Group 31-60

Up Here...A 10th Mountain Soldier's Letters Home 1943-1945 by David T. Hoople

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MWSA Review
In Up Here... A 10th Mountain Soldier's Letters Home 1943-1945, author David Hoople has put together a fitting tribute to his father, Theodore "Ted" Hoople (1924-1976). After a short introduction, which provides useful scene-setting information, the book includes a series of personal letters describing Ted Hoople's military service during World War II. Most of the letters were written by the author's father, but the book also includes correspondence by other family members reacting to Ted's stint in the Army's 10th Mountain Division. 

The letters begin in March of 1943, as Ted goes through rigorous military training in various stateside locations. The family correspondence continues as Ted deploys to the European theater in January of 1945. Ted sees action in the Apennine mountains of Italy, where he is wounded in April of that year. Ted's letters continue during his service in northern Italy, Yugoslavia, and Austria after the Germans surrendered in May of 1945. 

Up Here is a fine compilation of letters depicting the service of a member of America's "greatest generation," and serves as a wonderful addition to the Hoople family's history.

Review by John Cathcart (April 2021)

 

Author's Synopsis
These letters and the documented events that surround them, serve as an integral part of the history of the 10th Mountain Division during World War II, as seen through the eyes of patriotic nineteen year old volunteer. They describe the daily life from the grueling training in the mountains of Colorado, through the intense combat in Italy. The story emerges as a coming of age chronicle and celebrates the courage and patriotism that was the common fiber of "The Greatest Generation".

ISBN/ASIN: 9 780578 798639

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 242


Impaired by Michael Lepore

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MWSA Review
Impaired: The Continuing Crisis for Vietnam Veterans by Michael Lepore is a heartfelt and moving tribute to those who served during that war. Lepore’s latest installment of poetry books focusing on Vietnam includes an additional theme: the recognition of mortality that comes with old age.

Most combat veterans are forced to come to grips with their mortality as young men and women. After coming face to face with death repeatedly during that war, Vietnam veterans are now dealing with another, even more intractable foe: the Old Man’s Grim Reaper. As Lepore deftly points out in several of his poems, these vets are getting old and facing the end of their lives—often without much support, and frequently while also fighting the ghosts of that now long-past, and still unpopular conflict.

Review by John Cathcart (May 2021)
 

Author's Synopsis
Poems in this collection provide glimpses into the hearts and minds of Vietnam War combat veterans, men who were once vital and strong facing the reality of age and approaching death. Some of the veterans in these poems are at war with themselves, some return to the country where their youth was lost and some fear for the future. As in real life, there are seldom happy endings to these stories. They are not anti-war poems or pro-war poems; they just tell it the way it was and the way it is.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-943826-77-3

Book Format(s): Soft cover

Review Genre: Poetry—Poetry Book

Number of Pages: 50


20 Year Letter: An Afghanistan Chronicle by Benjamin Warner

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MWSA Review
In his memoir, 20-Year Letter, Ben Warner bares his soul as a young, patriotic reserve officer eager to serve his country.  He jumps at the chance for an assignment at Fort Lewis hoping to be deployed to fight in the War on Terror. Slapped in the face with government bureaucracy, Ben’s exuberant spirit is almost entirely crushed by superiors and peers treating Ben and his reservists as if they were second class soldiers with no strategic skills. When a year later, they have the opportunity to deploy to Afghanistan, they beg for the chance to get out of a bad state-side station and finally prove they’re worth every bit as much as regular army soldiers.

Mr. Warner delivers a compelling memoir of his no-nonsense, 2002 Army deployment in 20-Year Letter: An Afghanistan Chronicle. Beginning with peering out of the rear cargo door of the plane into the pitch-black night, young Ben realizes his first challenge in Afghanistan is to lead his team off the airplane across an airfield riddled with land mines.

Warner’s description of people and events, feelings and consequences endured while in Afghanistan illustrate how a soldier matures over a deployment with each terrifying, stressful event. Relationships are forged during military service on a different plane than in civilian life that can only be explained by what happens in a war zone and on a battlefield.

Despite grammatical and punctuation errors, this story is told in a conversational manner that makes you feel as if the author is telling his story directly to you. He gives us all a glimpse into America’s longest war, the absurdity of governmental red-tape, and the life of a citizen soldier.

Review by Nancy Panko (May 2021)

 

Author's Synopsis
A few short months removed from the events of 9/11, LT Warner is a young reserve officer with a burning desire to serve. Presented with the opportunity to do so in the new Global War on Terror, he jumps into his new assignment full blast, oozing with patriotism, a lot of cockiness, and not much of a plan. But soon enough he finds that his new normal will be clouded with uncertainty. New soldiers, new leadership, and a new geographic location are just the tip of the iceberg.

As the rear cargo door of the plane lowers to reveal a pitch-black Afghanistan night, the young leader encounters his first real challenge: simply leading the team off the airplane—over an airfield riddled with landmines. From there, 20-Year Letter follows LT Warner throughout the entire undertaking, chronicling the bad, the terrifying, the stressful, and even a little bit of the good. His tale is a comprehensive perspective of everything that isn’t glamorous about war.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1646633180, 978-1646633203

Book Format(s): Hard cover, Soft cover, Kindle, ePub/iBook

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 186

Devil's Den by David Brown

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MWSA Review
Devil’s Den: Marines War in Lebanon 1983 tells the story of the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines (1/8) sent on a peacekeeping mission in Beirut that turned into a war zone during their deployment. Author Lt. Col. David Brown, USMC (Ret.) does an excellent job setting the scene for readers and relaying the story through the lens of three enlisted Marines, a Navy corpsman, and other key figures who were part of the 1/8. Brown portrays the extraordinary courage of those on the ground in the middle of a confusing, difficult, dangerous, and deadly time.

