Memorial Day:Remembering Those Who Made the Ultimate Sacrifice: Books on Display

Winner of the Gold Medal for Memoir/Biography from the Military Writers Society of America A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice "A whale of a tale, told clearly and quickly. I read the entire book in almost one sitting."--Thomas E. Ricks, New York Times Book Review The incredible story of the first African American military pilot, who went on to become a Paris nightclub impresario, a spy in the French Resistance and an American civil rights pioneer Eugene Bullard lived one of the most fascinating lives of the twentieth century. The son of a former slave and an indigenous Creek woman, Bullard fled home at the age of eleven to escape the racial hostility of his Georgia community. When his journey led him to Europe, he garnered worldwide fame as a boxer, and later as the first African American fighter pilot in history. After the war, Bullard returned to Paris a celebrated hero. But little did he know that the dramatic, globe-spanning arc of his life had just begun. All Blood Runs Red is the inspiring untold story of an American hero, a thought-provoking chronicle of the twentieth century and a portrait of a man who came from nothing and by his own courage, determination, gumption, intelligence and luck forged a legendary life.

In 1973, not long after the last American combat troops returned from Vietnam, President Nixon fulfilled his campaign promise and ended the draft. No longer would young men find their futures determined by the selective service system; nor would the U.S. military have a guaranteed source of recruits. America's Army is the story of the all-volunteer force, from the draft protests and policy proposals of the 1960s through the Iraq War. It is also a history of America in the post-Vietnam era. In the Army, America directly confronted the legacies of civil rights and black power, the women's movement, and gay rights. The volunteer force raised questions about the meaning of citizenship and the rights and obligations it carries; about whether liberty or equality is the more central American value; what role the military should play in American society not only in time of war, but in time of peace. And as the Army tried to create a volunteer force that could respond effectively to complex international situations, it had to compete with other ?employers? in a national labor market and sell military service alongside soap and soft drinks. Based on exhaustive archival research, as well as interviews with Army officers and recruiters, advertising executives, and policy makers, America's Army confronts the political, moral, and social issues a volunteer force raises for a democratic society as well as for the defense of our nation.

This is the true story of Tommy Hitchcock, a war hero, the world's greatest polo player, businessman, husband of a Mellon, and F. Scott Fitzgerald's idol after whom he fashioned two of his most famous fictional characters. Born in 1900 to a wealthy Long Island family of fox hunters and polo players, he joined the French Lafayette Flying Corps at age 17 when the U.S. Air Force said he was too young for combat flying in World War I. He shot down two German planes before being shot down himself. At age 18, he was captured and was put on a German prisoner train from which he leapt to freedom and then snuck across enemy lines for 50 miles to safety in Switzerland. He returned home a hero, played polo at Harvard, and began his legendary career as a 10 goal player for almost 15 years, a feat never equaled in the U.S. He led American teams in international tournaments all over the world and played with some of the greatest players in the game, including his friends Winston Guest, Averill Harriman, and John Hay Whitney. He married Margaret Mellon, the beautiful daughter of William Larimer Mellon who was Chairman of Gulf Oil and a member of the Pittsburgh banking family, with whom he had four children. F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald knew the Hitchcocks from living across the water from one another at Great Neck and Sands Point. Fitzgerald biographers have noted that he was in awe of Hitchcock, the wealthy WASP sportsman with the charmed life, and he modeled Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby after Tommy as well as the Tommy Barban character in Tender is the Night. Hitchcock became a partner in the Lehman Brothers brokerage firm on Wall Street and commuted to work from Sands Point in a seaplane. When World War II broke out, he lobbied to become a fighter pilot, but the Pentagon told him he was too old. He finagled his way into a role teaching pilots how to fly in England and he championed the B-51 Mustang airplane when the allies were losing the air war to Germany's Luftwaffe. Tragically, he died in a test flight in 1944 aboard a newly revamped Mustang while flying a nose dive over a field in rural England. His death was front page news all over the world.

THE HEART AND THE FIST shares one man's story of extraordinary leadership and service as both a humanitarian and a warrior. In a life lived at the raw edges of the human experience, Greitens has seen what can be accomplished when compassion and courage come together in meaningful service. As a Rhodes Scholar and Navy SEAL, Greitens worked alongside volunteers who taught art to street children in Bolivia and led US Marines who hunted terrorists in Iraq. He's learned from nuns who fed the destitute in one of Mother Teresa's homes for the dying in India, from aid workers who healed orphaned children in Rwanda, and from Navy SEALs who fought in Afghanistan. He excelled at the hardest military training in the world, and today he works with severely wounded and disabledveterans who are rebuilding their lives as community leaders at home. Greitens offers each of us a new way of thinking about living a meaningful life. We learn that to win any war, even those we wage against ourselves; to create and obtain lasting peace; to save a life; and even, simply to live with purpose requires us--every one of us--to be both good and strong.

The remarkable story of the seven African American soldiers ultimately awarded the World War II Medal of Honor, and the 50-year campaign to deny them their recognition. In 1945, when Congress began reviewing the record of the most conspicuous acts of courage by American soldiers during World War II, they recommended awarding the Medal of Honor to 432 recipients. Despite the fact that more than one million African-Americans served, not a single Black soldier received the Medal of Honor. The omission remained on the record for over four decades. But recent historical investigations have brought to light some of the extraordinary acts of valor performed by black soldiers during the war. Men like Vernon Baker, who single-handedly eliminated three enemy machineguns, an observation post, and a German dugout. Or Sergeant Reuben Rivers, who spearhead his tank unit's advance against fierce German resistance for three days despite being grievously wounded. Meanwhile Lieutenant Charles Thomas led his platoon to capture a strategically vital village on the Siegfried Line in 1944 despite losing half his men and suffering a number of wounds himself. Ultimately, in 1993 a US Army commission determined that seven men, including Baker, Rivers and Thomas, had been denied the Army's highest award simply due to racial discrimination. In 1997, more than 50 years after the war, President Clinton finally awarded the Medal of Honor to these seven heroes, sadly all but one of them posthumously. These are their stories.

