Unique First Posthumous Account of an Easy Company Toccoa Veteran.
591390
For Band of Brothers fans world-wide, Sgt. Darrell "Shifty" Powers needs no introduction. As a boy, the soft-spoken homespun Appalachian from Clinchco, Virginia was more at home in the woods hunting rabbits,  than most of us are on our living room couches watching TV. His sharpshooting skills and uncanny ability to memorize rugged terrain, and spot a bush that was not present the day before was highlighted in the HBO mini-series. Author Marcus Brotherton offers fans a unique biography of Shifty, and, perhaps the first posthumous account of an Easy Company Toccoa veteran.

Brotherton's biography of Shifty is unique for a few reasons. Although he had spoken several times with Shifty on the phone, the two had never met face-to-face. The author chose to write in Shifty's voice, keeping his local colloquialisms and fill-in words, to give readers the sense that Shifty is telling his own story. Shifty was a natural born story-teller, and this technique works well, especially when Shifty wrestles with complex questions of his wartime experiences: "How am I going to explain all this?"

As with other Easy Company memoirs, fewer pages are devoted to Shifty's early life before delving right into joining the paratroopers.  We do learn, however, that Shifty had befriended Robert E. "Popeye" Wynn at vocational school before they both signed up; a fact not eluded to in the mini-series. As a squad leader in Third Platoon, Shifty served more closely with veterans Lt. Ed Shames, Earl "One Lung" McClung, and Wayne "Skinny" Sisk (Whom Shifty would one day name his son after), rather than the better known veterans, portrayed in the movie. Shifty's perspective of the bitterly cold days defending the Bois Jacques woods outside Bastogne, where cold, hunger, and the ever-present fatigue claimed more victims then enemy artillery, provide a highpoint of the book.

Unlike previous memoirs, considerable space is devoted to Shifty's post-war life. Brotherton pieces together Shifty's truck accident en-route to catch a plane home; his recovery and homecoming, and Shifty's early attempts to battle the onset of post-traumatic stress syndrome, and get on with his life after combat. Shifty's courtship and marriage to Dorothy, and the birth and raising of his children are beautifully told. Again, unique to East Company memoirs are the heart wrenching chapters describing Shifty's declining health, and his last battle with bone cancer. Readers will find it difficult to keep a dry eye while reading about Shifty's final days.

Brotherton took some stylistic liberties that deserve mention, and kept this fine biography from receiving a five-star rating. The author certainly did his homework, consulting as much privately and publicly printed materiel, corroborating veteran's and family testimonials, and newspaper articles as  possible (which are listed in a Sources section). However, the author took some artistic license with chronology and description for the sake of making the narrative flow. Some alterations are seemingly unimportant. One notable exception, however, is when he describes a sandy haired D Company man who was supposedly killed alongside Shifty in the truck accident.  "... although it is not known if he was the man from D Company," writes Brotherton. "I made that up, along with the description of what he looked like, to help put flesh on the man for the story." To his credit, Brotherton lists chapter-by-chapter his literary tweaking, and the his reasons why. Mason Locke Weems could have simply said that George Washington was an honest person instead of inventing the Cherry Tree story. Brotherton's readers would have realized how tragic it was for soldiers to be killed in accidents after the fighting was over without making stuff up. These minor critiques aside, a truly heart-warming story of a humble man who fought in a company of heroes.
1610236
As one who has not been in the armed forces, I found this account of the author's 20 years of service in the Army very enlightening. Haynie provides an objective description of his time in the Army from a personal perspective that honors his comrades, especially those who fought with him in Viet Nam, while also shedding light on the difficulty of Army life in peacetime. I listened to the Audible edition, which was convincingly narrated by Chris Abernathy, and came away with enhanced appreciation for the men and women of the Army.
2132273
A highly readable collection of short stories about one man's experience as a member of the Navy's elite Underwater Demolition Teams, specifically UDT 12, during the tumultuous 1960s. The author does not attempt to paint a broad historical overview of the Teams but rather presents an intimate insider's perspective of one boat crew, seven men, who train together and forge a bond of friendship and trust that lasts a lifetime. Nick Nickelson writes with a keen memory for detail, an understanding of his fellow man, and an obvious love and respect for his teammates. I enjoyed his recall of the 1963 operation with astronaut Gordon Cooper and the Mercury Capsule, a part of UDT history that is seldom told. I hope he has more stories to tell.

