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The Cactus Air Force
World War II. Specially Illustrated Edition. In fine condition, clean and unmarked. Tightly bound. A very nice vintage collector's item. Number # 14766-8. Originally $2.50. Protected in a clear ploy sleeve.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 26, 2013
When considering historical subjects books fall into certain categories depending on the time elapsed between the event and the time the author did his or her research. The first category is first person accounts very soon after the event which have only the point of view of the person involved. These are quite limited in that the author usually can't tell you what happened out of his or her view other than what he or she personally experienced. (For the Solomons Campaign, for example, "Joe Foss, Fighting Marine," gives a first hand account of Foss' experiences flying from Guadalcanal but provided no incite into anything not in his personal experience.) These accounts are valuable but are more propaganda than anything else.
Books in the second category start appearing a few years after the event, during the period when a lot of first person accounts and limited government material becomes available so that different points of view can be amassed to provide a more accurate account. (The book which is the subject of this review, "Cactus Air Force," by Thomas G. Miller, Jr, is an example of this second category). This category suffers from the fact that the governments of the countries involved still have important information classified for national security and some participants really don't want to talk about their experiences.
Books in the third category come years after the event when the most information is available due to aging participants wanting to tell their own stories and the releasing of the information formerly classified by the governments involved. ("Islands of Destiny" by John Prados, includes accounts by Japanese participants and intelligence activities not available in the first two categories. Another in this category is "A Dawn Like Thunder," by Robert J. Mrazek, which provides amazing new information hitherto never reported about the Battle of Midway and Guadalcanal.)
There is a fourth category of books. This category could actually come at any time and is characterized by the coloring of history to fit a political or ideological point of view. For instance, the political and ideological movement to discredit the "founding fathers" of the United States. I call this revisionist history and anything written in this category is fairly worthless.
Now, getting back to the review of "The Cactus Air Force." It is in the second category of books when information is available but some government secrets are still being withheld. The participants are well represented so accounts of events on Guadalcanal are very accurate. The lack of information on intelligence matters means that these matters are touched upon but their actual effects are not fully detailed. That being said, "The Cactus Air Force" was a very good account, excellent considering it is a second category book. I originally read it in high school in 1970 and it still holds up. I would suggest, however, if you are interested in the Solomons campaign, that you read the other books I have mentioned as well.
Books in the second category start appearing a few years after the event, during the period when a lot of first person accounts and limited government material becomes available so that different points of view can be amassed to provide a more accurate account. (The book which is the subject of this review, "Cactus Air Force," by Thomas G. Miller, Jr, is an example of this second category). This category suffers from the fact that the governments of the countries involved still have important information classified for national security and some participants really don't want to talk about their experiences.
Books in the third category come years after the event when the most information is available due to aging participants wanting to tell their own stories and the releasing of the information formerly classified by the governments involved. ("Islands of Destiny" by John Prados, includes accounts by Japanese participants and intelligence activities not available in the first two categories. Another in this category is "A Dawn Like Thunder," by Robert J. Mrazek, which provides amazing new information hitherto never reported about the Battle of Midway and Guadalcanal.)
There is a fourth category of books. This category could actually come at any time and is characterized by the coloring of history to fit a political or ideological point of view. For instance, the political and ideological movement to discredit the "founding fathers" of the United States. I call this revisionist history and anything written in this category is fairly worthless.
Now, getting back to the review of "The Cactus Air Force." It is in the second category of books when information is available but some government secrets are still being withheld. The participants are well represented so accounts of events on Guadalcanal are very accurate. The lack of information on intelligence matters means that these matters are touched upon but their actual effects are not fully detailed. That being said, "The Cactus Air Force" was a very good account, excellent considering it is a second category book. I originally read it in high school in 1970 and it still holds up. I would suggest, however, if you are interested in the Solomons campaign, that you read the other books I have mentioned as well.