The author excelled at character development, and particularly for his portrayal of Danny Joy. Readers will turn pages wondering what this young hero will do next and when he will ever stop proving he is an extraordinary human being. Many of the images provided by the men who were there, including Joy, provide an accurate glimpse into how the men lived in Beirut. The maps, historical photos, and graphics showed an intense level of research which the reader learns from placing the story in greater context.

Devil’s Den is an important work of literature capturing a period of time which some Americans may not know about or may have forgotten. This is a story that needed to be told, and the author did that well. This book is highly recommended for those who appreciate military history and the stories of the humans who bravely sacrificed for their country under unusual circumstances.

MWSA Review by Valerie Ormond (May 2021)
 

Author's Synopsis
Devil’s Den is a gripping story about a group of young, high-spirited, cocky, and sometimes rebellious US Marines and sailors sent by a reluctant commander in chief to the Middle East to assume a mission they hadn’t prepared for and didn’t understand.

Lebanon’s civil war was in its eighth year in May 1983 when they landed in Beirut as peacekeepers to join a multinational force. There, they faced brazened Muslim leaders, militia, soldiers, and terrorists who took full advantage of these combatants constrained by overly restrictive rules of engagement. Who were these men? Where did they come from? Why should they be concerned about their adventure to Beirut? Devil’s Den will take you to the gates of Hell with its explosive inferno. Neither the men who survived nor the reader will ever be the same.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-9845-8861-6, 978-1-9845-8860-9, 978-1-9845-8859-3

Book Format(s): Soft cover

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 332

The Midshipmen's Story by Thomas F. McCaffery

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MWSA Review
Thomas F. McCaffery, a career merchant mariner, weaves a tale of unlikely survival, individual courage, bureaucratic concerns, and inspired leadership of the crew of the USS Lakatoi off the coast of New Caledonia in 1942. The Midshipmen's Tale is a quick read, owing to the strength of the main character, LCDR James I. MacPherson, and the nuance with which McCaffery writes about command at sea. The largely unheralded role the merchant marine played in Allied victory is brought to life in McCaffery's first fictional work. Like his previous non-fiction book, Braving the Wartime Seas, the detailed research and historical accuracy present in The Midshipmen's Tale are a tribute to McCaffery's skill as a researcher and ability to find overlooked stories, making them accessible for a wider audience.

Review by Timothy Heck (April 2021)

 

Author's Synopsis
In 1842 Midshipman Phillip Spencer, USN, son of the Secretary of War, was hung for inciting the crew of USS Somers to mutiny. Since then U.S. Navy midshipmen have not been crew members of any commissioned U.S. Navy ship at any time, but especially in combat. That is, until 1941, when the needs of the oncoming war required a small change in the U.S. Navy's century-old policy. That summer, fifty students at what would become the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, known as Cadet/Midshipmen, were assigned as midshipmen to U.S. Navy amphibious transports. The assignment, as with all midshipmen in history, was originally for training. However, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor changed everything. On August 7, 1942 six of these midshipmen were on duty at Guadalcanal for America’s first amphibious offensive against the Japanese. Two of them, Edward S. Davis and Robert H. Dudley, were ordered to abandon their ship, USS George F. Elliott, after a Japanese bomber crashed into it, starting an uncontrollable fire. In the aftermath of the Navy’s defeat at Savo Island that night, the transports, and their midshipmen, were forced to retreat to safer waters, leaving the Marines with just half of their supplies and equipment to carry on the fight. But, the Marines couldn’t just be abandoned to their fate. Unable to return to Guadalcanal in force, covert plans were hurriedly improvised by the Navy to resupply them. One of these plans was to slip a former inter-island freighter, M/V Lakatoi, past the watchful Japanese into Guadalcanal. Commissioned USS Lakatoi, the ship and its volunteer Navy crew, including Midshipmen Edward Davis and Robert Dudley, set sail on a desperate, impossible mission from which none of its crew believed they would return. In summing up their remarkable story, Vice Admiral William F. Halsey wrote, “The Commanding Officer and members of the crew of the U. S. S. LAKATOI displayed fortitude and heroism in keeping with the best traditions of the service.”

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-7363326-2-7,978-1-7363326-0-3,978-1-7363326-1-0

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 254


My Pilot: A Story of War, Love and ALS by Sarajane Giere

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MWSA Review
Can you imagine you are due to have your first baby the week your husband leaves to fly F4 Phantom jets in Vietnam and your mother suddenly passes away? That is a smidgeon of the challenges faced by the Giere's fifty-three year life journey together. Author Sarajane Giere provides a marvelous chronological reflection of life with her pilot-husband. From the beautiful get-go to the unfortunate end, caused by a fatal degenerative neurological disease, these two people show how to hold on tightly together and never let go.

This couple falls in love early and stays there. Young Bernie Giere graduates ROTC and gets the lucky draw to become an Air Force pilot. In short order, he is assigned to fly the brand new F4 Phantom jets out of the factory. Deployment soon follows to fight in these incredible jets in Vietnam. He bails out twice and completes 214 missions. Later Bernie pilots for commercial carriers Pan Am and Delta and is directly involved with the Air National Guard. There is so much more told as Bernie completes life with his wife and two children while flying eleven airplanes in forty-six years. Author Sarajane captures how they did it right, despite seemingly insurmountable challenges. They shared a deep love that I found admirable.

