New Zealand in the Pacific War - by Bruce M Petty (Paperback)

About the Book

From 1942 to the present day, the individual interviews herein record the varied and interesting tapestry of New Zealands relationship with America. New Zealand war veterans, American servicemen stationed on the island during the war and members of the next generation give voice to New Zealands often overlooked contribution to World War II.

Book Synopsis

With America's 1941 entry into World War II and the movement of Japanese forces into the southern Pacific, a number of U.S. troops were sent to protect New Zealand so that their troops might remain with commitments in the Middle East and other important, established locations. Many American military men found New Zealand to be a second home as they were welcomed and adopted into communities by the locals. Over the course of the next four years, almost 1400 New Zealand women married American servicemen.

The individual interviews herein record the varied and interesting tapestry of New Zealand's often overlooked war contribution and new relationship with America: New Zealand war veterans, New Zealanders on the home front, and American servicemen stationed on the island nation during the war. Four interviews with adults born as a result of American soldier--New Zealand women love affairs shed light on this sometimes uncomfortable aspect of all foreign wars. Photographs and short biographies of the interviewees round out this fascinating oral history.

About the Author

Bruce M. Petty served for two years on the U.S.S. Yorktown during the Vietnam War. A California native, he has lived in Saipan. His writings have been published in The Pacific Daily News, The Marianas Variety, Umanidat: A Journal of the Humanities and Journal of the Pacific Society. Formerly a nuclear medicine technologist, he currently writes in New Plymouth, New Zealand.