February 11, 2025
I read this book because my uncle was part of the Cactus Air Force. There are a lot of abbreviations, acronyms, and jargon that would be much more meaningful to people in the Marines or Navy and certainly to people who were part of this important but largely overshadowed WWII battle. Of course the book was published just 25 years after the 87 days where an at times severely outnumbered group of men held a small island in the wake of repeated onslaught by Japanese that had more men, planes, fuel and ammo, and played a significant role in the eventual defeat of Japan. At the time of its publication, there were many around who had fresh and first hand memories of Guadalcanal.
It is a sobering look at the realities of war and the human sacrifice that comes with it. Were it not for my family connection, I would not have read it. But I imagine for anyone who is interested in WWII battles, particularly South Pacific Naval and Air battles, I believe you would appreciate this book.
It is a sobering look at the realities of war and the human sacrifice that comes with it. Were it not for my family connection, I would not have read it. But I imagine for anyone who is interested in WWII battles, particularly South Pacific Naval and Air battles, I believe you would appreciate this book.
May 8, 2023
I read The Cactus Air Force several years ago and found it to be one of the best accounts I've yet read of the key role played by air power in the Battle for Guadalcanal between August 1942 (when the U.S. Marines landed on Guadalcanal Island) and February 1943 (when the last Japanese forces withdrew from the island, having suffered its first serious defeat at the hands of U.S. forces in the Pacific War).
The name Cactus Air Force denotes the contingent of U.S. Marine and Navy fighters and dive bombers (later supplemented by fighters of the U.S. Army Air Forces) stationed at Guadalcanal, who assisted the Marines in battling the full might of Japanese land, air, and naval power.
The name Cactus Air Force denotes the contingent of U.S. Marine and Navy fighters and dive bombers (later supplemented by fighters of the U.S. Army Air Forces) stationed at Guadalcanal, who assisted the Marines in battling the full might of Japanese land, air, and naval power.
April 16, 2012
A solid account of the aerial portion of the campaign for Guadalcanal. Thomas G. Miller weaves together several sources to provide a detailed chronological accounting of the heroic men who defended Guadalcanal day and night through incredible adversity. Highly recommended for WWII and US Marine Corps fans.
June 11, 2015
A very good book that made my understand how important "cactus air force" has been.
Mistakes and hardship by american or japanese are told alike.
Mistakes and hardship by american or japanese are told alike.
June 12, 2023
The battle of Guadalcanal was the first of the island-hopping battles of the Second World War fought by the US Marines. The US Navy code name for this action was ‘Cactus.’ The Marine, Naval and Army aerial forces gave themselves the name ‘The Cactus Air Force.’ (The USAF was still called the Army Air Force at that time.) The battle raged from early August 1942 to early November 1942. Taking the air strip was easy, however keeping it was not. The Japanese were determined to take the island back.
The Japanese were completely surprised when a small fleet arrived, and a Brigade of Marines landed on Guadalcanal. The Japanese were primarily construction workers building an air strip for use by the Japanese Air Force. The workers and their protection force disappeared into the jungle and started to engage the Marines. The Marines established a boundary about a mile from the air strip and started to extend, repair and surface the actual strip. Within a couple of days, a small number of marine, naval and army air-forces arrived to help protect the air strip and aircraft. The Japanese quickly assigned the 25th air flotilla and a small number of naval aircraft to assist the Japanese Army to re-take the island. At this time, Japanese aircraft out numbered US by about ten times or more. They also began landing ground forces. Despite having more and better aircraft, they did not use them well. The Japanese Navy was reluctant to assist their Army and they utilized their air power poorly. Every time they met, Japanese aerial forces lost twice as many aircraft as US aerial forces. The Japanese never concentrated their forces and continued to use obsolete tactics. After a few weeks, the Japanese added the 11th air flotilla. About this time, the Japanese Navy agreed to carry soldiers to Guadalcanal, on destroyers. The Cactus Air Force hit or damaged at least one destroyer every night during this period.
