The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force that can be awarded to personnel in the United States' Armed Forces.From the early fighting in the Philippines through the D-Day landings in Northwest Europe to the final assaults in the Pacific, this book looks at the brave US soldiers and airmen who were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions in the face of danger.It tells the exciting combat stories of such famous fi...

This book takes a close look at the "Dolphins" of the US Navy submarine force, it covers recruitment, training, service conditions and combat experiences, and discusses the effects of advances in torpedo technology on crew roles. The Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 battered the surface fleet, but the submarine force escaped unharmed. It was up to the "Silent Service" to spearhead the naval war against Japan, cutting her supply routes and neutralizing her naval thr...

The US naval aviator of World War II played a pivotal part in the winning of the war. From the warm waters of the Pacific to the icy conditions of the Bering Sea (including the battle of Midway), the Naval aviator was on hand to fight the enemy in any and all conditions. Between 1940 and 1942 the training of the naval aviator lasted eleven months, divided into five separate and distinct phases. From phase one, known as the Elimination or "E" base for short, through to final assignment to a...

Thanks to the PBY's daring pilots and their effective tactics, the slow outdated Catalina patrol bombers became the scourge of Japanese shipping in the South Pacific during World War II. Painted black and hunting at night, the Black Cats, as they were called, are credited with sinking or disabling hundreds of thousands of tons of cargo vessels, troop transports, and warships. Curiously their exploits were known to few outside the naval aviation community until the publication of this book ...

A thorough and compelling investigation of the Central Pacific campaign in World War II that saw the US Navy progress from the edge of disaster to the brink of victory, from Guadalcanal to the recapture of the Philippines.On 27 October 1942, four 'Long Lance' torpedoes fired by the Japanese destroyers Makigumo and Akigumo exploded in the hull of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8). Minutes later, the ship that had launched the Doolitte...

The best way for today's sailors to learn about a battle is from those who fought it. The Battle of Midway, commemorated annually in the U.S. Navy, warrants close attention. This Naval Institute guide includes some of the most vibrant and informed accounts by individuals who fought on both sides of the June 1942 battle. The anthology pulls together memoirs, articles, excerpts from other Naval Institute books, and relevant government documents to help readers understand what happened and ex...

“An important contribution to the history of World War II . . . I have never before been able to learn so much about maintenance methods of an armored division, with precise details that underline the importance of the work, along with descriptions of how the job was done.”—Russell F. Weigley, author of Eisenhower’s Lieutenants“Cooper saw more of the war than most junior officers, and he writes about it better than almost anyone. . . . His stories are vivi...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the acclaimed author of The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors comes a “vivid and engaging” (The Wall Street Journal) account of the deadliest, most pivotal naval campaign of the Pacific war: Guadalcanal.“A literary tour de force that is destined to become one of the . . . definitive works about the battle for Guadalcanal.”—San Antonio Express-NewsThe Battle of Guadalcanal ...

“I was always happy to see first light.By first light it was over . . . for a while.”–from Down SouthThere were a lot of ways to get killed in Vietnam. You could get “zapped,” “dinged,” “burned,” “popped,” “smoked,” or “wasted.” Marine 2nd Lt. William H. Hardwick was familiar with all of them because, unlike most USMC artillery officers–who waged their war from bunkers inside protected compounds–Hardwick as a forward observer fought ...

“There’s no margin for mistakes in submarines. You’re either alive or dead.”–Richard O’KaneHailed as the ace of aces, captain Richard O’Kane, winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor for his consummate skill and heroism as a submarine skipper, sank more enemy ships and saved more downed fliers than anyone else.Now Pulitzer Prize—winning author William Tuohy captures all the danger, the terror, and the pulse-pounding action of undersea combat as he chronicles O’Kane...

In The Finishing School, former Navy SEAL Dick Couch, author of the acclaimed Warrior Elite, follows SEALs on the ground and in the water as they undergo SEAL Tactical Training.In America’s new war, the first guns in the fight are special operations forces, including the Navy SEALs, specially trained warriors who operate with precision, swiftness, and lethal force. In the constantly shifting war on terror, SEAL units—small in number, flexible, ste...

This vivid history chronicles the decisive US naval campaign that secured the Japanese island of Tinian—the site that would launch the end of WWII.In July 1944, the United States Navy and Marine Corps, Army, and Air Corps descended on the Pacific island of Saipan, just three miles away from the Japanese stronghold on the island of Tinian. There had been 20,000 Japanese troops on Saipan before the US unleashed a horrific all-arms campaign. The sudden silence indicat...