The Gieres faced amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a rare disease, in heroic fashion. Readers will appreciate their insightful battle and learn practical strategies to cope with and manage this terminal condition. As a career therapist, I have followed patients with ALS. Without a doubt, the progressive muscular paralysis faced is catastrophic. It creeps away with neuromuscular functions, including swallowing and breathing. I tip my hat to Bernie and Sarajane with the way they kept love alive, despite this tragic disease.

This book is recommended for anyone who appreciates leaders in life through service to country and beyond. You will find that love abounds and that is most inspiring.

Review by Hodge Wood (April 2021)

Author's Synopsis
My Pilot offers a uniquely intimate glimpse into the life of a military wife as she tells the story of her fighter pilot husband, Bernie, a Vietnam veteran who flew 214 combat missions in the Vietnam War and served twenty-five years in the Air National Guard's world-class 106th Rescue Wing. With searing and explicit honesty she recalls the terror of the Vietnam years and the lifetime sacrifices that affected her pilot's life and death. In the telling, she honors her husband, their family, and their extended military family, the community she holds dear.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-944635-20-0, 978-1-944635-21-7, B08LMG92DS

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 226


Young Hickory by Steven Underwood

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MWSA Review
Young Hickory: A WWII Novel by Steven F. Underwood follows the deployment of James Farrell from 1944 to 1945 through attachments to different platoons in the 120th Regiment of the 30th Division in Europe. The book is populated by many and varied characters, some of them fictional and some of them based in reality. The author has undertaken an enormous amount of research to frame a fictitious individual’s experience of World War II from the D-Day Normandy invasion through the Battle of the Bulge and beyond. Many footnotes are included in this work of fiction to differentiate which characters are real people.

Tall and lanky, Jim is tapped to become a runner, miraculously finding his way through enemy lines to deliver information from the front lines—where his company is surrounded on Mortain’s Hill 314—to headquarters and back again. From there we follow him through France, Belgium, and Germany to Magdeburg, short of Berlin. He is wounded several times and finds love in Liege, Belgium, before meeting —while recuperating from significant wounds in a hospital in Cologne—the woman he will eventually marry.

Readers will want to print out the list of characters in the beginning of the book, so as to keep them all straight. A map is also a helpful aid in understanding what was happening and where it was happening.

Review by Betsy Beard (May 2021)

 

Author's Synopsis
The 75th anniversary of the ending of World War II inspired me to write a novel centered on the exploits of a remarkable National Guard division, the 30th, nicknamed ‘Old Hickory.’

Jim Farrell joins the 30th Infantry Division in July, 1944. Injured in a D-Day practice exercise with the 29th Division, he is a replacement in the Old Hickory Division after an accidental bombing attack severely damages the 120th Regiment. It takes time for Jim to assimilate into his new unit, but his observational and tracking skills soon earn him praise. His efforts help Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 120th survive the battle of Mortain.

Wounded in action, Jim goes to Liege for medical attention. There, he meets a young Belgian woman named Lille. He falls madly in love with her. She returns his affection. The tall, handsome Virginian reminds her of Gary Cooper.

He rejoins the 120th where his abilities lead to his addition to the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon of the regiment. He becomes friends with Dave Harris, a native of Greensboro who has visited Jim’s hometown of Alta Vista.

Jim, Dave, and his entire squad distinguish themselves at the battle of Aachen and Jim gains a promotion. He is given a pass to Paris, but he goes to Liege instead. He and Lille consummate their love on a hill overlooking the Meuse River. Jim promises to return. However, his next visit is delayed by the Battle of the Bulge. Once again, Jim and his platoon gain accolades for rescuing survivors of the Malmedy massacre. He is promoted to sergeant and given command of the platoon when his commanding officer is severely wounded.

The Battle of the Bulge has made it difficult for the division to receive mail. As the battle wanes, Jim’s unit receive their delayed mail. He gets five letters from Lille, each promising her love to him. She writes that he has inspired her to go to Antwerp to study nursing. As Jim finishes that letter, another member of the squad reads out loud that an army newspaper reports a movie theater in Antwerp was hit by a V-2 rocket. The theater was playing a Gary Cooper film. Fearfully, Jim opens a letter from a friend of Lille’s. It informs him she was killed by the rocket.

Immediately after receiving the letter, the platoon is sent on a mission to rescue a Belgian family. They arrive at the family’s house in Faymonville, Belgium. It is occupied by a German soldier and the dead bodies of the entire family. Enraged, Jim reacts with murderous intent. His friend, Dave Harris, tries to stop him. Failing that, Dave works to salvage Jim’s psyche as the platoon moves on to the last battles of the war, the crossing of the Roer and Rhine rivers and battles in Germany. Dave constantly reminds Jim of his need to forgive the Germans and himself. Harris is wounded at the battle of Magdeburg. Jim becomes estranged from his unit. It is in the aftermath of a visit to Magdeburg Cathedral that Jim faces his final crisis.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-55571-982-1,

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 302

Dreams of Winter: A Forgotten Gods Tale #1 by Christian Warren Freed

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MWSA Review
Author Christian Warren Freed has given us an epic science fiction fantasy in his book Dreams of Winter, A Forgotten Gods Tale. Set in a world, a universe, and a time of its own, Freed has gathered together a fascinating group of characters. Mere mortals have to share this story with Blood Witches, sons of gods, strange creatures, and even a Dark Council. The tale Freed spins is a fascinating one that will keep you reading. This is a classic good versus evil story with the lines often blurred. The characters themselves question their purpose, and the outcome is never certain. As the book evolves, the reader can't help but wonder if there is a mystical hand drawing everyone toward a common conclusion. This is a complicated book, but one that true Sci Fi fans will enjoy.