The US aerial forces initially had to service, refuel and load their own planes as they arrived with only the crew they could carry. A few plane loads of consumables were delivered after a couple of days as well a small cadre of ground crew to fill these roles. Although US flyers always shot down lots of Japanese flyers, they started with a lot fewer, and they could not afford to lose any. After two months, the Enterprise was back at sea to help. She had lots of planes to hurt the destroyers. In this action, both the US and Japanese each lost an aircraft carrier. In the short term, this was more costly to the US, however several Enterprise aircraft were able to get to Henderson Field to help on Guadalcanal. The Cactus Air Force survived, sank a few of the troop ships and stopped the Tokyo Express.
This book reads like a novel with all the action that was included and discussed. In my opinion, this book is a little too detailed. There are just too many names to retain. Having said this, many of the flyers who worked Guadalcanal became much better at shooting down Japanese aircraft and went on to have brilliant naval careers. Interesting book. Three ½ stars.
The Japanese were completely surprised when a small fleet arrived, and a Brigade of Marines landed on Guadalcanal. The Japanese were primarily construction workers building an air strip for use by the Japanese Air Force. The workers and their protection force disappeared into the jungle and started to engage the Marines. The Marines established a boundary about a mile from the air strip and started to extend, repair and surface the actual strip. Within a couple of days, a small number of marine, naval and army air-forces arrived to help protect the air strip and aircraft. The Japanese quickly assigned the 25th air flotilla and a small number of naval aircraft to assist the Japanese Army to re-take the island. At this time, Japanese aircraft out numbered US by about ten times or more. They also began landing ground forces. Despite having more and better aircraft, they did not use them well. The Japanese Navy was reluctant to assist their Army and they utilized their air power poorly. Every time they met, Japanese aerial forces lost twice as many aircraft as US aerial forces. The Japanese never concentrated their forces and continued to use obsolete tactics. After a few weeks, the Japanese added the 11th air flotilla. About this time, the Japanese Navy agreed to carry soldiers to Guadalcanal, on destroyers. The Cactus Air Force hit or damaged at least one destroyer every night during this period.
The US aerial forces initially had to service, refuel and load their own planes as they arrived with only the crew they could carry. A few plane loads of consumables were delivered after a couple of days as well a small cadre of ground crew to fill these roles. Although US flyers always shot down lots of Japanese flyers, they started with a lot fewer, and they could not afford to lose any. After two months, the Enterprise was back at sea to help. She had lots of planes to hurt the destroyers. In this action, both the US and Japanese each lost an aircraft carrier. In the short term, this was more costly to the US, however several Enterprise aircraft were able to get to Henderson Field to help on Guadalcanal. The Cactus Air Force survived, sank a few of the troop ships and stopped the Tokyo Express.
This book reads like a novel with all the action that was included and discussed. In my opinion, this book is a little too detailed. There are just too many names to retain. Having said this, many of the flyers who worked Guadalcanal became much better at shooting down Japanese aircraft and went on to have brilliant naval careers. Interesting book. Three ½ stars.
February 22, 2018
A solid account of the first desperate months of the conflict on and around Guadalcanal. On the down side, it can get bogged down in minutia, naming individuals during dogfights as an example, and is definitely a product of its times (complete with occasional hyperbole and a general lack of Japanese sources).
July 30, 2018
Thanks Mr. Miller for naming names as much as possible for those brave young men, apoligeeze for those left out especially those ground crews who worked so hard to keep them flying. Also thanks for helping with that time-line in my head First mid-way then Cactus. With the Europe 1st attitude sometimes we forget.
August 3, 2020
A good chronology of the air battle for Guadalcanal. Not a spell binder or biography of the men who saved the island from recapture by the Japanese, but a carefully researched day-by-day, week-by-week description of the air combat that effectively crippled the Japanese naval air power for the remainder of the war.
January 10, 2022
Very good history of the Marine, Navy and Army pilots and crews that played such a pivotal role in the Guadalcanal campaign. Goes into enough detail to satisfy but doesn't get overly burdensome with names. Great read
July 3, 2022
Fantastic.
January 28, 2022
A very, very detailed book filled with fact, after fact, after fact. I'm afraid this book wasn't for me. It's just not an interesting book. There's so much detail written so plainly that there's no story to be found. It's a difficult read.
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March 11, 2016paperback 4x6
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews