When the Depression turned America into a land of hardship, young Walter Schroder's family moved back to Germany. The boy was only nine, and he entered an Old World that was borning anew--the Germany of Nazi dreams. Events moved swiftly. Schroder joined the Hitler Youth and learned the ways of the Fatherland well. When war broke out, he was called up at age 15 to man antiaircraft guns against planes from the land of his birth. But 1945 turned Schroder's Luftwaffe unit into British POWs, and his captors soon realized that the young man spoke "Yank." With his birthright discovered, Schroder became a translator and conveyor of orders for a new regime; U.S. citizenship properly documented, he was--incredibly--drafted into the U.S. Army. The vanquished youth had become a victorious warrior. This is a unique first-hand account of life under two mighty powers in a major war, and its early Cold War aftermath. It is also the story of an impressionable youth, caught up in circumstance but willing to lend his life to a cause--one where children were turned into soldiers, or soldiers into cogs in a war machine. But mainly it is a fascinating observation of the vagaries of war. After all, when Schroder was an interpreter for U.S. intelligence in occupied Munich, both German and American eyes had already turned to the east, where the USSR crouched over all of Europe.

Stars and Swastikas: The Boy Who Wore Two Uniforms

Schroder, Walter K.

Children's Books

Archon Books

The U.S. Naval Construction Battalion Center at Davisville, Rhode Island, is first remembered as the original “Home of the Atlantic Seabees.” During World War II, 100 battalions as well as dozens of other U.S. Navy “Builder-Fighter” units were formed, outfitted, trained, and prepared for overseas deployment. Here, in the first photographic history of the base, is the story of the men and women who came to Davisville and their legacy of superb accomplishments in the service of their country. Established on February 27, 1942, the base was designated to manufacture and ship overseas materials and equipment and to outfit and embark construction battalions and other naval units. Between 1942 and 1994, when the base was closed, the Seabees participated in every war involving the United States. The Quonset Hut and the Davisville Pontoons were both developed at the Davisville Seabee Center. The base has schooled and trained thousands of officers and tens of thousands of Seabees.

Davisville and the Seabees (Images of America: Rhode Island)

History

Emma, Gloria A.

Americas

Arcadia Publishing

Dutch Island is an 81-acre island situated at thesouthern end of the West Passage to Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. It served an important role in ourcountry’s military history, from its acquisition by the United States Army in 1864 until its closing by the military in 1947. This volume is the first pictorial history illustrating the military development and facilities of Fort Greble on Dutch Island, spanning the period from the Civil War to World War II. Readers will step back in time and wander through the early earthworks and different incarnations of Fort Greble, stroll along thepristine parade ground before it was covered in briarand bramble, gaze upon the huge coastal artillery guns pointing toward the sea, and watch uniformed soldiers performing their duties on this fortified island.

Dutch Island and Fort Greble (Images of America)

Readers will be fascinated by this unique first-hand account of a life that straddled both sides of the military fence during World War II and into the Cold War. Walter Schroder was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, but when he was nine his family moved back to Germany to escape the hardships of the Depression. At fifteen, Schroder was drafted by the German army to man antiaircraft guns. "I had grown up in New York in German surroundings, so Germany, across the Atlantic, was an extension of my normal environment… No one had to knock on doors to demand that I go. I went with the rest of the kids; it was our duty and we were ready. War and propaganda breed bitterness. How could I like Americans—even though they came from my birthplace—when they were bombing our homes and cities? "But when the war was over, I faced a rude awakening. The things I had been indoctrinated to believe in were shattered." In 1945, after becoming a British POW, Schroder's American citizenship was discovered, and he joined the U. S. Army as an interpreter for U. S. intelligence! Walter Schroder worked for the U. S. Defense Department for almost 30 years, and was awarded the Navy Superior Service Medal & Citation for his outstanding contributions. This expanded edition offers a new chapter that depicts life in the author's war-torn hometown of Fraureuth, Germany (under American and Russian occupation), and several new facsimile reprints of photographs, documents and maps. 2002, 200 pp., illus., maps, bibl., paper.

Stars and Swastikas: The Boy Who Wore Two Uniforms, Expanded Edition

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Heritage Books

Who were the Hessians? Where did they come from? Were all Hessians truly Hessians? Were they mercenaries or auxiliary troops of the British? This well-researched historical narrative answers these questions and more as it vividly portrays the events of the Rhode Island campaign, which lasted from December 8, 1776 to October 25, 1779. Information gleaned from source diaries and unit journals, originally recorded in German, provide a wealth of insight into the daily life of the German soldiers who were committed to the Rhode Island campaign. In light of modern travel and technology, it is difficult to imagine the perilous two-month journey across the Atlantic to America that was just the beginning of the hardships, dangers, and fears to be experienced by these eighteenth-century German soldiers. The 1776 occupation of Newport, troop movements, raids and incursions, the Treaty of Paris, the 1778 siege of Newport, the Battle of Rhode Island, and much more are examined in detail. A bibliography and an index add to the value of this work.

The Hessian Occupation of Newport and Rhode Island, 1776-1779

The U.S. Naval Construction Battalion Center at Davisville, Rhode Island, is first remembered as the original "Home of the Atlantic Seabees." During World War II, 100 battalions as well as dozens of other U.S. Navy "Builder-Fighter" units were formed, 
outfitted, trained, and prepared for overseas deployment. Here, in the first photographic history of the base, is the story of the men and women who came to Davisville and their legacy of superb 
accomplishments in the service of their country. 
Established on February 27, 1942, the base was designated to manufacture and ship overseas materials and equipment and to outfit and embark construction battalions and other naval units. Between 1942 and 1994, when the base was closed, the Seabees participated in every war involving the United States. The Quonset Hut and the Davisville Pontoons were both developed at the Davisville Seabee 
Center. The base has schooled and trained thousands of officers and tens of thousands of Seabees.

Davisville and the Seabees

Arcadia Publishing Library Editions

Dutch Island is an 81-acre island situated at the southern end of the West Passage to Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. It served an important role in our country's military history, from its acquisition by the United States Army in 1864 until its closing by the military in 1947. This volume is the first pictorial history illustrating the military development and facilities of Fort Greble on Dutch Island, spanning the period from the Civil War to World War II. Readers will step back in time and wander through the early earthworks and different incarnations of Fort Greble, stroll along the pristine parade ground before it was covered in briar and bramble, gaze upon the huge coastal artillery guns pointing toward the sea, and watch uniformed soldiers performing their duties on this fortified island.

Dutch Island and Fort Greble

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