Issue in Doubt

Issue in Doubt is a tribute to United States military personnel who served in the Pacific during World War II. It focuses on the period from Pearl Harbor through the battle for Guadalcanal and aims to locate and identify the surface warships of Japan, the United States, Britain, Australia and the Netherlands in critical battles. Part one chronicles nineteenth- century and early twentieth-century alliances and engagements and the lead-up to the December 7 attack on Oahu. In part two, the early and surprising success of the Japanese Navy is explored, along with Japan’s dream of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. This section covers Japanese conquests from the Philippines to the Dutch East Indies. Part three sees the US Navy on the offensive, detailing the history of the Doolittle Raid, the deaths of five carriers, and the land and sea battles of Guadalcanal. In part four, the tide of the war turns in favor of the Americans, though victory will not come without two years of “island hopping” and the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, culminating in Japan’s surrender aboard the USS Missouri.