Pamela Russell
353688
Robertson is a gifted writer, not only a veteran with an interesting, heroic story to tell. The wit and readability of this account are well above average for the genre. I also liked the focus on the missions one by one, which brings to life the evolution of B-29 targets and tactics from the shift to night fire raids in March 1945 to the end of the war, the period in which Robertson's crew flew their 35 combat missions. The coverage of his stateside training and duty as an instructor, from 1942 until his transfer to a B-29 unit in mid 1944, is more generic. Similar stories are told in many other accounts of US Army and Naval aviators in WWII, though again Robertson tells a story better than most. I think he could have left out the part of the epilogue which defends the morality of the fire bombings at some length in terms of Japanese atrocities. He adds nothing new to that mainly recent debate, and it comes off to this modern reader as defensive, with due respect Robertson's contention that later generations just can't understand. The telling of the operations first hand is the real value of this book, an excellent book.
19463
Even as a little boy, he felt a certain calling. Later  as a young man  he followed his dream.

With a production budget of less than $12 million, "Act of Valor" went on to garner over $80 million box office dollars late last Winter and, more importantly, brought to the screen an authentic portrayal of Navy SEALs as never seen before. It made me proud to be an American.

Other than normal military pay, all participating SEALS received no additional compensation for their involvement in what started as a training project and evolved into what became a cinematic achievement of epic proportion.

In a sense, "Damn Few" picks up where "Act of Valor" left off, except "Lieutenant Rorke" in the movie narrates an astounding personal journey as we follow the inner thoughts of the real Lieutenant Commander Rorke Denver from childhood onward, ever moving forward toward what remarkably seems truly evidenced as preordained destiny in becoming Executive Officer of the Naval Special Warfare Centers Advanced Training Command.

Credited with the Bronze Star with Valor, three Navy Commendation Medals and three Naval Achievement Medals, we witness Lieutenant Denver being deployed to Central and South America, Afghanistan, Liberia and Iraq's Al Anbar province, where his team earned the most combat decorations of any American fighting unit since Vietnam.

The legend of Cchulainn is one of the greatest in ancient Irish legend. He is noted in mythical sagas for his superhuman strength and amazing deeds on the battlefield. Cchulainn was heard to proclaim before the Druids in Ulsters Hall of Heroes: I care not whether I die tomorrow or next year, if only my deeds live after me.

Lieutenant Commander Rorke Denver includes Irish heritage on his Fathers side of the family, but shares ancestry with his Mother dating back to the Mayflower, including one Thomas Newcomb, cited as a Soldier of the Revolution, drafted into the American Army under George Washington on 23 August, 1777, at the age of 16.

Flashing backward through time, Thomas Newcomb lies buried in Onondaga County, New York, with a tombstone proudly bearing his name over the words: Soldier - Revolutionary War-- all beneath a large, weather worn, sharply engraved American Flag.

Act of Valor concludes with magnificent imagery  those Stars and Stripes  that flag fought for freedom through the years  passing yet further onward to a new generation.

"Damn Few" conclusively proves in myriad ways that such generational dedication to duty, at times against all odds in the face of death, doesn't just happen in the movies.

It is the inherent nature of our species. Throughout civilized history, it was and remains only true warriors who have won and preserved extended peace for those they faithfully serve. Not kings. Not presidents. Neither priests nor prophets.