Review by Bob Doerr (April 2021) 

Author's Synopsis
It is a troubled time, for the old gods are returning and they want the universe back…

Under the rigid guidance of the Conclave, the seven hundred known worlds carve out a new empire with the compassion and wisdom the gods once offered. But a terrible secret, known only to the most powerful, threatens to undo three millennia of progress. The gods are not dead at all. They merely sleep. And they are being hunted.

Senior Inquisitor Tolde Breed is sent to the planet Crimeat to investigate the escape of one of the deadliest beings in the history of the universe: Amongeratix, one of the fabled THREE, sons of the god-king. Tolde arrives on a world where heresy breeds insurrection and war is only a matter of time. Aided by Sister Abigail of the Order of Blood Witches, and a company of Prekhauten Guards, Tolde hurries to find Amongeratix and return him to Conclave custody before he can restart his reign of terror.

What he doesn’t know is that the Three are already operating on Crimeat.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-0-578-64585-8, 9781735700038, B0794D68MX

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle, ePub/iBook

Review Genre: Fiction—Horror/Fantasy/Sci Fi

Number of Pages: 382

Volunteer: A Vietnam War Odyssey by Bob Stockton

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MWSA Review
Bob Stockton fell back on his extensive career in the Navy to publish Volunteer: A Vietnam Odyssey. A compilation of his three previously published (and successful) novellas, the story follows a Navy sailor through his deployments during the Vietnam War. It is a work of fiction, but it is based on historical accounts and also the author's own experience.

The book has action, humor, and plenty of "liberty incidents" to make any vet reminisce fondly. I particularly liked the way the main character was very unassuming; he did some very important work, but to him he was just doing his job for his country, a sentiment to which many veterans can relate. It is an easy read that will spark many different memories for the intended audience.

Vietnam veterans, especially those from the Navy, will enjoy this book, as will any "tin can" sailor of the last fifty years or so. 

Review by Rob Ballister (May 2021)
 

Author's Synopsis
Eighteen-year old Zack Martin is determined to leave his Lubbock home where he has endured ridicule and scorn from his abusive father. His mother’s recent death has given Zack the push to join the Navy where he is certain that he will find adventure – and test his courage by volunteering to serve in ships that will be sent into harm’s way in the emerging Vietnam conflict.

Author Bob Stockton has revised and consolidated his three earlier Vietnam War novellas – Mediterranean Suicide, Friendly Fire and The Third Tour into “Volunteer,” a re-written and re-formatted hard-hitting, fast-paced novel that places the reader directly in the heart of the action.

ISBN/ASIN: 9781662901560, B089PT1C9N

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Literary Fiction

Number of Pages: 439

Liberian Gold by Patrick Sydor

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MWSA Review
Patrick Sydor paints a vivid picture of life in Liberia during a time of unrest in Liberian Gold. The CIA comes back into Nick’s life just as he seems to have put his life back together from a traumatic mission in the past. His physical wounds have healed but the mental and emotional scars are very real and just under the surface, ready to burst forth at the slightest provocation. He leaves the love of his life, Eliz, for an easy non-combat mission, or so he thinks. The money is good and he’ll be home in a couple of months. Neither Nick nor Eliz realizes that Nick will return with more physical and mental scars, a changed man.

The author introduces Abby, a seductive woman NGO aid worker, seemingly in place to distract Nick. He forgets the love of his life, Eliz, and succumbs to infidelity during a time when both their lives are threatened.

The author has written extensive scene descriptions, and it is hard to keep track of all the players: government and non-government. Each of the entities has similar motivations but different ways to achieve their ultimate goal. Liberian Gold is an interesting read if you like a history of a small West African government.

Review by Nancy Panko (April 2021)

Author's Synopsis
The CIA came calling just as Nick was feeling somewhat normal again. An easy, non-dangerous mission. It's good money. He agrees.

But, as he gets closer to the truth, his enemies multiply and the danger escalates. With Liberia in flames and friends' lives at stake, he must make the right decision.

ISBN/ASIN: 9798642756508

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Thriller

Number of Pages: 387

Heirloom (A Kate Tyler Novel) by Nancy Wakeley

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MWSA Review
How do you continue to live after you experience the perfect storm of job loss, relationship betrayal, and the death of your twin? Any one of those occurrences can lead to heartbreak and confusion, but if all three happen in close proximity, you must learn to adapt to your new circumstances—if you want to survive.

Kate, who always considered herself the weaker twin after their adoptive parents died, is truly alone now and feels ill-equipped to experience life without the support her sister always seemed to provide. Inheriting property she didn’t know her twin had recently purchased, Kate decides to honor her sister’s memory by at least looking at the house before selling it. She struggles to overcome the debilitating inertia of grief and makes her way to Eden Springs, a small town in North Carolina, only to discover that the house and land have fallen into complete disrepair.

Kate’s journey of personal growth begins as she entertains the notion that she might not be as weak as she had always assumed. She leans into her grief, accepts life as it is, and grows stronger, while still allowing others to come alongside to support her.

Beautiful descriptions and emotional scenes are interspersed with action scenes. Quirky characters are added for comic relief, while sinister individuals provide additional conflict to keep the plot moving swiftly to its conclusion.

I hope the author has more stories to tell. I look forward to her next book.

