Soldier Dead

Soldier Dead PDF Author: Michael Sledge
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231135157
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 371

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Book Description
What happens to members of the United States Armed Forces after they die? Why do soldiers endanger their lives to recover the remains of their comrades? Why does the military spend enormous resources and risk further fatalities to recover the bodies of the fallen, even decades after the cessation of hostilities? Soldier Dead is the first book to fully address the complicated physical, social, religious, economic, and political issues concerning the remains of men and women who die while serving their country. In doing so, Michael Sledge reveals the meanings of the war dead for families, soldiers, and the nation as a whole. Why does recovering the remains of servicepeople matter? Soldier Dead examines this question and provides a thorough analysis of the processes of recovery, identification, return, burial, and remembrance of the dead. Sledge traces the ways in which the handling of our Soldier Dead has evolved over time and how these changes have reflected not only advances in technology and capabilities but also the shifting attitudes of the public, government, and military. He also considers the emotional stress experienced by those who handle the dead; the continuing efforts to retrieve bodies from Korea and elsewhere; and how unresolved issues regarding the treatment of enemy dead continue to affect U.S. foreign relations. Skillfully incorporating excerpts from interviews, personal correspondence and diaries, military records, and journalistic accounts-as well as never-before-published photographs and his own reflections-Michael Sledge presents a clear, concise, and compassionate story about what the dead mean to the living. Throughout Soldier Dead, the voices of the fallen are heard, as are those of family members and military personnel responsible for the dead before final disposition. At times disturbing and at other times encouraging, they are always powerful as they speak of danger, duty, courage, commitment, and care.

Soldier Dead

Soldier Dead PDF Author: Michael Sledge
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231135157
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 371

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Book Description
What happens to members of the United States Armed Forces after they die? Why do soldiers endanger their lives to recover the remains of their comrades? Why does the military spend enormous resources and risk further fatalities to recover the bodies of the fallen, even decades after the cessation of hostilities? Soldier Dead is the first book to fully address the complicated physical, social, religious, economic, and political issues concerning the remains of men and women who die while serving their country. In doing so, Michael Sledge reveals the meanings of the war dead for families, soldiers, and the nation as a whole. Why does recovering the remains of servicepeople matter? Soldier Dead examines this question and provides a thorough analysis of the processes of recovery, identification, return, burial, and remembrance of the dead. Sledge traces the ways in which the handling of our Soldier Dead has evolved over time and how these changes have reflected not only advances in technology and capabilities but also the shifting attitudes of the public, government, and military. He also considers the emotional stress experienced by those who handle the dead; the continuing efforts to retrieve bodies from Korea and elsewhere; and how unresolved issues regarding the treatment of enemy dead continue to affect U.S. foreign relations. Skillfully incorporating excerpts from interviews, personal correspondence and diaries, military records, and journalistic accounts-as well as never-before-published photographs and his own reflections-Michael Sledge presents a clear, concise, and compassionate story about what the dead mean to the living. Throughout Soldier Dead, the voices of the fallen are heard, as are those of family members and military personnel responsible for the dead before final disposition. At times disturbing and at other times encouraging, they are always powerful as they speak of danger, duty, courage, commitment, and care.

Final Salute

Final Salute PDF Author: Jim Sheeler
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9781594201653
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning story, Jim Sheeler's unprecedented look at the way our country honors its dead; Final SaluteIs a stunning tribute to the brave troops who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan and to the families who continue to mourn them They are the troops that nobody wants to see, carrying a message that no military family ever wants to hear. It begins with a knock at the door. "The curtains pull away. They come to the door. And they know. They always know," said Major Steve Beck. Since the start of the war in Iraq, marines like Major Beck found themselves thrown into a different kind of mission: casualty notification. It is a job Major Beck never asked for and one for which he received no training. They are given no set rules, only impersonal guidelines. Marines are trained to kill, to break down doors, but casualty notification is a mission without weapons. For Beck, the mission meant learning each dead marine's name and nickname, touching the toys they grew up with and reading the letters they wrote home. He held grieving mothers in long embraces, absorbing their muffled cries into the dark blue shoulder of his uniform. He stitched himself into the fabric of their lives, in the simple hope that his compassion might help alleviate at least the smallest piece of their pain. Sometimes he returned home to his own family unable to keep from crying in the dark. In Final Salute, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jim Sheeler weaves together the stories of the fallen and of the broken homes they have left behind. It is also the story of Major Steve Beck and his unflagging efforts to help heal the wounds of those left grieving. Above all, it is a moving tribute to our troops, putting faces to the mostly anonymous names of our courageous heroes, and to the brave families who have made the ultimate sacrifice for this country. Final Saluteis the achingly beautiful, devastatingly honest story of the true toll of war. After the knock on the door, the story has only begun.