Lieutenant Commander Rorke Denver and "Damn Few" are the real thing.
2533961
In 1969 Marilyn Genz, a young TWA stewardess then flying the Pacific route taking men to and from the war Vietnam, met Major General Elvy Roberts, the soon-to-be Commander of the famous First Air Cavalry Division, then one of  the most dynamic combat divisions in the Vietnam war. Genz convinced  Roberts that a visit to the "First Cav" in the field by a single  TWA stewardess would be a good public relations idea and, after much  correspondence between Genz, TWA and the US Army, she was, astoundingly,  approved to make two trips to visit the Division in the field in Vietnam,  in June and December of 1969. Her charter was to visit ALL of the units of  the Division, many of them engaged at the time in combat operations. At all  times during her visits, Genz was at risk of injury or death by enemy  action. She flew in Huey and Cobra helicopters, visited "grunt"  infantry, artillery, aviation, medical and supply units scattered over an  enormous area of jungle, was allowed to fire the 105mm howitzer during an  artillery "shoot" against North Vietnamese units, and even landed  atop fabled Nui Ba Den, or the "Black Virgin Mountain", to visit  the isolated (and amazed) Americans there, in their aerie above the jungle.  Genz wore her TWA stewardess's uniform during the entire trip, and a light  blue vest over it, on which she pinned the patches, badges, crests and  other military trinkets from the units and the men she visited. She was  quite a sight. To my knowledge, except for war correspondents, she is the  ONLY American civilian to have been accorded the opportunity for such  visits by any combat division in Vietnam. She literally "dropped  in" on my dirty, tired infantry company one afternoon in June of '69,  like a vision of beauty in the ugliness of the war all around us. After an  hour, she was gone, but the memory of that visit has lingered with the men  of Alpha Company for thirty years. After the war, Marilyn attended almost  every reunion of the First Air Cavalry Division, and was adopted by the  Division itself as the "Sweetheart of the Cav". Her famous vest  is now in the Division Museum at Fort Hood, Texas, and her book is truly  one of the most unique annals of a single American civilian's experience  with the war in Vietnam.  What Marilyn saw during her visit was 20,000  average American men and boys, from Generals to Privates, doing their jobs  as best they could, in a land far, far away. And she fell in love with  them, as did every man who saw her or spoke to her during her all-too-brief  sojourn among us. Written without artifice or ulterior agenda, this book is  a fabulous read. If every American could have had Marilyn's experience, I  don't think the  support of our men in Vietnam by the American public would  have ever been in question.
2901391
This is a great book for anyone wanting to know more about the life of one of the lesser known yet indispensable members of Easy Co., BOB. It is an enjoyable read giving insight into how so many of the ordinary young men of that generation answered the call and in so doing became the extraordinary "Greatest Generation". Marcus Brotherton does a superb job of illuminating Shifty's life: showing who he was befor, during and after the war. The story of this kind, humble, and rock solid man, was a pleasure to read and makes one proud to be an American. I only wish he had lived next door or down the street, when I was growing up. But then he or someone like him probably did but just didn't share it like Brotherton has shared it with us.
2199301
This is the WW2 memoir of Francis Catanzaro, who served as a rifleman in the 41st infantry division in General MacArthur's Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA).  Catanzaro grew up in St. Louis, and entered service in the Army in July, 1943 after being drafted.  He made it overseas in time to join the 41st before their invasion of Hollandia in New Guinea in April, 1944.  He then participated in the invasion of Biak, the greatest test of the division, and finally, in the southern Philippines, the invasion of Zamboanga, where, the song says, "The monkeys have no tails."

The author states in the preface that his intent was to, "...write a story about the war that my grandchildren could read and enjoy..."  So from the beginning, readers know that they will be "spared" the excessive boozing, women chasing, profanity and gore that characterize so many war memoirs.  In addition to the sanitized narrative, I found two features that make Catanzaro's story stand out from most of the rest.

First of all, this is the only memoir I can recall reading that is written by a draftee.  Most firsthand accounts of infantry combat in the Pacific I've encountered are from Marines, who joined as soon as they could.  Catanzaro makes no mention of why he didn't volunteer before being drafted.  A discussion of this by the author, however brief, would have added clarity to the beginning of the story.

