Guardians of Empire: The U.S. Army and the Pacific, 1902-1940

by Brian McAllister Linn

In a comprehensive study of four decades of military policy, Brian McAllister Linn offers the first detailed history of the U.S. Army in Hawaii and the Philippines between 1902 and 1940. Most accounts focus on the months preceding the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. By examining the years prior to the outbreak of war, Linn provides a new perspective on the complex evolution of events in the Pacific. Exhaustively researched, Guardians of Empire traces the development of U.S. defense policy in the region, concentrating on strategy, tactics, internal security, relations with local communities, and military technology.
Linn challenges earlier studies which argue that army officers either ignored or denigrated the Japanese threat and remained unprepared for war. He demonstrates instead that from 1907 onward military commanders in both Washington and the Pacific were vividly aware of the danger, that they developed a series of plans to avert it, and that they in fact identified--even if they could not solve--many of the problems that would become tragically apparent on 7 December 1941.

Genres: History, Military History, American History, Military Fiction

343 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 1997

Reviews

[William DuFour · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing over view on on a strategic level as as well as on how soldiers dealt with the local populace.

[Eleanore · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the research informing this work is excellent and the questions asked are critical to understanding the strategic legacy of America's experiment with formal imperialism, Brian Linn's style throughout "Guardians of Empire" wavers between the journalistic and the scholarly. Focusing narrowly on the US Army's role in the management and protection of America's newly acquired territories in the Philippines and Hawaii, Linn provides concrete insights into the formulation of America's military strategy and foreign policy in the oft-overlooked era leading up to World War II. Linn's thorough exploration not only of the official archives but also service journals & magazines, personal memoirs and the conduct of extensive interviews lays a foundation of serious scholarship far beyond the narrow scope set at the beginning of the work - a foundation that he has built upon and extended with his subsequent publications on the Philippine Insurgency and the Philippine Scouts. Yet there is a tone of special-pleading that often overcasts the sterling quality of this work - a tone that sets up an emotive defense of the US Army's actions against the Navy, against the Administrative decision-makers and against the Army's popular critics, a tone which leads Linn to take up questionable positions of advocacy and even apology, a tone which ultimately prevents this work from living up to its potential.

[Erik Tolvstad · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are parts of this history I found both fascinating and enlightening. There are descriptions of events that I have not seen elsewhere. The frustrating side of this history for me is that sometimes different points in time seem to be brought into the same paragraph, or at least the same page without a clear indication that events are from several points in time. Basically, the telling jumps about a bit in time. Perhaps I needed to learn the exact chronology of commanders by location better.

Still, I recommend this history for anyone interested in the US Army in the Pacific in the first forty years of the 20th Century.

[Aisha Manus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative. I felt there was a bit more focus on Hawaii rather than the Philippines but that's ok as I was reading for Hawaiian history anyways. I was a bit bothered by the authors attempts to justify the horrifying racism described. I get that he was trying to give perspective but it felt like he was defending it. Otherwise it had some really interesting information that blended the two locations well. I would recommend to my history loving friends or those who want to know more about where we live.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read on the history of the U.S Pacific Army. This was the army that was formed to base and defend the Philippines and Hawaii from attack.

The book delves into the history of the area as well as the political motivation of the military leaders and political leaders.

It was highly informative and I do recommend it for anyone interested in the inter war time period

[Matthew Dambro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent review of the Army's strategy in the Pacific from the Philippine Insurrection to the advent of World War II. They were tasked by the politicians with an impossible job with inadequate resources. At the end the egotism of MacArthur entered the mix. A valiant effort but there is no award for second place in war. Read this some years ago, but its lessons are still valid in the War on Terror.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the Army garrisoned the Pacific, some were considering what to do if war with Japan broke out. No easy answers.