Fallen Soldiers

Fallen Soldiers PDF Author: George L. Mosse
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199923442
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
At the outbreak of the First World War, an entire generation of young men charged into battle for what they believed was a glorious cause. Over the next four years, that cause claimed the lives of some 13 million soldiers--more than twice the number killed in all the major wars from 1790 to 1914. But despite this devastating toll, the memory of the war was not, predominantly, of the grim reality of its trench warfare and battlefield carnage. What was most remembered by the war's participants was its sacredness and the martyrdom of those who had died for the greater glory of the fatherland. War, and the sanctification of it, is the subject of this pioneering work by well-known European historian George L. Mosse. Fallen Soldiers offers a profound analysis of what he calls the Myth of the War Experience--a vision of war that masks its horror, consecrates its memory, and ultimately justifies its purpose. Beginning with the Napoleonic wars, Mosse traces the origins of this myth and its symbols, and examines the role of war volunteers in creating and perpetuating it. But it was not until World War I, when Europeans confronted mass death on an unprecedented scale, that the myth gained its widest currency. Indeed, as Mosse makes clear, the need to find a higher meaning in the war became a national obsession. Focusing on Germany, with examples from England, France, and Italy, Mosse demonstrates how these nations--through memorials, monuments, and military cemeteries honoring the dead as martyrs--glorified the war and fostered a popular acceptance of it. He shows how the war was further promoted through a process of trivialization in which war toys and souvenirs, as well as postcards like those picturing the Easter Bunny on the Western Front, softened the war's image in the public mind. The Great War ended in 1918, but the Myth of the War Experience continued, achieving its most ruthless political effect in Germany in the interwar years. There the glorified notion of war played into the militant politics of the Nazi party, fueling the belligerent nationalism that led to World War II. But that cataclysm would ultimately shatter the myth, and in exploring the postwar years, Mosse reveals the extent to which the view of death in war, and war in general, was finally changed. In so doing, he completes what is likely to become one of the classic studies of modern war and the complex, often disturbing nature of human perception and memory.

8 Seconds of Courage

8 Seconds of Courage PDF Author: Flo Groberg
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1501165887
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Describes the author's childhood relocation from France to the U.S., where as a naturalized citizen he joined the military and served multiple tours in Afghanistan before he was wounded while protecting his patrol from a suicide bomber.

Fallen Heroes

Fallen Heroes PDF Author: Dafydd ab Hugh
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0671041142
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 271

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Book Description
Fallen Heroes When a troop of alien warriors demands the return of an imprisoned comrade -- a prisoner no one on Deep Space Nineā„¢ knows anything about -- Commander Benjamin Sisko has a deadly fight on his hands. Under sudden attack from the heavily armed warriors, Sisko and his crew struggle desperately to repel the invaders and save the lives of everyone on board. Meanwhile, a strange device from the Gamma Quadrant has shifted Ferengi barkeeper Quark and Security Chief Odo three days into the future to a silent Deep Space Nine. To save the station they must discover what caused the invasion to take place -- and find a pathway back through time itself.