Second, Catanzaro's story is rare because it comes from an overlooked theater of the Pacific War.  In the popular American mind, Midway, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Iwo Jima and Okinawa all stand out.  Very few people other than Pacific War enthusiasts know about the fighting in New Guinea and recognize names like Buna, Gona, Sanananda, Lae, Salamaua, Nadzab, Cape Gloucester, Hollandia or Biak.  All of these locations fell in MacArthur's SWPA, but the historiography of these campaigns is dwarfed by that of the more popular locations, which largely feature marines doing the fighting, although army units were present as well.  This dearth of coverage of the SWPA alone makes Catanzaro's story valuable.

Catanzaro's writing is straightforward and factual and his prose, well, prosaic.  Readers of his memoir will experience neither the bawdiness of Samuel Hynes, the eye for irony of Alvin Kernan, nor the pathos of Eugene Sledge.  However, a couple of passages still made a memorable impression on me.  The first of these has a patrol (that doesn't include Catanzaro) go out scouting for Japanese positions.  When the patrol returns late, almost all of the men are drunk.  It turns out they found a cache of liquor left behind by Japanese troops in a cave.  The other memorable image has another soldier, at night, sharing a foxhole with Catanzaro, and standing watch.  Catanzaro awakens to find the soldier looking toward the next foxhole, his face only inches from a poncho hanging at the side of the foxhole.  In the total darkness of the jungle night, the soldier had become disoriented.  This is reminiscent of Private Grayrock, in Ambrose Bierce's Civil War story, the Mocking-Bird, who becomes similarly disoriented while standing guard on a dark night.

