745 - A Memoir of World War II

745 - A Memoir of World War II PDF Author: Carl F. Heintze
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781611701685
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
In the Dictionary of Military Occupations the code number is 745. It stands for rifleman, basic. His job is to close with the enemy, to kill capture or wound him and to take his ground. In 1944 as World War II came to its final stages the desperate need of the Allies and the Axis was for manpower. Casualties were heavy in the last months of the war on both sides. Both sought any one they could find capable of fighting. Carl Heintze suddenly found himself reclassified from limited service (as a "tailor") to general service, (as a rifleman, basic). He was given the briefest training and sent to Europe as an infantry replacement: a body to fill a gap in ranks left by death or wounds. This memoir is the story of how he succeeded in fulfilling that challenge, of how he made it through seven and a half months of combat, of how he shared in victory, of the men with whom he fought and what happened to them, told as he remembered it eight years later. It is a story rife with pain and endurance, the lot of the infantryman, a 745. About the Author: Carl F. Heintze is the author of a dozen books, a former newspaper science reporter and columnist who lives in Los Gatos, California. He is married to Mary Ann Cook, also a newspaper veteran. Their joint family numbers six children and their spouses, six grandchildren and their spouses and six great-grandchildren

745 - A Memoir of World War II

745 - A Memoir of World War II PDF Author: Carl F. Heintze
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781611701685
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 228

Get Book Here

Book Description
In the Dictionary of Military Occupations the code number is 745. It stands for rifleman, basic. His job is to close with the enemy, to kill capture or wound him and to take his ground. In 1944 as World War II came to its final stages the desperate need of the Allies and the Axis was for manpower. Casualties were heavy in the last months of the war on both sides. Both sought any one they could find capable of fighting. Carl Heintze suddenly found himself reclassified from limited service (as a "tailor") to general service, (as a rifleman, basic). He was given the briefest training and sent to Europe as an infantry replacement: a body to fill a gap in ranks left by death or wounds. This memoir is the story of how he succeeded in fulfilling that challenge, of how he made it through seven and a half months of combat, of how he shared in victory, of the men with whom he fought and what happened to them, told as he remembered it eight years later. It is a story rife with pain and endurance, the lot of the infantryman, a 745. About the Author: Carl F. Heintze is the author of a dozen books, a former newspaper science reporter and columnist who lives in Los Gatos, California. He is married to Mary Ann Cook, also a newspaper veteran. Their joint family numbers six children and their spouses, six grandchildren and their spouses and six great-grandchildren

The War

The War PDF Author: Marguerite Duras
Publisher: Pantheon
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
One of France's greatest novelists offers a remarkable diary of the Nazi occupation of Paris during World War II and of its eventual liberation by the Allies. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the liberation, this extraordinary diary by the author of The Lover is "a haunting portrait of a time and place" (New York Times).

A Patriot’s Memoirs of World War Ii

A Patriot’s Memoirs of World War Ii PDF Author: Luciano Louis Charles Graziano
Publisher: LifeRich Publishing
ISBN: 1489720499
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 142

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Book Description
It was January 1943 when twenty-year-old Louis Graziano received a letter from Uncle Sam ordering him to report to Fort Niagara, New York, for a physical. Although he knew the United States was at war, he had no idea what was ahead of him. After making a promise to dutifully defend his country, Louis never realized how much his military experience would change the course of his life. In a memoir that reveals the good, bad, and ugly of war and beyond, Louis leads others through his life experiences via personal stories and historical photographs that provide a candid glimpse into what it was like to be a young soldier before, during, and after World War II. While revealing his experiences and thoughts, Louis demonstrates how he exhibited courage amid heartbreaking loss, trusted God to protect him, and found love with a beautiful fellow soldier. Among his documented experiences were landing with the third wave on D-Day on Omaha Beach, fighting the Battle of the Bulge, and witnessing the signing of the Instrument of Surrender at the Little Red Schoolhouse. Included are personal letters and commendations as well as interesting historical facts. A Patriot’s Memoirs of World War II shares a veteran’s personal story and photographs that document his experiences during the biggest and deadliest war in history.