Death at the Edges of Empire

Death at the Edges of Empire PDF Author: Shannon Bontrager
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 1496219074
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 343

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Book Description
A 2020 BookAuthority selection for best new American Civil War books Hundreds of thousands of individuals perished in the epic conflict of the American Civil War. As battles raged and the specter of death and dying hung over the divided nation, the living worked not only to bury their dead but also to commemorate them. President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address perhaps best voiced the public yearning to memorialize the war dead. His address marked the beginning of a new tradition of commemorating American soldiers and also signaled a transformation in the relationship between the government and the citizenry through an embedded promise and obligation for the living to remember the dead. In Death at the Edges of Empire Shannon Bontrager examines the culture of death, burial, and commemoration of American war dead. By focusing on the Civil War, the Spanish-Cuban-American War, the Philippine-American War, and World War I, Bontrager produces a history of collective memories of war expressed through American cultural traditions emerging within broader transatlantic and transpacific networks. Examining the pragmatic collaborations between middle-class Americans and government officials negotiating the contradictory terrain of empire and nation, Death at the Edges of Empire shows how Americans imposed modern order on the inevitability of death as well as how they used the war dead to reimagine political identities and opportunities into imperial ambitions.

Gone Too Soon

Gone Too Soon PDF Author: Lisa Lark
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781949478594
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
? 9" x 12" Hardbound? Color Dust Jacket? 88 Pages, with 24 Color PagesFrom its earliest days, Dearborn, Michigan has had a strong connection to the US military. It was named for a Revolutionary War hero and served as a military arsenal in the 19th century. The Dearborn area has long sent its sons and daughters off to war in service of our country, and has long been known for honoring the sacrifices of those who have given their lives in service to our country.To further honor and remember the 347 people Dearborn has lost in service, MT Publishing presents Gone Too Soon: Dearborn Remembers Its Fallen Heroes. This coffee-table style book will include a brief biographical entry for each of the 347 names, as well as remembrances and artwork created by family, friends, and community members.Proceeds from the sale of the book will be used to further honor Dearborn's fallen, either through the creation of new memorials, the creation of educational resources, or the repair of existing memorials and grave markers.Only a limited number of books will be printed, therefore it is necessary to take all orders in advance. The pre-publication price is $69.95* for the bonded leather edition and $34.95* for the deluxe standard. This hardbound book will be 9" x 12" with a full color dust jacket and will contain 88 pages with 24 color pages. You may have your copy personalized with a name stamping on the cover for a nominal charge. Don't hesitate, place your order now!

Heroes of the Fallen

Heroes of the Fallen PDF Author: David J. West
Publisher: WiDo Publishing
ISBN: 9780979607035
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Heroes of the Fallen is a chronicle, showing the beginning of the end of an era. That era is now lost to us, except through oral legend, myth, and a golden book of lore. Stand along side daring heroes with swords bared against sinister villans, never knowing which will fall. Witness the plans of mighty kings and lowly thieves. See the dreams of a prophets daughter. Heroes of the Fallen is full of tragedy and triumph. It echoes universal themes of mankind: fear and courage, faith verses doubt, hunger for power and love, and sacrifices for the greater good. Intensely researched, Heroes of the Fallen, is a literary work of art presenting revolutionary viewpoints in a cross-genre ancient American landscape.

Fallen Never Forgotten

Fallen Never Forgotten PDF Author: Ronny Ymbras
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780578446806
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
Fallen Never Forgotten: Vietnam Memorials in the USA is a tribute to the 58,497 servicemen who never made it home from Vietnam.Self published by two time Purple Heart recipient Ronny Ymbras and his son Matthew, Fallen gives a perspective into how americans across the country have come together to honor those fallen heroes.One Vietnam Veterans Memorial from each state was selected for the book then immortalized through Ronny Ymbras' research and veteran networking and the work of professional photographers.Information includes facts like who raised the funds, what the statue/monument symbolizes, when annual events are held, address to get there and more.The reality is that many veterans wish they could visit the memorials in their state but cannot due to time, finances, distance or health.Fallen Never Forgotten brings the memorials to them

From Tragedy to Triumph

From Tragedy to Triumph PDF Author: L. Latrese Dixon
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781513616650
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 67

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Book Description