Aviation Engineers Avenging Pearl Harbor (Spiral-bound)

 Author's Summary

A History of the 864th Engineer Aviation Battalion during World War II.

MWSA Review

Army Engineers in WWII - A History of the 864th Aviation Engineers

Who better to write a unit history then someone who honorably served in it during WWII. Author and Army veteran Bob George has preserved and captured the unit history of the old 864th Aviation Engineers in his book called "Aviation Engineers Avenging Pearl Harbor!". This book dispels the myth that all the work in the Pacific was done by just the Navy Seabees. It opens up the unknown history of those who served and what they did. I think the men of the 864th have much history to be proud of and George has certainly done this unit proud with all his detailed research which will allow future generations to have access to an important element of the war effort by the Army. 

The book details the training and bases and the equipment and even the operations they were involved with but the strength of the book is the personal little stories about the men in the 864th that makes this a standout telling of history. George adds photos and documents to the back of the book along with orders and letters as well. 

I would think that anyone who served as an Army engineer or has had a relative do so would love to read this story of this particular unit--which I think is representative of many such units in that war. The book is easy to read and it is refreshing to me that there is no profanity as I find in recent trend of telling of war stories--so it is family friendly and can be read at any library or class presentation. 

The writing is organized well and the author does a creditable job presenting his old unit's history. I would think that those surviving members of his old unit will find this an excellent preservation of their story.

Reviewed by: Bill McDonald (2009)