Sergeant Beasley: Memoirs of a WWII P.O.W. is a compilation of the memories of Sergeant Charles Palmer Beasley. It chronicles his life from youth in the hills of Crawford County, Indiana to the Civilian Conservation Corps to the Army Air Corps and as a prisoner of war at the Keifheide (Stalag Luft IV) P.O.W. camp in Germany. Sergeant Beasley spent time at Fort Knox, Esler Field and Fort Dix before being sent overseas to Membry Airfield in Berkshire, England. After training at Eastbourne in...

FOR A FIGHTER PILOT IN THE MIGHTY EIGHTH, DEATH WAS ALWAYS A HEARTBEAT AWAY.When the skies of Europe blazed with the fiercest air battles in history, fighter pilots like Norman “Bud” Fortier were in the thick of it, flying four hundred miles an hour at thirty thousand feet, dodging flak and dueling with Nazi aces. In their role as “escorts” to Flying Fortresses and Liberators, the fighter squadrons’ ability to blast enemy aircraft from the sky was key to the succes...

Soon after we landed it became apparent that there was more than enough artillery here, that the enemy were excellent shots, and that their ammo supply seemed to be endless.With the Japanese deeply entrenched and determined to die rather than surrender, Robert Dick and his fellow soldiers quickly realized that theirs would be a war fought inch by bloody inch–and that their Sherman tanks would serve front and center. As driver, Dick had to maneuver his five-man crew in and out of da...

TO HELL AND BACKFor the U.S., Guadalcanal was a bloody seven-month struggle under brutal conditions against crack Japanese troops deeply entrenched and determined to fight to the death. For Charles Walker, this horrific jungle battle–one that claimed the lives of 1,600 Americans and more than 23,000 Japanese–was just the beginning. On the eve of battle, 2nd Lt. Walker was ordered back to the States for medical reasons. But there was a war to be won, and he had no intention of missi...

As a young enlisted man, Randy Kington served on the front line with some of the first Marine combat units in Vietnam in 1965 and 1966. Kington describes his transformation from boy to man and the training that allowed him to survive nine months of some of the fiercest fighting of the Vietnam War. The good times of comradeship and of helping the underprivileged are contrasted with the life and death experiences that involved three major battles, countless ambushes, and search and destroy m...

D-Day, June 6, 1944: it was the biggest amphibious operation in history. German Field Marshal Rommel, declared, "the enemy must be annihilated before he reaches our main battlefield," the Allied Forces undertook a massive invasion of the German-occupied coast of Normandy, France. First, there was the aerial onslaught by British and American airborne divisions, then the landing of the American, British, and Canadian seaborne troops. Over 150,000 Allied troops took the fight to the enemy, th...

“No heroes, everyone did their part, and everyone was scared to death.”They are the words of soldier Mark W. Harms in 1968, summing up his combat experience during the Vietnam War. His stunning letter home is just one of hundreds featured in this unforgettable collection, Letters from Vietnam. In these affecting pages are the unadorned voices of men and women who fought–and, in some cases, fell–in America’s most controversial war. They bring new i...

The Hawker Typhoon despite numerous technical flaws, was the finest ground support aircraft in Europe during World War II. At the same time the stories of the brave men who flew this difficult aircraft remain untold and unacknowledged. From his enlistment in Toronto through the final flights over Germany, this is the memoir of Jack Hilton, an RCAF fighter pilot, who successfully flew this challenging aircraft.

American civilians who were on the home front during World War II would each have different stories to tell. With most, almost certainly their stories would not be as dramatic as the stories of many of those who lived in the battle zones of Europe and the Far East. Despite the difference, there would be many moving stories to tell of Americans who lost loved ones or received them home wounded or tarnished in some way by the war. Our parents welcomed us home untarnished, but changed by our ...

Voices from the Korean War presents a collection of first-person accounts of those who served in the Korean War.The Korean War is often dubbed the Forgotten War, although more than 36,000 soldiers died in this three-year conflict. In Voices from the Korean War, author Douglas Rice makes certain the men who served are not forgotten as he shares first-person accounts from seventy-nine soldiers who fought in the war from June of 1950 through July of 1953.

"Time For Me to Fly" is a dramatization of actual events that occurred leading up to the 17th and final mission of the B-17 Bomber "The Rusty Nail" and its crew on July 29th 1944. The story is presented and told as to how it may have looked through the eyes of SSgt Charles Curtis Campbell. It includes dates,locations and events which actually happened during WWII.

"Astonishing Luck" is the oral biography of F/L Howard Leonard Wainman, D.F.C. who flew Beaufighters with the anti-shipping Coastal Command R.C.A.F. 404 "Buffalo" Squadron. The book includes numerous unique photographs, many his actual 'strike' photographs, taken during his 13 'strikes' against enemy shipping between D-Day, June 6, 1944 and the last strike he recorded in his log January 9, 1945. Presented with a great deal of humour through his personal quotes, yet remaining serious in nature...