By Mark D. Van Ells

The history of combat and culture in a celebrated National Guard unit from the Midwest

Red Arrow across the Pacific reveals the long-overdue story of the Thirty-Second “Red Arrow” Infantry Division and the crucial role it played in the Pacific during World War II. Discover how this National Guard unit with origins in Wisconsin and Michigan became one of the first US military units deployed overseas in World War II, eventually logging more combat hours than any other US Army division.

Far more than a traditional battle narrative, Red Arrow across the Pacific offers a cultural history of the Red Arrow’s wartime experience, from its mobilization in 1940, to its deployment across New Guinea, Australia, and the Philippines, to its postwar occupation of Japan. Drawing from letters, memoirs, and interviews, author Mark D. Van Ells lets the soldiers speak for themselves, describing in their own words the terror of combat, their impressions of foreign lands, the struggle to maintain their own humanity, and the many ways the war profoundly changed them.

Nuanced and remarkably thorough, this book explores the dramatic evolution of the Thirty-Second Infantry Division and reveals how the story of the Red Arrow reflects the experience of the US military during World War II.

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REVIEWS

“Exceptionally well researched and engagingly written. This book is a must read for any student of military history.”
—Capt. Florian L. Waitl, Command Historian, Wisconsin Army National Guard

“A superb divisional history. . . . Highly recommended for a general audience, as well as readers interested in the Second World War.”
—Mary Louise Roberts, Lucie Aubrac Distinguished Professor Emerita of History, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and author of Sheer Misery: Soldiers in Battle in WWII

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark D. Van Ells is a professor of history at Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York. He received his PhD in history from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is a native of the Badger State. Van Ells is the author of To Hear Only Thunder Again: America’s World War II Veterans Come Home and America and World War I: A Traveler’s Guide.

AN INTERVIEW WITH MARK D. VAN ELLS

Your book, Red Arrow across the Pacific, has been many years in the making. Tell us how you first learned about the Red Arrow division and how your research led you to writing this book.

For more than a century now, the Red Arrow has been a part of Wisconsin life. As a National Guard unit, its citizen-soldiers are members of our families and part of local communities. I grew up seeing the Red Arrow emblem. My hometown of Manitowoc has Red Arrow Park, and State Highway 32—the Thirty-Second Division Memorial Highway—runs through the countryside nearby. And yet, as I started to study history professionally, I realized that little had been written about the division. World War II has long been an interest of mine, perhaps fostered by growing up in Manitowoc with its history of submarine construction during the war. Writing this book allowed me to explore further the experiences of the World War II soldier, uncover an important part of Wisconsin history, and bring the Red Arrow Division into the larger historical narrative of World War II in the Pacific.

Military history books covering this period often focus on the war in Europe. Why were you drawn to the Pacific region and the global political impact of the fighting there?

I’ve always been fascinated by the global scope of World War II. In the decades since the war, the Pacific region has become increasingly important for Americans, both strategically and economically. The Red Arrow went to the Pacific during a transformative time in history and played a substantial role shaping the futures of many of the countries in the region. The Pacific Theater may have been secondary for the Allies during World War II, but given the importance of the Pacific today, the historical significance of the Red Arrow’s World War II experiences in the region is anything but secondary.

You shed light on so many personal stories throughout this work. Did any one person’s experience stand out to you?

I came across a lot of fascinating, humorous, and poignant stories while researching this book, and I couldn’t possibly single out one person. What truly impressed me was how people from so many different walks of life came together in the Red Arrow. When the war began, its ranks were made up of National Guard men from Wisconsin and Michigan. As the war went on, the army sent in replacements without regard to regional origin, and by the end of the war people from every part of the country served in the division. They came from a great variety of social, cultural, economic, and ethnic backgrounds, and held a wide range of political views, but they managed to put their differences aside, work together, and become one of the most effective US fighting units in the Pacific.

Many of the stories come from deeply traumatic experiences for the guardsmen. How did you ensure that you were sharing their stories in a way that was truthful and respectful to those who experienced it?

I can only hope that I have written something truthful and respectful. I served in the military myself but was not in a war or in combat. Historians must place themselves into other time periods, but also recognize that their understanding and interpretation of the past can never fully capture the lived experiences of those who were there. Besides, every GI was an individual and no two saw the war in quite the same way. There was no single World War II experience, but millions of them. I merely hope that those who served will find some truth in my book.

If a reader were to take one thing away from your book, what do you hope it would be?

The historian must always guard against nostalgia and the romanticizing of the past. In American popular culture today, World War II has become the stuff of legend—the “good war” fought by the “greatest generation.” The Red Arrow soldiers proudly defended their country and its democracy. They showed incredible heroism. But victory came at great cost. The war also meant cruelty, misery, moral dilemmas, and long separation from loved ones. Red Arrowmen—like all World War II GIs—were not invincible, mythological warriors somehow destined for victory. They were ordinary people, just like any of us, who endured a lot to make that victory possible. I think we must keep that in mind in order to appreciate their heroism and sacrifices fully.

Read an Excerpt