Will Talk Military

Considered by his contemporaries as “the bravest of the brave war correspondents” of World  War II, journalist and author Richard Tregaskis risked his life on countless occasions to bring the  brutal realities of combat to light for Americans on the home front. Tregaskis was a firsthand witness to such major combat operations of the war as the Doolittle  Raid, the Battle of Midway, Guadalcanal, the invasion of Sicily and Italy, fighting in France and  Germany, and B-29 bombing missions over Japan. He did all of this while suffering from a  potentially fatal illness, diabetes. Although the tall, gangly reporter had been lucky to escape from Guadalcanal unharmed,  producing the classic Guadalcanal Diary in the process, his luck ran out on a hill in Italy.  Shrapnel from a German shell pierced Tregaskis’s helmet, leaving him gravely wounded. He  spent the next several months re-learning how to speak by reciting poetry, returning to action  with a metal plate in his head covering a hole in his skull.  Tregaskis eventually returned to the Pacific on a B-29 bomber, following its crew into battle for  a series of articles he wrote for the Saturday Evening Post. In accepting his assignment,  Tregaskis, when asked by his editor if he really wanted to go, responded, “I don’t want to, but I  think I ought to go.” According to the Post, “ought to go” had been Tregaskis’s first  commandment “ever since he began chasing the war, three months after Pearl Harbor.” Author/ex-journalist Ray Boomhower’s riveting new biography of war correspondent Richard  Tregaskis embeds the reader in the battles that Tregaskis covered. Tregaskis was the eyes and  voice of the “everyman” soldier, sailor, aviator, and marine to the world. Boomhower’s wellrounded presentation of the author of Guadalcanal Diary, Invasion Diary, Vietnam Diary, and  many other best sellers of the time presents a portrait of a man of courage, sensitivity, and  intensity, while very much human and flawed.  Tregaskis later reported on Cold War conflicts in China, Korea, and Vietnam. In 1964 the  Overseas Press Club recognized his first-person reporting under hazardous circumstances by  awarding him its George Polk Award for his book Vietnam Diary. Boomhower’s book is the first  to tell Tregaskis's gripping life story, concentrating on his intrepid reporting experiences during  various wars, and his fascination with combat and its effect on the men who fought it.

About the author: Ray E. Boomhower is senior editor at the Indiana Historical Society  Press, where he edits the popular history magazine Traces of Indiana  and Midwestern History. A former newspaper reporter, Boomhower has written extensively on World War II media history, including  biographies of such noted war correspondents as Scripps-Howard  columnist Ernie Pyle and Time magazine reporter Robert L. Sherrod.  Boomhower has also published biographies of fighter ace Alex Vraciu,  war photographer John A. Bushemi, Mercury astronaut Gus Grissom, longform journalist and political speechwriter John Bartlow Martin.  Boomhower received the Hoosier Historian award from the Indiana Historical Society and has  won the 2009 Best Books of Indiana sponsored by the Indiana Center for the Book. He was a  finalist in the annual Benjamin Franklin Awards from the Independent Book Publishers  Association. In 2010 he was named as the winner of the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award in the regional category.

William Foster joins Will Talk Military to discuss, Tanks, Omega watches and Transitioning from the military after 22 years of service into an uncertain world of Covid 19. Many thanks Will for such a great chat - and lunch today will be dog food and Tobasco:)!!

John Beamson is a Veteran,  Mountain Leader and Outdoor Enthusiast who brings his robust approach and a no -nonsense attitude to getting out there and tackling life's challenges. Join us on the Podcast where we discuss everything from fitness to being hung , drawn and quartered....not necessarily it that order! For more information on Robust Tours visit www.robustours.co.uk 

15 years ago I had the honour to serve with Chris Allen as part of an RMP Rover Group in Iraq - AKA "The Basra Town regulators"  That's us in the picture :)  Following his tour of Iraq Chris went on to serve in Afghanistan in what was to become one of the most difficult and traumatic environments in modern British military history. Many thanks Chris for sharing your story with Will Talk Military. 

Claire Wright speaks of the work that www.traffordveteransuk.co.uk are carrying out in and around the Trafford Community for Veterans. It's a great story of a successful, self starting and veteran lead project aimed at improving the lives of veterans in the Trafford Community.  

9/12/19  Podcast 1 – A conversation about the nature of trauma and recovery with Nick Garland. Nick was severely injured on operations in Afghanistan and discusses the nature of combat injuries and his philosophy of recovery and the ripple effect of trauma.