Veterans Day Reading List

 

Here are some recent books added to the collections of the library that honor military veterans, both past and present, for their service. Jacket images link to our catalog where you can place holds on each title.

Walk in My Combat Boots

By James Patterson and Matt Eversmann, First Sergeant, US Army (Ret.)

Prolific author James Patterson “shares firsthand wartime accounts describing the courageous battlefield sacrifices of men and women from every branch and operational specialty of the U.S. military, from the Vietnam War through the present.”

Soldier Girls: The Battles of Three Women at Home and at War

By Helen Thorpe

“From an award-winning, “meticulously observant” (The New Yorker), and “masterful” (Booklist) writer comes a groundbreaking account of three women deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, and how their military service affected their friendship, their personal lives, and their families.”

Second Chances: A Marine, His Dog, and Finding Redemption

By Craig Grossi

Tells how former US Marine Craig Grossi and his dog Fred, who was a stray Craig rescued in Afganistan, work with prison inmates (many of them veterans) in Maine who raise and train puppies to become service dogs.

Every Day Is a Gift: A Memoir

By Tammy Duckworth

“The Iraq War veteran traces her impoverished childhood, her decision to join the Army, the months spent recovering from the RPG attack that shot down her helicopter and nearly took her life, and her subsequent mission of serving in elected office.”

For Love of Country: What Our Veterans Can Teach Us About Citizenship, Heroism, and Sacrifice

By Howard Schultz and Rajiv Chandrasekaren

“A celebration of the extraordinary courage, dedication, and sacrifice of this generation of American veterans on the battlefield and their equally valuable contributions on the home front.”

100 Days in Vietnam: A Memoir of Love, War, and Survival

By Lt. Col. Joseph F. Tallon, US Army (Ret.) with Matthew A. Tallon

“Painstakingly recreated from wartime letters and remembrances and contextualized by contemporary news accounts, 100 Days in Vietnam is a collaboration between Joe and his son Matt-also an Army veteran. Here we experience the war through the emotions of the man who survived it: the drudgery and monotony of airfield life, the heartache of a newlywed missing his wife, the terror of combat missions, the agony of injury and rehabilitation, and the bittersweet relief from the completion of his final mission to bring recognition to his fallen comrade.”

The Other Veterans of World War II: Stories From Behind the Front Lines

By Rona Simmons

Often World War II memoirs focus on the combat soldier. This book brings “long-overdue appreciation for the men and women whose everyday tasks, unexpected acts of sacrifice, and faith and humor contributed mightily to the ultimate outcome of World War II.”

Fallen Tigers: The Fate of America’s Missing Airmen in China During World War II

By Daniel Jackson

Tells the story of the American Volunteer Group – better known as “Flying Tigers’, in World War II. “Fallen Tigers is an incredible story of survival that insightfully illuminates the relationship between missing aircrew and their Chinese allies who were willing to save their lives at any cost”

Every Man a Hero: A Memoir of D-Day, The First Wave at Omaha Beach, and a World at War

By Ray Lambert

“Ray Lambert delivers one of the most remarkable memoirs, a tour-de-force of remembrance evoking his role as a decorated World War II medic who risked his life to save the heroes of D-Day.”

A Coast Guardsman’s History of the U.S. Coast Guard

By C. Douglas Kroll

Often forgotten, this books recounts stories of men and women who have served in America’s smallest armed force.

The Hello Girls: America’s First Women Soldiers

By Elizabeth Cobbs

Tells the story of “how America’s first women soldiers helped win World War I, earned the vote, and fought the U.S. Army” when they were denied veterans’ benefits.

The Unknowns: The Untold Story of America’s Unknown Soldier and WWI’s Most Decorated Heroes Who Brought Him Home

By Patrick K. O’Donnell

“The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery was constructed in 1921 to hold one of the thousands of unidentified American soldiers lost in World War I. The Tomb now also contains unknowns from World War II and the Korean and Vietnam Wars. When the first Unknown Soldier was laid to rest in Arlington, General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force in WWI, selected eight of America’s most decorated, battle-hardened veterans to serve as Body Bearers. O’Donnell gives voice to all who have served, transporting readers into the midst of dramatic battles during 1917-1918 that ultimately decided the Great War.”

Deadly Aim: The Civil War Story of Michigan’s Anishinaabe Sharpshooters

By Sally M. Walker

Tells the story of Native Americans who fought in the Union Army during the Civil War.

A Thousand May Fall: Life, Death, and Survival in the Union Army

By Brian Matthew Jordan

From a Pulitzer Prize finalist author Jordan, A Thousand May Fall is a history of the Civil War told from the view of one regiment, the 107th Ohio. Primarily made up of immigrants, they served in some of the war’s major battles including Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.