Review by Betsy Beard (March 2021) 

 

Author's Synopsis
Kate Tyler is already in a life crisis when she inherits Howard's Walk in Eden Springs, North Carolina, after the sudden death of her twin sister, Rebecca. The last thing she wants is to be tied down to an abandoned estate and its neglected once-famous gardens. She vows to sell it as quickly as possible.

But on her first visit to Howard's Walk, Kate finds a family heirloom, an embroidered tablecloth, that Rebecca has left behind. That connection, and the deepening sense of loss she is feeling, convince her to stay--at least for a little while. As Kate struggles alone in her grief, healing appears in the form of new friends and neighbors.

When secrets begin to surface within the old house, she questions the connection she feels with a mentally challenged young man from the farm next door. When she meets the owner of a local garden center, she begins to open her heart again to the possibility of love. When she learns that a powerful and vengeful man who was denied ownership of Howard's Walk in the past is determined to finally own it at any cost, Kate must decide what Howard's Walk means to her and whether she has the strength to battle for its survival as well as her own.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-61153-373-6, 978-1-61153-374-3

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 267

The Meat and Potatoes of Life: by Lisa Molinari

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MWSA Review
The Meat and Potatoes of Life is a memoir. And yes, it is written chronologically to cover the major periods of the author’s life. But this isn’t your typical somber and self-important memoir. The book also veers firmly and unapologetically into the humor “lane.” Move over, Erma Bombeck. Lisa Molinari is here to invite readers into her world as a military spouse, starting with marriage, and progressing through deployments, the birth of children, their conversion into teenagers and college students, and ending with empty nesting and retirement. Using an easy, breezy style, the author sucks the reader into a vortex of hilarity with her ability to find the ridiculous in the sublime. And this book isn’t just for military spouses. Civilian wives and mothers will relate to most of the vignettes, as well as better understanding the sacrifices our military families make for us.

Arranged in seasons and episodes, Molinari’s life unfolds for us in the manner of a sitcom, in many ways. I found particular enjoyment from the chapter titles, most of which were a play on words: Revival of the Fittest; Pomp and Unusual Circumstances; The Old Man and the Degree; Life (Hot) Flashing Before My Eyes; The Elephant in the Bedroom, to list a few.

Despite the humor, a thread of seriousness runs through the book, as we contemplate the extra burden military spouses labor under during deployments, unasked for moves across country or overseas, and the ever-present danger of the death of a loved one.

Review by Betsy Beard (March 2021)

 

Author's Synopsis
Lisa leaves her law career behind to become a navy wife and Supermom, but somewhere between "I do" and "I'm deploying again" waves of chaos threaten to overtake her. She has a husband who knows his chardonnay but can't identify a Phillips head screwdriver, three quirky kids with their own agendas, a perpetually shedding dog, and a minivan full of cold French fries. Will she survive the endless minutiae of modern family life, or will she end up on the laundry room floor eating chocolate frosting out of a can?

Grab some popcorn, snuggle up, and get ready to binge-read Lisa's true literary comedy -- her search for meaning in the meat and potatoes of life.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-934617-54-0, 978-1-934617-55-7, 978-1-934617-56-4

Book Format(s): Hard cover, Kindle, ePub/iBook

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 256

A Final Valiant Act by John Lang

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MWSA Review
​Twenty-year-old Marine Doug Dickey heroically gave his life to save his surviving platoon members in Vietnam on Easter Sunday, 1967. Forty men walked into that battle and twelve walked out. They had been through many other bloody engagements along the DMZ in the I Corps operating area adjacent to North Vietnam. Dickey was to leave for home three days after Easter. As with so many described in this book, he didn't make it home.

Author Lt. Col Lang USMC (Ret) researched fourteen years to present connections between Dickey, the deceased warriors killed, the surviving warriors, and many family and friends. Lang personally met and interviewed them in an exhaustive effort to share Doug's story. Read the added content to further understand roots and tactics of the Marine Corps and the dangers of jungle warfare in Vietnam that these men faced.

I found how four young boys in small town Ohio innocently joined the Corps together using the "Buddy System" to then fight for their lives in Vietnam. I appreciate Lang's descriptions of battle actions and tactics. His emphasis on how these young men saved and lost many of their own was provocative and educational. He also shared how these boys-turned-men in the horrors of Vietnam saved many in future generations. That fact, like so many things in Vietnam, often gets overlooked or forgotten.

Review by Hodge Wood (May 2021)
 

Author's Synopsis
Doug Dickey was an unlikely Marine hero. He was a gentle soul who sang in the school’s chorus and struggled to make it through boot camp. However, in the terrible seconds that passed after a grenade landed in the middle of his platoon’s command element, Doug chose to sacrifice his life to save his comrades. For this Final Valiant Act, Doug received the Medal of Honor.

Doug grew up on a farm in Ohio and enlisted in the Marine Corps with four of his friends from high school. Arriving in Vietnam, he was assigned to “Blackjack” Westerman’s 1st Battalion, 4th Marines—one of the few Marine units to make amphibious assaults during the Vietnam War.

As part of 2nd Platoon, Company C, Doug took part in Operation Deckhouse VI, to rout the Viet Cong from Quang Ngai; and Operation Beacon Hill, which culminated in the desperate battle on March 26, 1967. That afternoon, the platoon became engaged with a much larger NVA unit just south of the DMZ. In the midst of that fierce battle, with casualties mounting rapidly, an enemy grenade landed in the middle of the platoon’s command group. Doug dove on the grenade—saving his friends and comrades. Second Platoon was ultimately victorious, but at a high cost: more than 40 men had gone into battle that day; only 12 walked out the next morning.

