Feedback, Comments, Love Letters: 1999Subject: Re: Conference call re program and particulars for the June 25-27 James Jones Conference at Southampton College on Long Island Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 06:22:48 -0500 From: elliotra@cmi.k12.il.us >Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 21:27:22 -0500 (EST) >A couple hot items for the newsletter ... since TRL premieres >nationwide on January 15th ... > >1. The best Unofficial Web Site on the film: > Raging Bull's The Thin Red Line Unofficial Page > (http://members.xoom.com/thinredline/index.html) > This comprehensive site provides links to reviews > from critics across the country, articles on Terrence > Malick, the cast and the production, as well as stills > from the film. There's even a link to TNT's Rough Cut > site with pictures and interviews from the premiere. > >2. Sidebar for Tony's review: > Here's what other critics are saying about the movie, > the novel and its author, James Jones: > > Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle > " Inevitably, moviegoers will split into ``Saving Private > Ryan'' and ``Thin Red Line'' camps. I'd like to get my vote in > now for the latter." > >To be continued ... just crashed on the Web ... but you get the idea. >Save some room if it's not too late. > >Thanks, > >Kevin Subject: Re: Conference call re program and particulars for
the June 25-27 James Jones Conference at Southampton College on Long
Island >Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 22:22:33 -0500 (EST) >Here's a hyperlink from the Raging Bull website worth citing: > >"Guadalcanal Online" > >Excerpts from "But You Don't Look Like a Minister" by > Chaplain Gary Bousman, attached to the 25th Division, USA. > >"The next three days were days of action. [Footnote: James Jones, in his >novel, THE THIN RED LINE, describes this battle very much the way I >remember it. Lt. Burns appears in th novel as Lt. Brand. Capt. Davis and >Lt. Sims appear in the >novel as Capt. Gaff and Lt. Gray.] My notebook contains many of the >details. Here are a few: "Our medics were kept busy all day ... Captain >Davis, with the aid of four men from "G" Company, wiped our a strongly >fortified enemy position ... > >By the end of three days of fighting, the Galloping Horse was in our hands, >but twenty-seven of our men were buried on its slopes. > >To add vexation to these emotional wounds, I was later ordered to supervise >the disinterment,transportation, and reburial of the bodies in the large >island cemetery near Henderson Field. I did not want the job and when I >asked why a graves registration officer from the Quartermaster Corps was >not doing it,the answer came back, "You buried them and you are the only >one who knows where the graves are." > >The operation was so gruesome I asked that a different detail accompany me >each day. I did not think it wise to ask a man to go out on such depressing >work more than once. Often, upon opening the grave, the putrid odors forced >the diggers to step aside and vomit. Several times, I had to grab a >trenching tool and help roll what was left of the body onto one of the >pieces of canvas we had brought along. [Footnote: For a detailed >description of this assignment, see James Jones, WW II, p. 124. the author, >at that time, Corporal Jones, was sent ount on one of these details on >Guadalcanal. He tell it as it was--"A pretty awful scene."] > >(Ray, maybe we should get in touch with these guys and invite them > to attend the conference, consider joining the society, maybe setting > up a link to our JJLS website, providing content etc.) > Subject: 1999 Symposium Can you give me the date of the 1999 James Jones Literary Society symposium? Thank you, V1950phel@aol.com Subject: Jones site Hi! I discovered your outstanding site while researching my review of the film version of The Thin Red Line. http://www.wpcmath.com/films/thinredline/thinredline.html I thought the book was one of the great American novels, but found the movie extremely disappointing. (An anecdote. The second time I saw the movie, there was a man in front of me who evidently also loved the book and hated the movie and was loudly sharing his opinion with a friend. When the got to the end of the credits, the part about no animals being harmed, he said, "To hell with the animals: what about my pain?") I have placed a link to your site at the end of my review and would appreciate it if you were moved to reciprocate. Keep up the good work! Bill Coleman Subject: James Jones Continuing Characters Hi: I have always admired the literature of James Jones. I recall hearing once that his characters reappear with different names in his trilogy (Eternity, Red Line, Whistle). For example, Warden becomes Welsh becomes Winch. Prew, killed in From Here to Eternity, is resurrected in the Thin Red Line as Prell. Is there any substance to this? If so, could you provide a little detail? Thanks for putting Jones on the