Based upon the interests of our founder and lead historian, Lawrence J. Hickey, International Historical Research Associates (IHRA) was formed to document and educate the public about specific portions of the air war during World War II. So far, IHRA has published five books on units in the Southwest Pacific: Warpath Across the Pacific, Revenge of the Red Raiders, Rampage of the Roarin’ 20’s, two volumes on the 43rd Bomb Group. As much as possible, these histories include the representative experiences of the airmen, sailors and civilians on the Japanese side woven together with the accounts of the American and Australian airmen that fought against them.
This blog is meant to highlight some of the many stories from different Fifth Air Force units as well as inform our readers about the latest developments from IHRA. Please feel free to chime in if you have additional information, questions, or comments regarding any of our stories.
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IHRA 
Here is a site I think you might like!
https://pacificparatrooper.wordpress.com/
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Thanks! GP Cox has posted a lot of great info about the Pacific Theater…and reblogged some of our posts 🙂
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He just told me the same thing!
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🙂
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This is my brother’s story . . . .
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Quite a story. Thank you for sharing it!
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Thank you for reading it!
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Hello,
My name is Nicole Strickland and I am from San Diego, CA. My co-author, Cher Garman and I, are working on a book about the legendary RMS Queen Mary.
We both have a deep love and respect for the ship. In fact, I (Nicole) have spent over 10 years researching the liner’s historical events. I have also written and published two prior books about the Queen Mary.
We are looking to interview former QM crew, passengers, WWII veterans, war brides and children about their times spent sailing on the ship.
Do you know of any individuals who would be interested in being interviewed?
Or, can you put us in touch with other sources who might know of people we can talk to?
We are conducting a lot of research for this book and want to take our time.
Thank you for your assistance,
Nicole and Cher
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Hi Nicole,
We don’t have any direct contacts for you, but we have a few ideas. Our latest book, Ken’s Men Against the Empire Vol. I, has about five pages and a map on the 43rd Bomb Group’s journey aboard the Queen Mary. We also have diary entries from some of the men.
As far as potential sources, we can point you in the direction of the 43rd Bomb Group Association (http://kensmen.com/contact.html) and they might be able to help you out. You may already know about QMI (http://qmi.care/), but they have also been gathering stories.
Also, the National WWII Museum and the Veterans History Project (Library of Congress) could have a few interviews mentioning the ship.
Best of luck with your search! Let us know if there’s anything else we can do to help.
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I’m planning on writing a more detailed story on my dads Navy experience aboard the USS Blue Ridge in 46 when he witnessed the three atomic blasts at Bikini Atoll. I’m looking for diary accounts and info. If you have any suggestions I’d love to hear. Jinsalaco(at)sb global.net. My web page is http:/everyfamilyhasastorytotell@wordpress.com.
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If you can track down remaining veterans who were on that ship at the time or their family members, you might be able to get some good information. Maybe there’s a reunion group for his unit. Otherwise, the Veterans History Project, (maybe) National WWII Museum, museums relating to your subject matter (Pacific Navy/Bikini Atoll/atomic bombs), and possibly university WWII collections would be places to check.
Hope that helps. Good luck!
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Thanks for your suggestions!!!
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