Catanzaro does not shed much new light on the life of an infantryman in the Pacific in WW2.  His memoir should be required reading, however, for those with a specific interest in the SWPA and MacArthur's campaigns therein.
1928772
I really enjoyed this book and respect the author. In the first chapter Swofford clarifies that he wrote "what I know", and there is a bibliography of books consulted for facts pertaining to Gulf War combat and Middle Eastern topography. That being said, he honestly and deftly narrates his education about life, warfare and manhood from his formative years as a "military brat" and then as a Marine Corps sniper deployed to the Gulf War. The book alternates between flashbacks, interspersed, tangentally connected incidents (like a friend's death) and the particularities of U.S. military history, artillery and service. There is a wealth of human grist in this memoir to consume for an intelligent reader. The fact that he shared his front-line account of a war should be applauded. The straightforwardness of Mr. Swofford is a trait I wish I saw more of in our world.
2539439
It was a rare and cherished opportunity. During the course of Eric Anderson's reunion in Big Sky, Montana as a number of members gathered in the hospitality suite, I found myself sitting beside Colonel Morehead. He was striking in his dress white uniform and warm in his conversation. He started talking about his childhood in Oklahoma, the dust bowl Oklahoma during the Great Depression. His spellbinding telling of those days and times so took over my consciousness that the rest of the room ceased to exist.
In My Sights starts in those Okie years and lays the foundation for the war years to follow. The skills learned, hardships endured, and tenacity gained all pay later dividends for Colonel Morehead.
Jim introduces us to his flight cadet time wherein some humor is found. He describes various assignments and one where he is forced to parachute to safety. This captivating book takes us to the South Pacific and lets us fly along in P-40s facing the Japanese Zeros. Challenged by vast distances, inexperienced pilots, and an enemy with superior equipment, Jim, with keen insight, discloses how he and his fellow pilots managed to survive.
After duty in the Pacific culminating with two Distinguished Service Crosses, Colonel Morehead volunteered for duty against the Luftwaffe. He describes the duty in Europe and contrasts it to the desperation he felt in the dark days of 1942 in the South Pacific.
In February 1944, through a succession of transfers, Jim ended up in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. He had acquired the rank of major and was ready for a command. Circumstances created by inept leadership at a higher level caused him to have to share a command and expose himself by flying in the least favored position. Read how he hangs on and eventually prevails against bad policy, bad training, and poor execution. Flying over the Ploesti oil fields on D-Day contributed immensely to his feeling of satisfaction.
This is a book worth reading; it is a story worth telling, told by a natural story teller.  A pleasure to read.  ~ M. G. Worley
707438
This is a well written and easy to understand book.  Malcolm Wright recounts his WWII experiences as a Coastwatcher on the island of New Britain and his exploits collecting real time intelligence against the Japanese during WWII. This book is more about his personal account of gathering actionable intelligence than it is about guerrilla warfare.  That does not mean he does not describe guerrilla activities, he does however, his memoire is much more than that.  It's a personal account, with emotion and in-depth descriptions of techniques that he and his small team of Australians employed in a jungle environment. None of his or any other Coastwatcher activities in the southwest Pacific would have been successful without the cooperation of the local natives.  I liked the way he successfully integrated the descriptions of heir different native tribal beliefs and skills and how he worked them into the overall story line.  He leaves little room for doubt that the cooperation of the local natives was the major contributing factor to his success.  His account of bringing together such a diverse band of natives is a testament to his skills and his pre-WWII knowledge of the area.  He gives a good description of the jungle tradecraft that kept him one step ahead of the Japanese.  Students of guerilla warfare will not feel left out in this book, but with the emphasis on collecting information oficianados of the intelligence genre will very much enjoy reading it.  .
4796168
Made into an excellent miniseries on HBO, Band of Brothers is an account of one of the greatest combat companies in the European Theater of Operations.
The book focuses on the entire history of Easy Company, from their basic training beginnings under a sadistic CO to their combat jumps in Normandy and Holland and finally to their victorious celebration at Eagle's Nest while drinking Hitler's finest Champagne.
The central character of the book is that of Major Dick Winters, a "Citizen Soldier" who all military officers should look to for inspiration.  After reading this book you feel compelled to write Mr. Winters and thank him for his courage and his determination.
This book does give more in-depth accounts than what was offered in "Citizen Soldiers" and "D-Day".
I reccommend this work to anyone who wants a detailed account of a combat company at work in fighting the Nazis.  Like other books by Ambrose, this is not one to skip.
2840719
No Easy Day, by Navy Seal Matt Bissonette (rating under a pseudonym, Mark Owen) is a good first hand account of one Seal members rise through the Special Ops ranks.  There are Seal teams within the Seals where only the best of the best get through, and he is one of them.  Narrative is descriptive of facts while being vague on details of specific strategy and techniques so as not to provide enemy forces with tactical information.
On a side note,this book was not vetted by the Department of Defense so there is a question about whether charges will be brought against this hero warrior.  It was thru leaks and information gleaned from the narrative that the author's name was divulged to the press, which is unfortunate as it now puts his life, the life of his family, and his comrades in arms at greater risk.
70404
W. Ed Parker's THE LONE NAVY EAGLE recounts the author's wartime career flying Hellcats with VF-23, VF-27 and VF-5. Published in 2000 by 1stBooks Library, Parker's book is a rare first-person look of flying combat at the controls of an F6F.

Parker's book tops off at 384 pages. It details his combat career from training to combat to discharge. The middle section - on VF-27 - is somewhat general in nature since many of his records were lost due  to the Princeton sinking, In general however, Parker's account is a valuable and useful account of an ordinary pilot at war. Unfortunately, he mentions very few of the other pilots he flew with in any of his three squadrons. I would have greatly appreciated his comments and reminiscences about his squadron mates.

In any case, THE LONE NAVY EAGLE is that rara avis, a genuine first-person account by a WW2 Navy fighter pilot. Recommended.
2088621
I can't write objectively about a book written by a friend in which my own name appears with some frequency. Please accept this biased review from a longtime Amazon reviewer.