Web. Tom Chance Subject: Re: James Jones Continuing Characters Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 20:11:35 -0500 From: Tom Chance I received a reply from Mr. Michael Mullen which filled in the details. Thank you again so very much for your help. I see you are the Internet voice of the James Jones Society. Perhaps you could send me some detail about your organization. I am originally from Richmond, Indiana. I'll never forget reading Prewitt's recollection of jail time in my old hometown. I was hooked -- still am. What a great writer he was. Thanks again, Tom Chance "Richard L. King" wrote: > Yes, Tom, this has been acknowledged by scholars. You are right on > target. I've read this somewhere but can't remember where, and I know > I've heard it discussed at the annual Jones's symposiums. I'll ask a > Jones scholar friend of mine if he remembers something about sources. > > Best wishes, and thanks for your comments, Subject: Whistle, where to find it? Dear Sir or madam, Would like to purchase a copy of Jones' last book, "Whistle," and would appreciate any feedback/guidance in that regard. Condition of no importance, only wish to read the words. Very interesting site you've built, I might add! Thanks for your time, Mike Kelley Subject: Origin of Red Line Dear Mr King, My name is Keith Mullins and I am writing from Australia. Here, there has been much interest and debate about Terence Malick's film of James Jones's "The Thin Red Line". One point, however, and one which I believe is vital to understanding the Jones/Malick stories, is to do with the derivation of the title of both the film and the book. I have read, for instance, in a number of websites and publications, that "Malick has inherited his title from Jones, who in turn inherited it from and old Midwestern saying `There's only a thin red line between the sane and the mad'" (Film Comment magazine). And, further, these comments are epigraphed in the novel. However, I feel that there is definitely more to this. First, "the thin red line" and "from here to eternity" are both comments from Kipling. And in the Kipling poem citing the latter he refers to a "thin red line of 'eroes" which, given Kipling's background as a supporter of British imperialism in the 19th century, sounds very much like a direct reference to the Battle of Balaklava in the Crimean War in 1854. The event concerned the gallant and exceptionally disciplined defence of the road to the allied (British, French, and Turkish) base of Balaklava on the Black Sea in which a line of Highland infantry (93rd Argyll and Sutherland Regiment) comprising only 500 men resisted and defeated a Russian Heavy cavalry charge of 3000. The phrase derives from the words of a "Times" war correspondent W H Russell who witnessed the attack from the surrounding hills and who telegraphed London that the only thing between the Russians and the fate of the base at Balaklava was "a thin line of red tipped with steel". This was almost immediately paraphrased by the press as the phrase we know today "the thin red line" and which has come to symbolise discipline and courage. My question to you and to any one else who might be able to help is this: Is there any hard evidence to suggest that Jones had Balaklava in mind when he titled his novel? The midwestern saying, I suspect, is not the intellectual or historical source of the book (and the film). I would deeply appreciate it if anyone can help with this small but important detail. To my knowledge this issue has been overlooked critically. Yours sincerely, Keith Mullins email: keith.mullins@celts.monash.edu.au Subject: Asking for interview from Mexico. To Juanita Martin (The JJ Literary Society): I'm a reporter of a daily newspaper in Mexico City in wich I write about movies in the entertainment and culture sections. Because in Mexico the film THE THIN RED LINE by James Jones is going to open next march 5, I'm reading the book and preparing a big article about the text and the movie. I will like to make an interview with one specialist of the JJ LITERARY SOCIETY, by phone or by E-Mail. Please answer me and tell me if this is possible and when can it happen. I'm living town this Saturday to Monday to travel to New York. I don't know if you have an office there. Thank you in advance, Mario P. Székely Pd.