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Reading list

United States Forces in Australia, 1939-1945

Further online resources

Anthony J. Barker, Lisa Jackson, Fleeting attraction: a social history of American servicemen in Western Australia during the Second World War (Nedlands, WA: University of Western Australia, c1996). [The impact of thousands of American naval personnel on Perth, Fremantle, Albany and Geraldton was both more intense and welcoming that other parts of Australia. Includes bibliography.]

Rosemary Campbell, Heroes and lovers: a question of national identity (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, c1989). [Examines the presence of American troops in Australia and their contribution to a questioning of sexual roles and race relations. Bibliography and endnotes.]

Nicola Geeson, I remember: recollections of Pine Rivers Shire during World War Two (Pine Rivers: Pine Rivers Shire Council, 1995). [A compilation of recollections from Australian air force and army personnel, American 1st Calvary Division members and local residents.]

Darryl McIntyre, Townsville at war 1942: life in a garrison city (Townsville: Townsville City Council, c1992). [Townsville rapidly became one of the largest allied bases during the Pacific campaign with most public buildings, warehouses, offices and houses leased by Australian and American forces. Also focuses on the Battle of the Choral Sea and includes a bibliography.]

Maureen C. Meadows, I loved those yanks (Sydney: George M. Dash, [1948]). [Author’s experiences of working with the American forces based in Queensland]

John H. Moore, Over-sexed, over-paid and over here: Americans in Australia 1941-1945 (St Lucia, Qld: University of Queensland Press, c1981). [Examines the social impact of the American presence. Also, clarifies the Brisbane Line controversy, Japanese intentions to invade Australia, and accounts of riots and conflict between Australian and American servicemen. Appendix 1: excerpts from ‘A pocket guide to Australia’ issued to Americans stationed in Australia.]

Annette Potts, Lucinda Strauss, For the love of a soldier: Australian war-brides and their GIs (Crows Nest: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 1987). [Based on the film documentary of the same name, this book looks at the story of the war brides from when the GIs arrived in Australia, their courtship and marriage and what it was like to leave home. Includes sources and notes.]

E. Daniel Potts, Annette Potts, Yanks down under, 1941-45: the American impact on Australia (Melbourne: Oxford University press, 1985). [Uses interviews, letters, diaries and other sources to illustrate how the Americans and Australians responded to each other. Includes bibliography.]

Barry Ralph, They passed this way: the United States of America, the states of Australia and World War II (East Roseville, NSW: Kangaroo Press, 2000). [The allied invasion described from a number of perspectives, also discusses the popular reception of the Americans and the adoption of American cultural values. Chapter notes and bibliography]

Special Service Division, United States Army, A pocket guide to Australia (Washington, DC: War and Navy Departments, 1944). [Issued to visiting American military personnel and covers the geography, history and cultural norms of Australia.]

Ray A. Wyatt, A Yank down under: from America's heartland to Australia's outback (Manhattan, Kansas: Sunflower University Press, c1999). [Author served as a radio intercept operator, attached to General MacArthur’s Headquarters in Melbourne. Selected reading list included.]