Children's Literature Round tables of Canada Information Book Award winner Canadian Library Association Honour Book The lines of the celebrated poem are interwoven with fascinating information about the First World War, details of daily life in the trenches, accounts of McCrae's experience in his field hospital, and the circumstances that led to the writing of "In Flanders Fields."

"[This book offers] a history of Arlington National Cemetery, the property George Washington Curtis once envisioned as a shrine to his grandfather, George Washington. Later the property of Robert E. Lee, the site was seized by the federal government during the Civil War as a military headquarters for the Union Army. Then in 1864 land was used for the burial of Union Army dead. From a virtual potters field, Arlington stands today as perhaps the best known of our national cemeteries. Bigler, who served as a historian at Arlington, includes a chronicle of events from the sinking of the Maine to the Challenger disaster and describes their relationship with Arlington. He offers an insider's view of the interments of John and Robert Kennedy and provides background on other notables buried at Arlington. Also given are details about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers and Bigler's own experience with the interment of the Vietnam Unknown. Peters's interesting account provides, along with the history, over 100 biographies and anecdotes of people buried at Arlington. This eclectic list includes Constance Bennett, Dashiell Hammett, and Medgar Evers, along with a number of military notables. He describes major monuments and memorials and provides a large foldout map." George F. Scheck, Naval War Coll. Lib., Newport, R.I.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

On October 25, 2010, Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta became the first living person since the Vietnam War to receive the United States' highest military decoration, and both he and Sergeant Leroy Petry (the second inductee) rightly take their place in the pages of this third edition of Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty. The book includes 144 contemporary portraits of recipients by award-winning photographer Nick Del Calzo and profiles by National Book Award nominee Peter Collier. First published on Veterans Day 2003, this New York Times bestseller has now been updated and augmented to include new essays plus: * Letters from all living presidents * A foreword by Brian Williams * Profiles of Sergeant Giunta and Sergeant Petry There are also essays by Tom Brokaw, Senator John McCain, and Victor Davis Hanson, and a multimedia DVD with historic footage and recipients' first-person reflections. The Medal of Honor recipients in the book fought in conflicts from World War II to Afghanistan, serving in every branch of the armed services.

The Pattons is an exceptional portrait of the famous military family, eloquently written by the grandson of its most illustrious member, George S. Patton. Washington Post critic Jonathan Yardley called it'one of the best books of the year.'?

An outstanding new military history of the first half of World War II, featuring a rich array of images, exclusive graphics, superb new maps, and expert analysis commissioned by the United States Military Academy to teach the art of war to West Point cadets. Since 1836, United States Military Academy texts have been the gold standard for teaching military history and the operational art of war. Now the USMA has developed a new military history series for the public featuring the story of World War II in two volumes, of which this is the first. The West Point History of World War II combines the expertise of preeminent historians with hundreds of maps and images, many created for this volume or selected from Army collections. The first volume offers a balanced narrative analyzing the rising tide of Axis conquest from 1939 to mid-1942, ranging from battlefield decisions to operational and strategic plans, all set in their proper political context. The closing chapter provides a thematic treatment of the mobilization of the warring nations' economies and home fronts for the conduct of total war. The West Point History of World War II has been tested, checked, and polished by West Point cadets, faculty, and graduates to make this the best military history of its kind.

Finalist for the Silver Birch Award Winner of the 2002 Information Book Award When World War I began in 1914, no one knew that millions of young people would die in the agonizing years ahead. No one imagined the effect it would have on family life, or that whole villages would disappear, or that entire nations would be changed forever. They believed their sons and daughters, mothers and fathers would be home by Christmas. They were tragically mistaken. With photos, memorabilia, and anecdotes, Linda Granfield brings us face-to-face with people from all walks of life who risked everything for their country. These painstakingly-gathered bits and pieces are remnants of conflict on a scale never before witnessed. Hastily-penned letters, notes written in code, and prayers for deliverance form an eloquent portrait of humanity, and a startling comment on the devastation of war.

"The first book to explore the wide-ranging impacts of women's experiences in the military and as veterans, Women Veterans reveals a shocking pattern of discrimination and neglect by our government. Though forgotten heroines, these women had a profound effect upon American society and history. Willenz interprets how women's service influenced the social and economic changes that shaped our modern world."This remarkable book . . . illustrates that without even knowing it, many were pioneers in redefining women's roles in contemporary society."

2014 marks the centennial of the start of World War I -- DK will mark the occasion with the publication of World War I: The Definitive Visual Guide, a vividly illustrated, in-depth account of the Great War. Written by historian R. G. Grant, and created by DK's award-winning editorial and design team, World War I charts the developments of the war from a global perspective. Using illustrated timelines, detailed maps, and personal accounts, readers will see the oft-studied war in a new light. Key episodes are set clearly in the wider context of the conflict, in-depth profiles look at the key generals and political leaders, and full-color photo galleries showcase the weapons, inventions, and new technologies that altered the course of history. A vivid portrait of the confrontation on land, sea, and sky, World War I: The Definitive Visual Guide offers readers a bold and thoughtful new look at this complex and explosive moment in history.