- I catch your E-Mail address in your Internet's page. Subject: Origin of Red Line Dear Mr King, My name is Keith Mullins and I am writing from Australia. Here, there has been much interest and debate about Terence Malick's film of James Jones's "The Thin Red Line". One point, however, and one which I believe is vital to understanding the Jones/Malick stories, is to do with the derivation of the title of both the film and the book. I have read, for instance, in a number of websites and publications, that "Malick has inherited his title from Jones, who in turn inherited it from and old Midwestern saying `There's only a thin red line between the sane and the mad'" (Film Comment magazine). And, further, these comments are epigraphed in the novel. However, I feel that there is definitely more to this. First, "the thin red line" and "from here to eternity" are both comments from Kipling. And in the Kipling poem citing the latter he refers to a "thin red line of 'eroes" which, given Kipling's background as a supporter of British imperialism in the 19th century, sounds very much like a direct reference to the Battle of Balaklava in the Crimean War in 1854. The event concerned the gallant and exceptionally disciplined defence of the road to the allied (British, French, and Turkish) base of Balaklava on the Black Sea in which a line of Highland infantry (93rd Argyll and Sutherland Regiment) comprising only 500 men resisted and defeated a Russian Heavy cavalry charge of 3000. The phrase derives from the words of a "Times" war correspondent W H Russell who witnessed the attack from the surrounding hills and who telegraphed London that the only thing between the Russians and the fate of the base at Balaklava was "a thin line of red tipped with steel". This was almost immediately paraphrased by the press as the phrase we know today "the thin red line" and which has come to symbolise discipline and courage. My question to you and to any one else who might be able to help is this: Is there any hard evidence to suggest that Jones had Balaklava in mind when he titled his novel? The midwestern saying, I suspect, is not the intellectual or historical source of the book (and the film). I would deeply appreciate it if anyone can help with this small but important detail. To my knowledge this issue has been overlooked critically. Yours sincerely, Keith Mullins email: keith.mullins@celts.monash.edu.au Subject: who produced From Here to Eternity Could you please tell me: Who produced from Here to Eternity? Is there a website for this movie? Thank you Nathan Riley Subject: Origin of Thin Red Line Date: Thu, 4 Mar 1999 22:49:56 -0500 From: Keith Mullins Dear Richard, Here is some more information for those Jones enthusiasts who are curious about the origin of the title of "The Thin Red Line". First, however, I must apologise for a mistake in my earlier communication. The correct quotation from the Times war correspondent W H Russell who witnessed the Balaklava incident was that the only thing between the Russian cavalry and the British supply base was a "thin red streak tipped with a line of steel". I was quoting from memory when I last emailed. Fascinating information about the 93rd Highland regiment can be found at http://www.aboutscotland.co.uk/argylls/93bala.html and at "Clan Sutherland on the Internet" at http://www.intrepid.net/~crossbow/s93rd.htm. This last includes the following which is unfortunately unsourced but which may be the official regimental poem: Ye can talk about your Gordons Best wishes, Keith Mullins Subject: Books by James Jones Congratulations on your wonderful Web Page. My husband is a great fan of James Jones and had a collection of some of his novels. When we moved house these were misplaced and I am trying to replace them for him. The only ones I have been able to locate are From Here to Eternity and The Thin Red Line. I was hoping that you may know some place that stocks James Jones novels.As most of them are currently out of print, it is almost an impossible task to locate them in Australia. I hope you can shed some light on my search.
Amanda Waller Subject: biography of Jones Does anybody know of a good biographical site for material on Jones? I'm specifically looking for information on his wife, Gloria Mosolino Jones, who is from Pottsville, PA. Subject: Query from Roger Ebert Hello! I write a column called "The Movie Answer Man," and a reader asks me for the meaning of the title "The Thin Red Line." What does it refer to? If you can reply, please also supply your name, title and town, and I will mention the James Jones Literary Society. Thanks! Roger Ebert can reply to this address, or, preferably (I am not at my home computer right now) to rebert@compuserve.com Subject: RE: Regarding James Jones Dear Mr. King, Thanks for your note. The problem you have noticed stems from the search engine used on the Britannica Internet Guide. We recently licensed a new search engine and have been extremely disappointed with the suboptimal results. Our tech team is in the process of investigating ways of improving the search engine or replacing it. We hope to implement an improved version or a completely new search engine between July and September. Best regards, Afrodite Mantzavrakos -----Original Message----- Dear Editor: I am the Web Manager for The James Jones Literary Society at http://rking.vinu.edu/j.htm and I want to comment on your Internet Links to the "Jones, James" article in Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. It is a fine article, but when you click on Internet Links the search pulls up numerous sites