Doug’s comrades in 2nd Platoon never forgot him. Easter Sunday 1967 was seared into their memories. In 1997, they began holding yearly reunions. They decided to honor Doug by holding their first reunion in his hometown. Harold and Leona Dickey were finally able to meet the men their son had saved 30 years earlier.

A Final Valiant Act is the result of over 14 years of research—drawing on Doug’s letters home, and more than 50 interviews. The personal stories are woven into a meticulously researched battle history, sourced from dozens of declassified combat reports—yielding the most detailed account of Operation Beacon Hill yet written.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-61200-757-1, 978-1-61200-758-8

Book Format(s): Hard cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 296

DeGroote: The Incredible Life of a Downed US Airman Who Joined the French Underground During WWII by Conrad Kersch

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MWSA Review
DeGroote: The Incredible Life of a Downed US Airman Who Joined the French Underground During WWII was written by Conrad John Kersch prior to his death in 2000. His youngest son Kris Kersch then supplemented the autobiographical part of the book with more details about his father’s life before and after World War II as well as a section about his three sons.

Conrad John Kersch reveals bits of his earlier life through the text in flashbacks as various events and scenes during the war make him think of his time growing up in Chicago, spending a few years with his grandmother in Romania after his parents died, and his 50 missions in the Pacific prior to being shot down in France on what was supposed to be an easy mission with no flak expected. He filled in on missions with various crews as a flight engineer and a bombardier. He was always willing to risk his life in combat.

After being the only member of the crew to escape capture by the Germans, Kersch found refuge with various French families associated with the French Underground group that worked for Charles DeGaulle. He was eventually accepted in this underground group. He spoke no French but was fluent in German, being raised by German parents. When he was active in Belgium, he was able to communicate with the Belgians who spoke Flemish, which has many words similar to German words. The title of the book refers to the name Kersch was given when he was accepted in the underground: Albert DeGroote.
While underground members often had to wait for orders, living in areas occupied by Germans was very stressful. Days were excessively boring, and Kersch was willing to do any work to keep busy, including cutting grass to feed the farm’s goats. He was also very aware that many of the young German soldiers were simply fighting for their country and were not Nazis. In one case he befriended two young German soldiers who were hiding from strafing by Allied planes.

Kersch joined the Army Air Forces in 1935 and flew his first mission as a bombardier on March 22, 1944. It’s unclear how long he was in France, but he was out of the service and working for a grain company in Texas in December 1944. One of the reasons he left the service was because they would not let him return to combat or even to Germany to utilize his ability to speak German. However, he did reenlist in 1948 to help pay for medical bills associated with the birth of his youngest son Kris. Since he spoke six languages, he was assigned to the OSS, the precursor of the CIA, and was sent to Germany. He retired as a master sergeant in 1959. This 378-page text tells Kersch’s story, shedding light on how difficult it was to live under German occupation.

Review by Nancy Kauffman (March 2021)
 

Author's Synopsis
The true story of Albert DeGroote who is an orphan, immigrant, airmen, a soldier in the French Underground, and his real name is SSG Conrad John Kersch. As a bombardier aboard B-17G Tennessee Hillbilly for the 303rd Bomber Group on mission 128 March 26, 1944 was to drop payload and get back to base safely. On this particular mission the payload was dropped but the journey home took a drastic turn. This is the story of SSG Kersch bailing out, evading capture, living with the French, and ending up fighting in the French Underground {FFI}, reprieved from a firing squad. His journey from childhood to joining the Army in 1935 is nothing but ordinary.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-943267-77-4, 978-1-943267-76-7, 978-1-943267-78-1

Book Format(s): Hard cover, Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 416

Chaos Above the Sand by Bruce Thomas

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Author's Synopsis
Iran 2010. The Iranian High Council has decided that today is the day that their fighter pilots will attack. With a large group of fighter aircraft poised to cross the border into Iraq, the only thing standing in the Iranians' way is Wild Bill Eddy's four F-15C aircraft. With lighting speed, the battle rages in the sky above Iraq. Iran's desire to control the Middle East sets this fast-paced, multi-layer story in motion.

Germany, May 1944. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel has sent his most trusted representatives to steal a vast treasure from Hitler's hidden storage location. They intend to use the horde to fund their escape from the war that has devastated Germany and made them lose faith in the Fϋhrer. A mix of attacks, setbacks, and terrible timing cause the treasure to be lost when the Allies attacked Normandy on June 6th, 1944.

From the beginning, the Special Projects Unit is thrown into this thriller with traitors, spies, and patriotic soldiers. The SPU director, William "Wild Bill" Eddy, and his best friend, Assistant Director Mark "Vector" Jones, race to solve the clues to who is supplying Top Secret information to the Iranians. With Villains and traitors on every page, the SPU must decipher the clues and save the USA from a fast-approaching military defeat. Clues to the lost WW II treasure become mixed into the story of the Special Projects Unit's building and hiding. This yarn is the tale of the development and birth of the Special Projects Unit.

As Air Force Academy graduates, Wild Bill and Vector have a bond that transcends work. But will they be able to solve all of the clues to stop the Iranians from taking over the Middle East? Chaos Above the Sand is a prequel to Bruce Thomas's first book, The Hope of the South.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-64952-185-9, 978-1-64952-186-6

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller

Number of Pages: 485

The Wolves of Helmand by Frank Biggio

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Click on cover image to purchase a copy

MWSA Review
Frank Biggio's The Wolves of Helmand is an absolutely outstanding personal memoir of one Marine's time as part of a civil affairs group (CAG) in Afghanistan. As a civil affairs Marine, Biggio's job was about winning hearts and minds as much as taking the lives of the enemy. As such, this separates his experiences from many other combat memoirs, and the author does a wonderful job of telling his story.

