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Here
is the link where the specifics regarding the book may be found
- http://ncdu-udt-ww2.com/
It’s
truly a MONSTER at 8 ½ x 11 inches, nearly 1 ½ inches thick,
and 575 pages. It contains hundreds of B/W photographs, the
complete history of WWII demolition training and units, and a
comprehensive listing of more than 4,000 men who served in the
various demolition units during the war. I highly recommend the
book for anyone who served in the Scouts & Raiders, NDCUs,
UDTs, or SEAL Teams at ANY point in history or for anyone who
might have had a family member serving in one of those
demolition units. The history is fascinating, eye-opening, and
unbelievably comprehensive! One of the appendices in the back of
the book lists the men who trained and served with the various
demolition units - identified by name, training class
designation, and unit. A large number of the photographs
in the book are captioned with the names of the men depicted, as
well as the activities and equipment involved. The book is
absolutely mind-boggling, and it certainly opened my eyes to the
complexities of the early history that I mistakenly thought I
knew so well.
Steve
Robinson
Author of No Guts, No Glory - Unmasking Navy SEAL Imposters
former Navy SEAL
===============
Review:
MORE
THAN SCUTTLEBUTT – The U.S. Navy Demolition Men in WWII
by Sue Ann Dunford and James
Douglas O’Dell
Foreword by CDR (SEAL) Tom
Hawkins USN (ret)
Published September 2009
ISBN: 9780615306643
[available
by ordering online: http://ncdu-udt-ww2.com/]
Ms.
Dunford and Mr. O’Dell have compiled an exquisitely detailed
and highly informative history of the earliest days of the U.S.
Navy’s Demolition Men. Ms.
Dunford’s first exposure to the world of Demolition Men began
at the annual UDT-SEAL Muster at Ft. Pierce, Florida in 1993.
Accompanying her father, John Dunford (GM1c, NCDU 127, UDT 24),
she witnessed his first emotional reunion since WWII with many
of his Teammates, and was awed by their personal accounts of
wartime training and actions. Asked by several former NCDU men
to assist them in locating old Teammates, Ms. Dunford agreed,
but soon found the scope of her investigations widening. Her
research resulted in a rapidly growing collection of information
and she began to wonder if it was possible to account for all of
the NCDU and UDT men of WWII and their history. She ultimately
determined to undertake that task and this book is the result of
that effort.
In 2004 Ms.
Dunford was joined in her endeavor by Mr. James Douglas
O’Dell, author of “The Water is Never Cold: The Origins of U.S. Naval Combat Demolition
Units, UDTs, and SEALs” (Brassey's UK Ltd; 1st edition
December 1, 2000), and author of an article entitled “Joint-Service
Beach Obstacle Demolition in World War II,” Engineer,
April-June 2005. Mr. O’Dell’s book
is credited with detailing the “historical precedents that
influenced the teams, as well as their innovation and
experimentation with tactics, methods, and equipment”. There
can be no doubt that their combined experience and knowledge
related to the subject have provided significant contributions
to this account of the earliest days of what is now termed
“Naval Special Warfare”.
More Than Scuttlebutt
contains a comprehensive description, from concept to
realization, of the U.S. Navy’s demolition programs. It uses a
remarkably straightforward narrative to bring together
painstaking historical research, archival documentation, and
gripping first hand accounts to create a fully-realized mosaic
of historical details, and to bring order to chronological
complexity. The book meticulously documents the diverse
activities that brought together elements of the military,
science and industry, coupled them with the tenacity and
determination of very dedicated recruits, and created a very
special group of U.S. Navy sailors. Interspersed with more than
500 B/W photographs, many of which are fully captioned, the work
also includes a listing of more than 4,000 men who trained and
served in the various demolition units, identified by name, rate
and unit assignments.
The
history is thoroughly fascinating and I highly recommend it for
historians and non-historians alike; for those who served in the
Amphibious Scouts, NCDUs, UDTs, or SEAL Teams at ANY point in
history, for anyone who has a family member who served in one of
those demolition units, and for anyone interested in WWII
history. The attention to detail is a delight, and it certainly
opened my eyes to the complexities of early Team history that I
mistakenly thought I knew so well.
~Steve
Robinson (former Navy SEAL)
Author of No Guts, No
Glory - Unmasking Navy SEAL Imposters |