that have nothing to do with Jones. Our site is the main (perhaps only) site on the Web for Jones, and would be appropriate as an Internet Link. If the Internet Link could search for the phrase "James Jones Literary Society" in quotes it would probably take care of the matter, or at least narrow it down to a relevant number of results. I tell my students that a major reason they should use your reference tool is because you list *quality* web sites that separate the wheat from the chaff. One or two *quality* web sites are better than 100 irrelevant ones, and using Encyclopaedia Britannica Online is a major step toward helping researchers retrieve important Web material. I realize it may not be possible to achieve a different type of search under Internet Links, but I wanted to bring this to your attention. Thank you. Richard L. King Reference Librarian Subject: Newsletter/Paul Clayton Hello, I was just reading one of the articles entitled Getting to Know James Jones, and I found an oversight...Paul Clayton, mentions reading Eternity and that one of his favorite scenes was Prewitt setting up the 50 cal. machine gun on the roof of the barracks to battle Zeros...well yes indeed that scene is powerful, but Prewitt was asleep during the whole Pearl Harbor attack, AWOL, after killing Fatso Judson. I'm sure Mr. Clayton made a simple oversight. I just thought you would like to know. James Cicman Subject: Email correction Richard, My note to James Cicman FYI. Ray
>Date: Wed, 25 Aug 1999 09:13:48 -0500 > Dear James Cicman: > >Richard King, who maintains our web site for the James Jones Literary >Society, forwarded me your message. Thanks for pointing out the oversight >in Paul Clayton's article that appeared in a recent JJLS newsletter. I'm >the current president of the society and one of the newsletter editors. >Unfortunately, we missed the reference to Prewitt setting up the 50 cal. >on the barracks roof. > >We'll run the correction in the next newsletter. Richard will make the >correction on the web site and run your note about the error. I regret it >and hope to watch for those errors more closely in the future. > >One another note, do you have any comments or recollections about James >Jones and his work that we maight run in the next newsletter and on the >web site? I'm always looking for those kinds of pieces. If you have, >please send them to me by e-mail and tell me a little about yourself. And >are you a member of the JJLS? If not, I invite you to join. We're >considering holding the next Jones symposium in Paris at the American >University there and visiting Jones' haunts while he lived there in the >'60s and '70s. Hope toi hear from you. > >Best regards, > >Ray Elliott > Ray Elliott 217 337-6510 Subject: Re: Clayon/Newsletter Richard, I visit the JJLS site quite often, and I'm glad that I was able to be of service. I believe if memory serves, it was Pete Karelsen who set up the machine gun over a barrack chimney during the Pearl Harbor attack. Subject: Re: Prewitt in JJLS Dear Richard, I'll have to go back to Eternity and read that again. Some Point OF View character goes up on the roof and sets up the 50 cal. Anyway, I'm sure he's right. It's been about twenty years since I read Eternity.. One of the amazing things about powerful fiction is that you are still moved by the story years later, still remember the mood, what you were doing when you read it, your mood when you read it, but you may get some of the details wrong. I still remember the feeling I got from reading a young adult novel titled, The Red Dory, when I was about fourteen. I remember almost nothing about except that it was about a kid spending his summer in a New England seaside village. I smell the lobster and crab traps, hear the gulls, get blisters as he rows the dory out past the breakers, but damn if I remember the plot or anything else. Well, and so it goes. Thanks for all your efforts on behalf of "Where The Shadows Run From Themselves." And thanks in advance for posting my piece on the symposium. Paul Subject: on the roof Richard, Yeah, he's right. I went to my copy of From Here To Eternity. It was Milt Warden and a bunch of guys from companies F and G that went up onto the barracks roof. And they were all armed with "BARs, rifles, pistols, and here and there a single MG." Hell, they may not even have had fifty caliber machine guns during WW II, for all I know. But we did have them in Nam, and I obviously got things mixed up. One fella on the barracks is described as having a water-cooled .30 caliber MC, with no tripod. This is the scene in which Warden accidentally shoots down an American fighter plane. Well, I'll be in touch. Bye, Paul Subject: Question Hi Richard, James Cicman again. This time I have a question that you may be able to answer. An excellent war novel entitled "Never so Few" was published in 1957 by Tom T. Chamales. I would like some more information on this author, but so far have found nothing. Aparently