N4L 069: "Fields of Battle" by Brian Curtis

  BRIAN CURTIS, author of FIELDS OF BATTLE: PEARL HARBOR, THE ROSE BOWL, AND THE BOYS WHO WENT TO WAR, captures the true story of the one-and-only Rose Bowl Game played outside of Pasadena, California. The bombing of Pearl Harbor had ripple effects, including in the world of football. But this story goes beyond football. Curtis follows dozens of the players into more fields of battle. We see the WWII theaters turn young athletes into men as they fight with extraordinary valor. Following the war, they fight to live ordinary lives. 00:15   Honoring Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day in America 00:20   Intro to Brian Curtis, author of Fields of Battle: Pearl Harbor, The Rose Bowl, and the Boys Who Went to War 01:25   Book endorsed by the late Senator John McCain 01:45   Curtis discovers this little-known story through “Did You Know?” fact 02:45   Book begins as Sports Illustrated article; morphs into military war story; becomes a human-interest story 04:00   Curtis’s deep dive on WWII uncovers veterans' struggles in dealing with the harshness of war 06:00   What made these men great? 06:30   Some football players go to basic training within hours after finishing a game 07:30   Ordinary guys from all backgrounds end up in pivotal battles 08:00   Extraordinariness found in how they live ordinary lives after the war 08:30   William Few, President of Duke University, predicts they’ll develop true character in storms 09:15   Winds of WWII blowing before Pearl Harbor is attacked 10:00   America ramping up for what most believed would be eventual involvement in WWII 11:30   Pearl Harbor bombing, just weeks before the 1942 Rose Bowl, creates chaos 12:30   Governor cancels the Rose Bowl game in deference to military authorities 13:30   Transferring Rose Bowl game and Rose Parade is a logistical nightmare 13:45   Should a game be played at all when war is raging that boys will soon enter? 14:20   Wallace Wade, Duke Head Coach, lobbies to move the Rose Bowl game to North Carolina 15:00   Should the Japanese scare them away from traditional game and festivities? 15:20   Similarities to September 11 16:00   Setting a precedent for the American spirit to supersede the threats of war 16:15   Duke Coach Wallace Wade: discipline and excellence paramount 17:45   Shocks the world when he leaves the University of Alabama to go to Duke University 18:45   Wade ends up sacrificing to serve his country 19:05   Oregon State Coach Lon Stinar, a “player’s coach”: laidback style, witty 20:55   Tracks approximately 80 players who participate in 1942 Rose Bowl game 21:25   Curtis asks three key questions to pare down the characters in the book 22:10   Charles Hanes, Jr., a key character, both player and military hero 22:35   Curtis follows the men from football fields to battlefields and to life after the war 24:25   Jack Yoshihara, Japanese American on OSC team who didn’t get to play 24:35   Yoshihara a symbol of racist America (Japanese internment camps) 26:00   Federal agents disallow Yoshihara’s participation with OSC team 27:45   Janet, from South Pasadena, has strong connections to Rose Parade and Rose Bowl 28:25   West Coast team once allowed to choose its opponent 29:45   Selling tickets almost paramount to choosing the competition 30:15   How has the game of football changed since 1942? 32:00   How has the game has remained the same? 33:20   Most players-turned-troops had never seen death 33:45   OSC players have first exposure before being shipped off to battle 35:45   Frank Parker and Charles Hanes are opposites 36:50   Parker and Hanes meet in Italy; discover a mutual connection to 1942 Rose Bowl game 37:35   Parker rescues Charles Hanes but Parker tells no one of his heroics 38:45   Reunite 50 years later in Corvallis, Oregon; Hanes attends to thank Parker 39:30   After the war, Parker and Hanes’ lives take very opposite directions 40:30   War affects people differently 41:15   Jack Yoshihara’s contribution is a life well lived 45:15   Curtis comes to see the football metaphor for war as insulting 47:00   Recommendation: Little Free Library BUY Fields of Battle: Pearl Harbor, the Rose Bowl, and the Boys Who Went to War Find or build a Little Free Library! Connect with us on social media! Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube Special thanks… Music Credit Sound Editing Credit