There's a Book for That: Memorial Day
May 30th is Memorial day. The last Monday in May, originally designated as “Decoration Day” in 1868, honors American men and women who have died in service to our Country. Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and was officially proclaimed by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic
“for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land.” Our featured titles, by and about our military, honor the sacrifices made by these men and women in wars ranging from The Civil War to Iraq.
To learn more visit: Memorial Day (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs)
FEATURED TITLES:
THE MATHEWS MEN: SEVEN BROTHERS AND THE WAR AGAINST HITLER’S U-BOATS by William Geroux
One of the last unheralded heroic stories of World War II: The U-Boat assault off the American coast against the Merchant Marines who were supplying the European war, and one community’s monumental contribution to that effort
by Eric Blehm
Legend tells the heroic story of the 240th Assault Helicopter Company, and Benavidez’s nearly suicidal rescue mission that saved eight lives and ultimately earned Benavidez a nomination for the Congressional Medal of Honor.
RED PLATOON: A TRUE STORY OF AMERICAN VALOR by Clinton Romesha
Red Platoon is the riveting first-hand account of the Battle of Keating, told by Romesha, who spearheaded both the defense of the outpost and the counter-attack that drove the Taliban back beyond the wire, and received the Medal of Honor for his actions.
The New York Times bestselling official companion book to the Emmy(r) Award-winning HBO(r) miniseries.
Between America’s retreat from China in late November 1941 and the moment General MacArthur’s airplane touched down on the Japanese mainland in August of 1945, five men connected by happenstance fought the key battles of the war against Japan.
VETERANS’ VOICES: REMARKABLE STORIES OF HEROISM, SACRIFICE, AND HONOR by Robert H. Miller, Andrew Wakeford
Through intimate photographs and poignant stories, this heart-rending book showcases the courage, heroics, and sacrifice of selected U.S. soldiers and veterans. This deeply moving, timely celebration of veterans highlights the heroes in our midst by bringing these brave men and women to life. Veterans Voices blends beauty and impact and gorgeous photographic displays with inspiring storytelling.
A HIGHER CALL: AN INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF COMBAT AND CHIVALRY IN THE WAR-TORN SKIES OF WORLD WAR II by Adam Makos, Larry Alexander
December, 1943: A badly damaged American bomber struggles to fly over wartime Germany. At the controls is twenty-one-year-old Second Lieutenant Charlie Brown. Half his crew lay wounded or dead on this, their first mission. Suddenly, a Messerschmitt fighter pulls up on the bomber’s tail. The pilot is German ace Franz Stigler—and he can destroy the young American crew with the squeeze of a trigger… What happened next would defy imagination.
A FEW GOOD WOMEN: AMERICA’S MILITARY WOMEN FROM WORLD WAR I TO THE WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN by Evelyn M. Monahan, Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee
In this riveting narrative history, women veterans from the world wars, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Afghanistan, and Iraq tell their extraordinary stories. Evelyn M. Monahan and Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee spent fifteen years combing through archives, journals, histories, and news reports, and gathering thousands of eyewitness accounts, letters, and interviews for this unprecedented chronicle of America’s “few good women.”
FORTY-SEVEN DAYS: HOW PERSHING’S WARRIORS CAME OF AGE TO DEFEAT THE GERMAN ARMY IN WORLD WAR I by Mitchell Yockelson
A definitive account of the U.S. First Army’s astonishing triumph in America’s bloodiest battle of the World War I. The Battle of the Muese-Argonne—the deadliest clash in American history. More than a million untested American soldiers went up against a better-trained and experienced German Army, costing over 26,000 deaths and nearly a hundred thousand wounded.
THE CIVIL WAR by Geoffrey C. Ward, Kenneth Burns
The complete text of the bestselling narrative history of the Civil War–based on the celebrated PBS television series interweaves the author’s narrative with the voices of the men and women who lived through the cataclysmic trial of our nationhood and also includes essays by our most distinguished historians of the era.
TOUGH AS THEY COME by Travis Mills and Marcus Brotherton; Foreword by Gary Sinise
In this powerful combat memoir, retired paratrooper and quadruple amputee SSG Travis Mills describes how his faith and his mantra of “never give up—never quit” has helped him rebuild his life since Afghanistan.
For more information about these and related titles visit the collection: Memorial Day 2016