Deployed with "1/5" into Nawa in Helmand province, Biggio explains the background behind why his job was important, the struggles he dealt with, the action he was part of, and most importantly the lessons he learned and the growth he experienced. He does so in a realistic, salty style that makes the unexperienced know what it is like to be on the ground with Marines.

In addition to the outstanding memoir, the author gave us a bonus. The last chapter is quotes from Marines during the deployment. Some are simple, some are fatalistic, and some are downright funny, as perhaps only a Marine with sand in their boots could say it.

Overall, this is an excellent work that will appeal to any combat vet, especially of either Iraq or Afghanistan in our country's most recent conflicts.

Review by Rob Ballister
 

Author's Synopsis
At turns poignant, funny, philosophical, and raw—but always real—The Wolves of Helmand is both a heartfelt homage to the Marine brotherhood with whom Biggio served and an expression of respect and love for the people of Afghanistan who ultimately trusted, shared, and appreciated their purpose.

Ten years after serving his country as a U.S. Marine, Captain Frank “Gus” Biggio signed up once again because he missed the brotherhood of the military. Leaving behind his budding law career, his young wife, and newborn son, he was deployed to Helmand Province—the most violent region in war-torn Afghanistan—for reasons few would likely understand before reading this book.

Riven by conflict and occupation for centuries because of its strategic location, the region he landed in was, at that time, a hotbed of Taliban insurgency. As a participant in the landmark U.S.-led Operation Khanjar, Biggio and his fellow Marines were executing a new-era military strategy. Focused largely on empowerment of the local population, the offensive began with a troop surge designed to thwart the Taliban, but was more importantly followed by the restoration of the local government and real-time capacity building among the withdrawn and destitute Afghan people.

The Wolves of Helmand is unlike other war memoirs. It takes us less into the action—though there is that too—and more into the quiet places of today’s war zones. Yes, you’ll read of our Marines’ stealth arrival in a single night, our advanced weaponry, and our pop-up industrial village command centers. You’ll read, as well, about the ambushed patrols and the carnage of IEDs. But you will also read of the persistence, humility, ruggedness, loneliness, tedium, diplomacy, and humanity of our Marines’ jobs there, which more than anything else reveals the magnitude of even the smallest victories.

Completed years after the author’s return from his mission, The Wolves of Helmand is most of all a decade-long self-examination of a warrior’s heart, conscience, and memory. Whether intended or not, Biggio’s deep reflections and innate honesty answer every question you’ve ever wanted to ask about life and death in war—and even questions you probably never thought to ask.

What calls a warrior to duty?

What makes, sustains, plagues, and even breaks a warrior?

These are bigger questions than the ones impolite society pokes around when a veteran returns home—Did you kill anyone? Did you have to go? Why would you fight for another country? Why were we even there?

Yet the answers to those queries are here, too, in this thoughtful memoir that will make you think about war, family, love, and loss.

ISBN/ASIN: 1948677644, 978-1948677646

Book Format(s): Hard cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 288

Tomcat Fury: A Combat History of the F-14 by Mike Guardia

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Click on cover image to purchase a copy

MWSA Review
Grumman’s F-14 Tomcat prowled above war-torn lands and patrolled the troubled skies above conflicted seas worldwide for 33 years, operating mostly from aircraft carriers. The Tomcat’s electronic and human eyes spied on regional battles and at times pounced with deadly accuracy, making a positive difference. Though, according to the author, the leashed cat, never experienced its potential. The book, Tomcat Fury, by Mike Guardia is far more than just a book about a fighter plane. The masterfully crafted story is about a Navy fighter aircraft built to replace the Vietnam battle-worn and earlier generation fighters. The author, however, expands his narrative beyond just describing a formidable fighter by adding in-depth descriptive geopolitical history as seen through the prowling cats’ eyes.

This book is an excellent, detailed, American military history lesson covering a period leading up to 1973 and the F-14’s first operational flights to the cat’s sudden retirement seven months following its final aerial kill during Desert Storm in 2006. Iran, the only other nation to purchase F-14s, might have caused this aircraft to compete against itself. Details are revealed. One hundred and eleven carefully selected, mostly full-color photos, in high resolution, are properly located in the text accompanied with ample captions. Combat engagements are described in detail, which in some cases places the reader in the cockpit or, in one revealing episode, on the ground as two F-14 crewmembers scramble to avoid capture following being shot down behind enemy lines. Crewmember names and combat engagement details are fully revealed from the author’s in-depth research. With a slightly larger format and hardcover, this book, pridefully, would grace any coffee table.

Review by Tom Beard (March 2021)
 

Author's Synopsis
For more than three decades, the Grumman F-14 Tomcat was the US Navy’s premier carrier-based, multi-role fighter jet. From its harrowing combat missions over Libya to its appearance on the silver screen in movies like "Top Gun" and "Executive Decision," the F-14 has become an icon of American air power.

Now, for the first time in a single volume, "Tomcat Fury" explores the illustrious combat history of the F-14: from the Gulf of Sidra…to the Iran-Iraq War…to the skies over Afghanistan in the Global War on Terror.

