This Friday is Veterans Day. November 11, 2016.
My grandfather served in WWI and WWII.
My dad served in the Korean War. My uncles Terry and
Jerry served in Viet Nam. (All of my dad’s four brothers served in the
military.)
When my generation of young men and women were of “going
to war age,” the U.S. had relative peace- no wars to fight.
 |
Veterans Day dislplay at the LeClaire
Community Library |
My nephew, Jake served in Afghanistan, where he earned a
Purple Heart. My son-in-law Phil, still active duty, served in Afghanistan, too. My
son, Nate, and nephew-in-law, Corey, serve on the front lines right here in
Iowa.
God bless those who are willing to confront the bad in
order to protect the good.
On that same note to honor and pay tribute, I created a
Veterans Day book display at work (The LeClaire Community Library.) I chose
books that gave first-hand accounts of events… Also Known As: When shit goes
down.
The summaries of the following books are courtesy of
Goodreads.
FLYBOYS: A True Story of
Courage by James D. Bradley
This acclaimed bestseller
brilliantly illuminates a hidden piece of World War II history as it tells the
harrowing true story of nine American airmen shot down in the Pacific. One of
them, George H. W. Bush, was miraculously rescued. What happened to the other
eight remained a secret for almost 60 years.
LONE SURVIVOR: The
Eyewittness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 by Marcus
Luttrell, Patrick Robinson
On
a clear night in late June 2005, four U.S. Navy SEALs left their base in
northern Afghanistan for the mountainous Pakistani border. Their mission was to
capture or kill a notorious al Qaeda leader known to be ensconced in a Taliban
stronghold surrounded by a small but heavily armed force. Less then twenty-four
hours later, only one of those Navy SEALs remained alive.
NO EASY DAY: The Firsthand
Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden by
Mark Owen, Kevin Maurer
No Easy Day puts readers alongside Owen,
of the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group--commonly known as SEAL
Team Six, and the other handpicked members of the twenty-four-man team as they
train for the biggest mission of their lives. The blow-by-blow narrative of the
assault, beginning with the helicopter crash that could have ended Owen's life
straight through to the radio call confirming Bin Laden’s death, is an essential
piece of modern history.
BAND OF BROTHERS: E Company,
506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest by
Stephen E. Ambrose
As good a rifle company as any, Easy Company, 506th
Airborne Division, US Army, kept getting tough assignments--responsible for
everything from parachuting into France early DDay morning to the capture of
Hitler's Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden. In "Band of Brothers,"
Ambrose tells of the men in this brave unit who fought, went hungry, froze
& died, a company that took 150% casualties & considered the Purple
Heart a badge of office. Drawing on hours of interviews with survivors as well
as the soldiers' journals & letters, Stephen Ambrose recounts the stories,
often in the men's own words, of these American heroes.
FLAG OF OUR FATHERS By James
D. Bradley, Ron Powers
In February 1945, American Marines plunged into the surf at Iwo Jima—and into
history. Through a hail of machine-gun and mortar fire that left the beaches
strewn with comrades, they battled to the island’s highest peak. And after
climbing through a landscape of hell itself, they raised a flag.
Now the son of one of the flagraisers has written a powerful account of six
very different young men who came together in a moment that will live forever.
THE GOOD SOLDIERS By
David Finkel
It
was the last-chance moment of the war. In January 2007, President George W.
Bush announced a new strategy for Iraq. He called it the surge. “Many
listening tonight will ask why this effort will succeed when previous
operations to secure Baghdad did not. Well, here are the differences,” he told
a skeptical nation. Among those listening were the young, optimistic army
infantry soldiers of the 2-16, the battalion nicknamed the Rangers. About to
head to a vicious area of Baghdad, they decided the difference would be them.
UNBROKEN: A World War II
Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
On a May afternoon in 1943, an
Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving
only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the
ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane’s
bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So
began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.
ELEPHANT COMPANY: The
Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives
in World War II by Vicki Constantine Croke
Billy Williams came to colonial
Burma in 1920, fresh from service in World War I, to a job as a “forest man”
for a British teak company. Mesmerized by the intelligence, character, and even
humor of the great animals who hauled logs through the remote jungles, he
became a gifted “elephant wallah.”
When
Imperial Japanese forces invaded Burma in 1942, Williams joined the elite Force
136, the British dirty tricks department, operating behind enemy lines. …In a
Hollywood-worthy climax, Elephant Company, cornered by the enemy, attempted a
desperate escape: a risky trek over the mountainous border to India, with a
bedraggled group of refugees in tow. Elephant Bill’s exploits would earn him
top military honors and the praise of famed Field Marshal Sir William Slim.
People, I challenge you to read at least one of these books. Use your hard-earned American freedom to read whatever you want! I’ve read Unbroken
already. It was not an easy read and because of that, I still cannot watch the Unbroken
movie. I’m going to start at the top of this list and read Flyboys next.
My dad was an Air Force man and my son-in-law still is.
Until next time,
Thank A Veteran.
~Nadine