Mr. Chamales was a friend of James Jones and was inspired to write his novel after reading "From Here To Enternity", as indicated in his acknowlegements. Chamales was a 2nd Lt in the American Kachin Rangers in Burma. Perhaps you have something in your archives? Thanks-Jim Subject: Thanks Hi Richard, I contacted Thomas Wood and he was able to give me the info I wanted on Tom Chamales...thanks for directing me to him...Jim Cicman Subject: The National D-Day Museum Dear Sir or Madam: I discovered the James Jones Literary Society website and found it quite informative. I am the Assistant for Development at The National D-Day Museum, currently being built in New Orleans, and scheduled to open on June 6, 2000. This Museum will be of exquisite caliber, approximately 70,000 square feet, and located in the city that not only our founder, author Stephen Ambrose, calls home, but also the "home of the Higgins boat". It is the Mission of The National D-Day Museum to both honor those who fought in the war, and educate future generations about the most climactic amphibious invasions known to America. As we are progressing with the construction of our Pacific Wing, the portion of the Museum dedicated to the invasions at Guadalcanal, I would like to get in contact with those members of Jones' family, who I'm sure would be interested to hear of the Museum. If an address or email address is available for Gloria Jones or her daughter, I would be most appreciative. Subject: D-Day Museum request - Good one! Richard, I understand that the D-Day Museum folks in New Orleans contacted you! I have your site and theirs highlighted on my website. It would be a wonderful way of building recognition for the society and the Jones history if some relationship could develop. James Bradley (see www.iwojima.com) has already been down to visit with Stephen Ambrose and talk about the Pacific Representation. Ambrose's next works will probably deal with the Pacific. Best to all, Subject: Hi Yanks: Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 23:21:34 -0500 From: Christopher Furlotte I am a "Canadian" who loves James Jones and his style of writing!! I am trying to get a hold of his "older" books from the 1950',60,'s !! I am readin' The Thin Red Line,and I just bought Whistle-1978. I want to read more about him and your website has done "wonders" about him,..and me(I am getting to know him) I wish to god I'd met him in real life,..however he died a young "soldier" in my books,and I hope that God has made him,... a "soldier" of God- to watch over soldiers in War&Peace!! His writing has certinly made a Huge impression on me!! keep up the site and excellent work!! Sincerely Subject: membership I would like to be a member of the James Jones literary society> what do I have to do. I believe it was one of the great books of WWII. I was stationed at Pearl Harbor during the attack and later in the war I was stationed just north of Schofield Brks and we used to go over and watrch the fights. I happened to be up at Schofield when they filmed the movie and many of the Japanese planes were flown by fellows that I worked in the FAA. James E. Sinnott Subject: Your inquiry forwarded Dear Mr. Sinnott: Thank you for your recent inquiry about becoming a member of the James Jones Literary Society and your service in Hawaii at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor. We'd be honored to have you as a member of the Society. Annual individual membership is $15; $50 for a 4-year membership; $25 annually for a couple; and $250 for life per individual. You may send your check, payable to the James Jones Literary Society, and mail it to the Society at P.O. Box 68, Robinson, IL, 62454. For more information, please check out The James Jones Literary Society Web Site at rking.vinu.edu/j.htm . Members receive the newsletter four times a year and have at least one James Jones symposium a year to celebrate and study his work. A movement is underway at this time to have a commemorative stamp issued for the novelist that would recall the service of millions of servicemen in World War II. The Soceity also awards the James Jones First Novel Fellowship each year to promising young writers of fiction. Contributions to the Society's fund that support these awards and other functions are tax-deductible. I hope soon to hear from you about your membership. But I'm also interested in hearing about your experiences and thoughts about what you saw during the attack on Pearl Harbor and afterwards. I'm sure Soceity members would find what you have to share of great interest. I'd like to talk with you about the possibility of you sharing some of those experiences with our readers who would undoubtedly agree with you assessemnt that "From Here To Eternity" was "one of the great books WW II." Thanks and best regards, Ray Elliott Subject: SOME CAME RUNNING Dear Sir, I'm new to James Jones and have just bought a second hand copy of SOME CAME RUNNING. To