Dan Feltham has captured an experience that was not only unique within the lives of all of us who participated with IBM in Vietnam, but certainly unique within the history of warfare. Every war is uniquely defined by the technologies it employs, and the rather slow human adaptation to those technologies. World War I, for instance, was defined by trenches, machine guns, gas and airplanes. Mechanically, the Vietnam War was defined by helicopters, computers, and awesome firepower. Politically it was defined by a foreign-policy that did not fit the beneficiary country, Vietnam and a military establishment that was out of sync with domestic social developments.

1960s computer technology was such a vast improvement over other forms of record recordkeeping that it absolutely had to be used to keep track of military supplies and personnel. It was also the best tool available for planning Air Force sorties, managing military intelligence databases, managing civil programs such as land reform, and management reporting on the progress of the war. Transpacific communications were still fairly primitive. A phone call to the United States was a rare and costly thing. Computers generally talked to each other by generating punched cards or magnetic tapes that would be carried to a transmission machine, then sent to another transmission machine to produce input to a computer on the other hand. It was cumbersome.

The upshot was that most of the computer programming in support of the Vietnam War was actually done in Vietnam. IBM supported the programmers, and quite frequently wound up doing some of the programming ourselves. I, for instance, programmed the computer support for keypunching and printing using the Vietnamese language. IBM had a total complement of something over 100 people in Vietnam maintaining computers, supporting programming, and doing the usual sales department tasks of configuring computers and taking orders.

Working in Vietnam changed the lives of this group of bachelors rather significantly. For most of us it was our first experience overseas. It gave us a vast opportunity to travel. We were quite handsomely paid; it did not take much effort to accumulate an appreciable nest egg. And, as the British said of Americans during the second war, we were "overpaid, oversexed, and over there."  We had a tremendous amount to offer young Vietnamese ladies who were working for a pittance and whose men were off fighting. And  they had the obvious to offer us, and they gave generously. Many of us married Vietnamese, and a substantial number remain happily so. Dan includes some touching love stories in the book.

This assignment took a special breed of manager. One could not go simply by the book - there were unusual judgment calls to be made every day, not infrequently involving the well-being and even the lives of those of us working there. Dan devotes a lot of the book to giving tribute to the extraordinary men who lead the enterprise. I will say for myself and saying that my friendships from this era, now more than 40 years past, remain the strongest of my business life, and that one of my best friends remains the third level manager who oversaw our operation from Washington DC. These guys represent the greatest generation, or at least following immediately in their footsteps.

I'll close with a thank you to Dan for bringing closure to this project which has occupied him for a couple of decades. It had to be done now, and it was done right.
2814633
Interesting First Person Account by the manager involved
4871052
The exciting aspect of this book is that it was authored exclusively by Rodney Dangerfield.  When you read this volume you cannot help but hear Rodney Dangerfield's voice telling his story.  From Dangerfield's New York childhood to his surgeries in California, this book encompasses the life of a man who made a career commanding "No Respect."

The book is lighthearted and very funny.  There are some lessons on life as well.  Though I thoroughly enjoyed the autobiography I also found it lacked detail -- or should I say it whetted my appetite for more.  Reading the book, it appeared that the chapters were directly transcribed from random notes or dictation recordings.  It is difficult to follow Dangerfield's career progression as the story jumps back and forth in time more often than Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughter House Five."  Many of Dangerfield's recollections are not dated and I was often left wondering exactly when an event occurred.

More importantly, Dangerfield introduces subjects about his very interesting life that beg additional detail.  For example, his reminiscences of movies such "Caddy Shack," "Easy Money," and "Back to School" easily deserved entire chapters, but were relegated to a handful of sentences.  Likewise he discusses his decade-long show business hiatus in order to sell aluminum siding, but the home improvement segment of his life is only a scattered reference throughout the book.  The bottom line is that in the future there is an opportunity for Rodney Dangerfield's estate to reissue an "Author's Cut" of this book that would lengthen the work ten fold.

Still, I found the book humorous reading and look forward to the availability of the audio-CD, only if narrated by the author.