ISBN/ASIN: B07XQJQ6XX, 0999644335

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Reference

Number of Pages: 154

Where the High Winds Sing by Donald Purdy

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Click on cover image to purchase a copy

MWSA Review
This book offers a stirring glimpse into the soul of a warrior. Don Purdy’s poetry poignantly expresses the sentiments of a fighter, a survivor, and a veteran mourning the loss of his brothers-in-arms. The author, a naval aviator during the Vietnam War, vividly brings to life the experience of aerial combat as well as themes universal to the experience of war. The poems are written and arranged with great creativity and skill, and include not only depictions of battle and action, but also reflections on courage, loss, and the larger legacy of military conflict. Purdy’s writing is beautifully complemented by artwork, photos, and annotations. Where the High Winds Sing is not merely a book, but a masterful work of art.

Review by Zita Ballinger Fletcher (March 2021)

 

Author's Synopsis
Where the High Winds Sing weaves a vivid tapestry of flight from the experiences of a Naval Aviator who lived through the bloody brawl that was the air war over North Vietnam. Its compelling verse soars beyond the limits of prose to draw the reader into a visceral appreciation of the sights, sounds, and passions of aerial combat. The poetry ranges from the pure celebration of flight to the always demanding, sometimes humorous, often tragic drama of wartime carrier operations. But it also presents evocative images of transformative interludes at sea and reflections on the effects of combat, especially the loss of close friends. Don Purdy's accessible poetry is reminiscent of an earlier era when such poets as Wilfred Owen, John Gillespie Magee Jr., and Rudyard Kipling elevated "war poetry" to a unique literary genre. Many of the poems are illustrated with the author's own artwork.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN-13 : 979-8678032935, ASIN : B08HSTRLXQ

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Poetry—Poetry Book

Number of Pages: 76

Full Mag: Veteran Stories Illustrated, Vol. 3 by August Uhl

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Click on cover image to purchase a copy

MWSA Review
Full Mag: Veteran Stories Illustrated, Vol. 3 is filled with true veteran stories, written and illustrated by other veterans, allowing the storyteller, the editors and writers, and the graphic artists to all participate and heal together.

Some of the stories have never been told to anyone, and are obviously deeply personal to the veterans relaying the tale. I specifically like how stories from World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War all appear in the same issue, with consistent artwork and quality. This sends a subliminal message that while parts of war may be different, much of it as perceived by the combatants may be very similar.

Hats off and a Bravo Zulu to the Full Mag team; I look forward to Volume Four.

Review by Rob Ballister (March 2021)

 

Author's Synopsis
Full Mag: Veteran Stories Illustrated, Vol. 3 is a unique veteran history and art project in graphic novel form. Full Mag presents the stories of our veterans in their own words with illustrations in sequential graphic art. Every story presented is the result of an interview by our team or the written contribution of the veteran. This ground breaking third volume includes the following first-person accounts

WW II Combat Engineer, crossing the Rhine- by Harold Vachal, art by J.W. Erwin

WW II Soldiers overrun during the Battle of the Bulge- by Bob Buntin, art by Gary Martin

WW II Airman shot down over Italy- by Eldon Dahl, art by Nossretep

WW II and just after, B-29 crew over the Pacific-by Norm Meuller, art by Thomas Muzzell

A Marine's Story: from childhood during the Depression to Pacific island battles to Korea, presented in four chapters plus Q&A, by Marvin Strombo, art by Gary Martin, Fernando Ruiz, Kim DeMulder, and Max Davenport

WW II, Nisei 100th Battalion, Go for Broke- by Stan Izumigawa, art by Lou Manna

Baghdad ER, 86th Combat Support Hospital-by Dacia M Arnold, art by Cassandra Dale

Afghanistan, bird's eye view over 10 years-by Darin Gaub, art by Thomas Muzzell

Operation in Cambodia-by Mark Potes, art by Lou Manna and Bill Anderson

Replacement at Inchon and rodeo rider-by James Aplan, art by Thomas Muzzell

These are stories that can only be told by those who experienced the events themselves. Full Mag provides a unique platform for veterans to tell their stories while simultaneously allowing artists to honor these warriors through the application of their skills, as cultures have done since the dawn of mankind. This 88-page perfect bound, magazine sized, graphic novel is a publication unlike any other. Printed in the USA on 80# high quality paper.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN 978-0-578-77216-5

Book Format(s): Soft cover

Review Genre: Artistic—Graphical Novel/Comic Book

Number of Pages: 88

Tales from the Blue by J. B. King

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Click on cover image to purchase a copy

MWSA Review
Tales from the Blue: Adventures in Law Enforcement by J. B. King tells mostly humous incidents from the 1970s and 1980s in a small county in Missouri from the point of view of a retired State Highway Patrolman. This was a county located near an Army base and an interstate that bisected the county, which brought them far more crime than otherwise might be expected.

In addition to stories that range from fishing with a tow truck to working with the U.S. Army to return AWOL soldiers to a low-speed pursuit (38 mile an hour tops), King also shows the serious side of law enforcement and the importance of listening and observing rather than just charging into a situation. All of the tales are fairly short and told in a folksy manner. This is a book that will entertain you.

Review by Nancy Kauffman (March2021)
 

Author's Synopsis
Pimps, drugs, and craziness? Just another day on the job for a cop in Pulaski County, Missouri, the home of the U. S. Army base of Fort Leonard Wood during the 1970s and 1980s. A time when houses of ill repute dotted the landscape and the great AWOL hunt was on every day for wayward GI's who did not like basic training and departed from the Army without permission. Add alcohol and I-44 vehicle traffic to the mix for non-stop action around the clock. Tales from the Blue is a collection of stories about the crazy world that was Pulaski County during that time told with humor.

ISBN/ASIN: 9781725758100

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Collections—Humor

Number of Pages: 157