No city is as proud of its military heritage as San Diego, known as "Navy Town, USA." Congress also has designated San Diego as "the Birthplace of Naval Aviation." However, its community fabric reflects a more diverse and tightly woven relationship with our nation's defense. Over the past century, the city has invented and then reinvented itself in response to shifting world affairs and national priorities. It began with a successful campaign to become a West Coast Navy base in the early 1...

"As the captain of the USS Midway I was never more proud of the young men, mostly teenagers, under my command. USS Midway: America's Shield tells their story, straight from the flight deck. It's real American history everyone should know."—;Rear Adm. Riley Mixson, U.S. Navy (ret.), former captain, USS Midway" USS Midway: America's Shield carries the reader a...

From the hellish skies over Europe to the unforgiving terrain of the Himalayas, this is the first complete history of the C-47 aircrew who helped turn the tide of war.One of the most perilous combat roles of World War II was that of the Allied aircrews who flew unarmed transport planes into enemy territory, often just hundreds of feet above the battlefield. Tasked with delivering paratroopers and towing combat gliders packed with troops and equipment, the crews bra...

The first major history of the American glider pilots, the forgotten heroes of World War II, by a New York Times bestselling author. A story of no guns, no engines and no second chances.This book distills war down to individual young men climbing into defenseless gliders made of plywood, ready to trust the towing aircraft that would pull them into enemy territory by a cable wrapped with telephone wire. Based on their after-action reports, journals, oral hi...

Jonathan Letterman was an outpost medical officer serving in Indian country in the years before the Civil War, responsible for the care of just hundreds of men. But when he was appointed the chief medical officer for the Army of the Potomac, he revolutionized combat medicine over the course of four major battles—Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg—that produced unprecedented numbers of casualties. He made battlefield survival possible by creating the first organized ...

The history of medicine in the United States military.Author, journalist, and USS Midway Museum spokesman Scott McGaugh reveals the riveting stories of the men and women who save lives on the front lines in Battlefield Angels, the first book about battlefield medicine in the US military.Told from the point of view of the unsung heroes who slide into bomb craters and climb into blazing ships, this unique look at medicine in the trenches traces the history of...

On October 24, 1944, more than two hundred American soldiers realized they were surrounded by German infantry deep in the mountain forest of eastern France. As their dwindling food, ammunition, and medical supplies ran out, the American commanding officer turned to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team to achieve what other units had failed to do.Honor Before Glory is the story of the 442nd, a segregated unit of Japanese American citizens, commanded by white officers, that fina...

The gritty and inspiring story of the Japanese American “Go for Broke” regiment that rescued—against all odds—a trapped American battalion, and went on to become the most decorated unit of its size in World War IIOn October 24, 1944, more than two hundred American soldiers were surrounded by German infantry deep in the Vosges Mountains of eastern France. When their food, ammunition, and medical supplies ran out, the area’s Army headquarters turned to the 442nd Regi...

Bloomsbury presents Into the Firestorm by Scott McGaugh, read by Jeff HardingFrom the hellish skies over Europe to the unforgiving terrain of the Himalayas, this is the first complete history of the C-47 aircrew who helped turn the tide of war.One of the most perilous combat roles of World War II was that of the Allied aircrews who flew unarmed transport planes into enemy territory, often just hundreds of feet above the battlefield. Tasked with del...

Bloomsbury presents Brotherhood of the Flying Coffin by Scott McGaugh, read by Geoff Sugiyama.The first major history of the American glider pilots, the forgotten heroes of World War II, by a New York Times bestselling author. A story of no guns, no engines and no second chances.This book distills war down to individual young men climbing into defenseless gliders made of plywood, ready to trust the towing aircraft that would pull them into enemy territory by a cable wrapped...

When the Continental Congress decided to declare independence from the British empire in 1776, ten percent of the population of their fledgling country were from Ireland. By 1790, close to 500,000 Irish citizens had immigrated to America. They were was very active in the American Revolution, both on the battlefields and off, and yet their stories are not well known. The important contributions of the Irish on military, political, and economic levels have been long overlooked and ignored by...

Living as a carpenter who had spent time working in a watch factory, Georg Elser was just an ordinary member of society living in Munich. That is, however, until he took it upon himself to attempt to assassinate the Führer, Adolph Hitler. Being a common man who opposed the Nazi regime, Elser took the skills from his craft and worked to assemble his own bomb detonator. Every night, he snuck out to the Munich Beer Hall, where he worked on assembling the bomb that he planned to use to kill Hi...