war in the Pacific.
https://www.facebook.com/WarInThePacific19411946
Thanks again for the visits. I will be back with more submarine stories in the very near future.
theleansubmariner 
You know I have been a follower here for quite awhile, but I am afraid I do not trust Facebook due to their 3 major security breaches. Congrats on your success here – you rightly deserve it.
HI BobI meant to write more than just ‘like’ on your fb page. this is an accomplishment and you seem to have found a good niche to write about. I don’t know if there is an English translation but I enjoyed reading Yukiko Duke’s book on Breven fran Iwojima or Letters from Iwo Jima. I don’t think this is the same reference book Clint Eastwood used for his 2 films about WWII and the fight for Iwo Jima. She is a journalist and half Swedish half Japanese. She apparently did translation work from the letters book written by a Japanese survivor of the battle. What I liked about the book was how she put into the context the leaders of the final defense by the Imperial army. I told some friends while I was reading the book that, what was probably meant as a punishment by the high command turned out to have tragic consequences. My conclusion after reading the book and the unconventional nature of the commander was that had they put an ‘ordinary’ leader there, the war could have ended much sooner and maybe–a stretch–there wouldn’t have been a Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The main goal of the book, was, to show another narrative and human side of the story–instead of the American view. But the commander was extraordinary. He went to study in the US at a time when Europe was seen as more prestigious and useful by his peers in military academy. He saw already then, America’s future as a superpower. He loved his family and worried about them constantly, writing letters home to encourage all of them. He was unconvential in not hiding behind his position as a leader, but literally went to gemba in preparation for the invasion of Iwo Jima. Limited resources and clear idea in his mind of what the cost of failure meant–he trained and empowered the men on his island, including the other officers to fight to the death. On paper, of course, this was what all Japanese were supposed to do–but most of the islands fell quickly once the US forces started their attacks. He knew before it started he wouldn’t win–but he was determined to prolong the days where his family would be annihilated. Prior to his arrival on the island, moral and health were already poor. Navy didn’t talk with army, officers took special privileges and bribes, the natives on the island weren’t cared for. He evacuated the civillians that he could before the attacks. He brought together people who werent’ accustomed to making decisions on their own–which led to why they could continue to fight even when cut off from command communications. Wartime propaganda had told them the Americans were fighting dirty wars–without honor–bombing non military targets, sinking merchant ships, etc. Again, my conclusion was one of sorrow that he was so good. He wrote about how horrible the conditions were before the attacks and then, up till the land assault. I also read at the same time, an old Life book dad had from 1947–of photos from the American side of the battle for and taking of Iwo Jima. Nowadays I am reading books on art, creativity and theology to help define my artistic vision and am making my way through the old testament. I’m on Proverbs now–it’s been years since I read the Bible cover to cover–but it felt like the right thing to do during this time. I’ll be in Sweden for the summer, and then returning home for the fall. Dawn From: theleansubmariner To: d_yoshimura@yahoo.com Sent: Tuesday, May 12, 2015 11:59 AM Subject: [New post] 225,000 Visits… Nicely done! #yiv0715482687 a:hover {color:red;}#yiv0715482687 a {text-decoration:none;color:#0088cc;}#yiv0715482687 a.yiv0715482687primaryactionlink:link, #yiv0715482687 a.yiv0715482687primaryactionlink:visited {background-color:#2585B2;color:#fff;}#yiv0715482687 a.yiv0715482687primaryactionlink:hover, #yiv0715482687 a.yiv0715482687primaryactionlink:active {background-color:#11729E;color:#fff;}#yiv0715482687 WordPress.com | mstrmac711 posted: “The leansubmariner just went over 225,000 visits today. That’s pretty cool. I can’t tel you how much I appreciate your visits and those that come back for a second and maybe even a third look.Live has been pretty interesting lately. The place where I ” | |