Forever a Soldier: Unforgettable Stories of Wartime Service - Hardcover

Wiener, Tom

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0792241894 ISBN 13: 9780792241898

Publisher: National Geographic, 2005

Synopsis

Most American soldiers can pinpoint a specific time when life stood still, when they thought, "I'm going to remember this moment forever." It's times like these that have the power to change the future. Forever a Soldier—drawn from the massive national collection of the Library of Congress Veterans History Project—illustrates how American soldiers have answered the call to duty with a singular spirit of patriotism, and how military service has transformed their lives. Some of the remarkable stories include a World War II prisoner of war who describes desperate hours spent trying to conceal his Jewish heritage from his German captors; a nurse stationed in Vietnam who remembers a dying patient, his miraculous recovery, and her reward years later; and the survivor of a famed World War II shipwreck who flashes back to four harrowing days in the shark-infested waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Culled from letters, diaries, and oral histories by soldiers, sailors, marines, and supporting citizens, these fifty stories constitute an astonishing historical record, a powerful tribute to those who fought, and a celebration of the enduring power of the words of few to speak for many. Forever a Soldier captures the personal perspective of war that is all too often lost in news reports and government statements. It is an indispensable contribution to understanding war and its impact on us all.

About this title

About the Author:

Tom Wiener is the editorial director of the Library of Congress Veterans History Project, the largest archive of wartime veterans' experiences, located at the Library of Congress. He is the author of three other books, and his articles and reviews have appeared in many publications. He lives in Washington, D.C.

From Publishers Weekly:

This second volume (following Voices of War) culled from more than 35,000 stories in the ongoing Library of Congress Veterans History Project is a dense collection of reminiscences—oral histories, letters and diaries—from WWI to the Persian Gulf War, with emphasis on WWII. The most compelling stories are eyewitness accounts: a sailor recounts the attack on Pearl Harbor, a survivor of the Indianapolis sinking in 1945 describes five days in shark-infested Pacific waters, a doctor relates the horrors of trench warfare in 1917, a soldier endures murderous combat during the 1968 Tet offense in Vietnam. Contributors survive long, terrible experiences as prisoners in Germany, Japan, North Korea and Vietnam—and a short, unpleasant confinement in Iraq. If all 37 accounts met these standards, this would be an outstanding addition to the genre, but perhaps out of excessive respect for historical material, the editor too often spares his red pencil. As a result, earnest patriotic essays, rambling tributes to comrades, mildly interesting career summaries or long itineraries of places veterans visited dilute the collection. Military buffs will happily add this to their shelves, but others may wish for a more consistently eloquent anthology of our veterans' memories. 65 b&w photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: National Geographic
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0792241894
• ISBN 13: 9780792241898
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352