Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945 (The Pacific War Trilogy Book 3)

by Ian W. Toll

Among servicemen in the Pacific, there had been a pervasive feeling that the “folks back home” had forgotten them. The struggle against Nazi Germany had dominated print, radio, and newsreel reporting—and that was doubly true during that summer of 1944, when Allied forces were pouring into France and driving toward Paris. Since the start of the war, they had seen FDR touring military bases and war plants in every corner of the mainland United States, and they had seen him in exotic international locations such as Morocco, Egypt, and Persia. Until now, perhaps, they had not expected to see the president of the United States in the Pacific. His visit told them that they were not forgotten. The point deserves emphasis, because FDR’s trip to Hawaii has often been framed as a publicity stunt to boost his reelection campaign.