Jerome M. O'Connor

AFTER FORTY YEARS OF DEEP RESEARCH AND REPEATED VISITS TO LOCALES AN AWARDED JOURNALIST DECIDED THAT IT WAS TIME FOR A DIFFERENT TYPE OF BOOK ABOUT THE WAR THAT SAVED CIVILIZATION.

College instructor, journalist, and now author, Jerome M. O'Connor, finally wrote the book he promised himself decades ago. THE HIDDEN PLACES OF WORLD WAR II released March 1, 2019 by Lyons Press, Guilford CT, takes readers to the actual and existing places critical to the outcome of the war. These are the locales that time forgot or that others overlooked or under-reported. The 355-page hard-cover book includes numerous images, most never-before seen, of the real and existing places that won the war. Examples: Well-known is that the D Day invasion took place on June 6, 1944, but little-known is that the decision to launch was made by General Eisenhower in a Portsmouth, England mansion. Not only is its appearance unchanged, but it has the same floor to ceiling plywood map viewed by Ike and his chief's. Equally unknown is that in London 59 captured Nazi generals were sequestered in an elegant mansion with unheard of privileges. With nearly open access, they were allowed to wear uniforms with medals, served meals course by course, enjoyed wines and beer, even permitted to attend London theatre and concerts with escorts, all the while unknowing that listeners in the mansion's cellar were recording every word from hidden microphones located throughout the house, even in trees on the grounds.

The 22 chapters disclose other secrets and little-known places and events overlooked or unknown in thousands of books written about the war. Enter the five indestructible U-boat bases in France. Walk the remains of air bases in England from where the Eighth Air Force flew perilous missions against Germany. Enter the chateau headquarters of U-boat commandant Admiral Karl Donitz. Photos by the author are the only ones known.

Jerome M. O'Connor, awarded the US Naval Institute's prestige Author of the Year in 2001, has been revealing other hidden places for decades, including in 1977 in the Chicago Tribune the first feature to disclose the mythic Churchill Cabinet War Rooms in central London. This was eight years before they opened to the public.

As the cover feature for NAVAL HISTORY (U.S. Naval Institute) and WORLD WAR II, his SECRET AT BLETCHLEY PARK was the first to disclose the British locale where the Enigma cipher machine was broken, which contributed to keeping the decaying facility open for later generations unaware that solving the Enigma complexities saved two years of additional combat. For more go to the author's website at www.historyarticles.com. Posted recently are photos and details of the not to be missed Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks Eighth Air Force mini-series, MASTERS OF THE SKY, with a potential release in late 2022 or the first quarter of 2023.

The 96% Amazon reader recommended book was re-released in a quality softcover edition February 1,2022 and is available on Amazon. Of special interest are chapters describing the once in history accomplishments by the American Home Front and the epic achievement made by 16 million young men and 350,000 women who left homes, schools, farms and factories, to save civilization in its darkest hour. The book, now in three forms, has been selling daily for over three years.

Example: five chapters include never-seen photos of the extending remains of numerous British Eighth Air Force bases as seen eight decades later. THE HIDDEN PLACES OF WORLD WAR II has been cited as "unreservedly recommended" by the Library Journal, distributed to hundreds of libraries, and has received top ranking by the University of the U.S. Army.

SEPTEMBER 2022 UPDATE: The author humbly thanks the numerous readers who referred the book to others, resulting in the work selling every day after forty-three months on Amazon at 100% professional reviewer approval and 96% Amazon reader recommendation.

Jerome M. O'Connor is the only son of Irish immigrants, a Chicago-area resident, certified Chicago tour guide since 1999, college instructor in adult continuing education, and a proud U.S. Navy destroyer veteran. This is his first book.