Unbroken

Unbroken PDF Author: Laura Hillenbrand
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0812974492
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 530

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Book Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE • Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more. In boyhood, Louis Zamperini was an incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when World War II began, the athlete became an airman, embarking on a journey that led to a doomed flight on a May afternoon in 1943. When his Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean, against all odds, Zamperini survived, adrift on a foundering life raft. Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will. Appearing in paperback for the first time—with twenty arresting new photos and an extensive Q&A with the author—Unbroken is an unforgettable testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit, brought vividly to life by Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand. Hailed as the top nonfiction book of the year by Time magazine • Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for biography and the Indies Choice Adult Nonfiction Book of the Year award “Extraordinarily moving . . . a powerfully drawn survival epic.”—The Wall Street Journal “[A] one-in-a-billion story . . . designed to wrench from self-respecting critics all the blurby adjectives we normally try to avoid: It is amazing, unforgettable, gripping, harrowing, chilling, and inspiring.”—New York “Staggering . . . mesmerizing . . . Hillenbrand’s writing is so ferociously cinematic, the events she describes so incredible, you don’t dare take your eyes off the page.”—People “A meticulous, soaring and beautifully written account of an extraordinary life.”—The Washington Post “Ambitious and powerful . . . a startling narrative and an inspirational book.”—The New York Times Book Review “Magnificent . . . incredible . . . [Hillenbrand] has crafted another masterful blend of sports, history and overcoming terrific odds; this is biography taken to the nth degree, a chronicle of a remarkable life lived through extraordinary times.”—The Dallas Morning News “An astonishing testament to the superhuman power of tenacity.”—Entertainment Weekly “A tale of triumph and redemption . . . astonishingly detailed.”—O: The Oprah Magazine “[A] masterfully told true story . . . nothing less than a marvel.”—Washingtonian “[Hillenbrand tells this] story with cool elegance but at a thrilling sprinter’s pace.”—Time “Hillenbrand [is] one of our best writers of narrative history. You don’t have to be a sports fan or a war-history buff to devour this book—you just have to love great storytelling.”—Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

To Hell and Back

To Hell and Back PDF Author: Audie Murphy
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 146682638X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
The classic bestselling war memoir by the most decorated American soldier in World War II. Originally published in 1949, To Hell and Back was a smash bestseller for fourteen weeks and later became a major motion picture starring Audie Murphy as himself. Many decades later, this classic wartime memoir is just as gripping as it was then. Desperate to see action but rejected by both the marines and paratroopers because he was too short, Murphy eventually found a home with the infantry. He fought through campaigns in Sicily, Italy, France, and Germany. Although still under twenty-one years old on V-E Day, he was credited with having killed, captured, or wounded 240 Germans. He emerged from the war as America's most decorated soldier, having received twenty-one medals, including our highest military decoration, the Congressional Medal of Honor. To Hell and Back is a powerfully real portrayal of American GI's at war.

In the Neighborhood of Zero

In the Neighborhood of Zero PDF Author: William V. Spanos
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 0803229976
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 219

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Book Description
For Spanos, this was never a "war story." It was the singular, irreducible, unnameable, dreadful experience of war. In the face of the American myth of the greatest generation, this renowned literary scholar looks back at that time and crafts a dissident, dissonant remembrance of the "just war." Retrieving the singularity of the experience of war from the grip of official American cultural memory, Spanos recaptures something of the boy's life that he lost. His book is an attempt to rescue some semblance of his awakened being-and that of the multitude of young men who fought-from the oblivion to which they have been relegated under the banalizing memorialization of the "sacrifices of our greatest generation."

Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free

Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free PDF Author: Alexander Jefferson
Publisher: Fordham Univ Press
ISBN: 0823274403
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free is a rare gift detailing the experience of Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson, who was one of 32 Tuskegee Airmen from the 332nd Fighter Group to be shot down defending a country that considered them to be second-class citizens. In this vividly detailed, deeply personal story, Jefferson writes as a genuine American hero about what it meant to be an African American pilot in enemy hands, fighting to protect the promise of freedom. The book features the sketches, drawings, and other illustrations Jefferson created during his nine months as a POW, and Lewis Carlson’s authoritative background on the man, his unit, and the fight Alexander Jefferson fought so well. This revised edition covers the story of Jefferson’s continuing outreach and education work, as he brings the story of the Tuskegee Airmen to communities and schools across the country, and the presentation of the Congressional Gold Medal to the Airmen in 2007. Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free is perhaps the only account of the African American experience in a German prison camp.

A Personal Memoir of World War II, 1939-45

A Personal Memoir of World War II, 1939-45 PDF Author: Henry Brady
Publisher: Merlin Books Limited
ISBN: 9780863034374
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 168

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Book Description


The Deserters

The Deserters PDF Author: Charles Glass
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101617810
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 414

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Book Description
“Powerful and often startling…The Deserters offers a provokingly fresh angle on this most studied of conflicts.” --The Boston Globe A groundbreaking history of ordinary soldiers struggling on the front lines, The Deserters offers a completely new perspective on the Second World War. Charles Glass—renowned journalist and author of the critically acclaimed Americans in Paris: Life and Death Under Nazi Occupation—delves deep into army archives, personal diaries, court-martial records, and self-published memoirs to produce this dramatic and heartbreaking portrait of men overlooked by their commanders and ignored by history. Surveying the 150,000 American and British soldiers known to have deserted in the European Theater, The Deserters: A Hidden History of World War II tells the life stories of three soldiers who abandoned their posts in France, Italy, and Africa. Their deeds form the backbone of Glass’s arresting portrait of soldiers pushed to the breaking point, a sweeping reexamination of the conditions for ordinary soldiers. With the grace and pace of a novel, The Deserters moves beyond the false extremes of courage and cowardice to reveal the true experience of the frontline soldier. Glass shares the story of men like Private Alfred Whitehead, a Tennessee farm boy who earned Silver and Bronze Stars for bravery in Normandy—yet became a gangster in liberated Paris, robbing Allied supply depots along with ordinary citizens. Here also is the story of British men like Private John Bain, who deserted three times but never fled from combat—and who endured battles in North Africa and northern France before German machine guns cut his legs from under him. The heart of The Deserters resides with men like Private Steve Weiss, an idealistic teenage volunteer from Brooklyn who forced his father—a disillusioned First World War veteran—to sign his enlistment papers because he was not yet eighteen. On the Anzio beachhead and in the Ardennes forest, as an infantryman with the 36th Division and as an accidental partisan in the French Resistance, Weiss lost his illusions about the nobility of conflict and the infallibility of American commanders. Far from the bright picture found in propaganda and nostalgia, the Second World War was a grim and brutal affair, a long and lonely effort that has never been fully reported—to the detriment of those who served and the danger of those nurtured on false tales today. Revealing the true costs of conflict on those forced to fight, The Deserters is an elegant and unforgettable story of ordinary men desperately struggling in extraordinary times.

No Surrender

No Surrender PDF Author: James Sheeran
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101486287
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
The Nazis caught him, but they couldn't hold him—a gripping WWII memoir from a D-Day paratrooper and American hero. A paratrooper in the 101st Airborne, James Sheeran was just a kid when he floated into Normandy on D-Day-only to be captured soon afterward by the Germans. Escaping from a POW train bound for Germany, Sheeran traveled behind enemy lines in France, eventually fighting alongside the French Resistance. After hooking up with Patton's advancing army, he fought admirably in Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge, and was ultimately awarded the Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, and the Chevalier of the Order of the Legion of Honor. Sheeran's breathtaking chronicle of his capture, daring escape, fierce guerilla resistance, and valor under fire is an unforgettable testament to the spirit of the American soldier.