my dismay, I found it was an abridged version, released after his death. What is the difference between this and the unabridged version and is it worth reading it, or should I seek out the original? Thanking you in advance for your help, Sean Egan Subject: Some Came Running Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 09:02:35 -0500 From: "Jerry L. Bayne" To: Sean Egan Hi Sean: The abridged version is a drastic melt down of the unabridged novel. I have been told by several different people that James Jones did not like the abridged version. I encourage you to tackle the unabridged novel. You might want to contact a Society Board Member, Dwight Connelly, who is a book collector. He, I am sure, could locate you a copy of the unabridged novel. bookdc@ccipost.net Best wishes, Jerry Bayne Subject: Footnote: Special Abridged Edition Sean: I have copies of the abridged version that was released and copyrighted in 1958. There were several subsequent printings of the abridged version. Jones died in 1977. JLB Subject: The Thin Red Line Grows Thinner. Dear Mr. King, I was just banging around in MS Encarta encyclopedia for the first time and, lacking any predetermined destination, typed in "James Jones." That was two hours ago. ! Fifty years ago Jim and Lowney and their Spartan trailer were my next door neighbors in Leany's Trailer court on Summer Avenue in Memphis, TN. Jim had a crazy routine. He arose, made a pot of "hobo" coffee, sat down at the typewriter and stayed there until noon. Sometimes a chapter, occasionally only a few lines emerged. Each week he made 7 1lb. Jars of beef stew, 7 1lb jars of jello. Each day of the week he consumed one of each for his noon meal. I was a G.I. student, in school until I:00 pm. After school we'd pool our resources and split a bottle of beer or go out to the golf course and practice yoga. At 4 o-clock we returned to the trailer park, mixed a large pitcher of martinis, made a large salad, and Jim would read the product of his days efforts to Lowney and me while the martinis disappeared. I took him to the airport for his trip to NY to pick up the check for the first eight chapters. When the book was published the picture on the dust cover bore my credit line, as did the pictures in Life, Time, Saturday Review, and Editor and Publisher. Although the name is actually spelled with two "T's no editor was ever prone to accept that fact so the credits are in the name of Pat Meará . By the time it hit the book stores I was the staff photographer for the Santa Fe New Mexican. Jim and a gentleman from Scribner's drove out to Santa Fe, spent a few days with me and presented me with a copy of the presentation edition with the inscription, "Patt, Memories of Memphis, Shades of Santa Fe, Jim" on the fly leaf. The last time I talked to him he said, "you crazy son of a bitch, wherever you go, or I go, whatever I write, look for yourself. You'll be in there someplace." I retired from the Department of Communications Arts at the University of Wisconsin at the age of 42, moved to the Caribbean, worked for the St. Thomas Daily News for about six months, taught SCUBA for a year and a half on shore, obtained my captain's papers and ended twenty three years in the islands as Captain of the 63 foot schooner Victorius. We took divers, and others, for one week or longer charters through the Caribbean. Jim became the renowned writer, I lived out his dreams. At 76 and living in Florida, I heard that Gloria is still alive and living in the Miami area. Could this be true? I'm looking for nothing, just thought someone besides me, might find all of this a bit interesting. Captain Patt Meará P.S I was in Memphis this winter, Leahy's is still there. Subject: The Merry Month of May Hi there - I was wondering if you knew of any synopis of The Merry Month of May. I was apparently named after one of the characters in the book "McKenna" and I have been looking for some informaiton on the book and character. I am currently searching for a used copy through Amazon. Thanks, McKenna LaVoie Subject: "McKenna" Dear Ms. LaVoie, There is no synopsis that I know of for "The Merry Month of May," however, I can tell you where the name comes from and who the character is. McKenna is the eight-year-old daughter of the Gallaghers in the novel. The novel is told in the first person by the Gallaghers' close friend, Jack, who is a divorced magazine editor living in Paris. TThe G's are based on a very rich couple my parents knew who lived down the street. They had no daughter, but my father felt that the dissolution of their marriage had a much stronger impact in the novel if they had a child who is left pretty much orphaned at the end. "McKenna" is an old Scottish family name, I believe, which runs in the Gallagher family. That is how they named the daughter. The backdrop of the novel is the May 1968 riots that almost brought down the French government. The child, McKenna, was based on me. Yours, Kaylie Jones |