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Books > History > History of specific subjects > Military history
The Spitfire a " there have been many hundreds, maybe even
thousands, of books written about this beautiful R.J Mitchell
designed, elliptically winged areoplane. But there has yet to be a
book published, which has focused solely on the lesser-known
two-seat variant of graceful Spitfirea |Until now! In two-seater
spitfires, Greg Davis, John Sanderson and Peter Arnold trace the
history of this iconic aircraft a " from its initial design through
to those still taking to the skies today.
In the summer of 1943, at the height of World War II, battles were
exploding all throughout the Pacific theater. In mid-November of
that year, the United States waged a bloody campaign on Betio
Island in the Tarawa Atoll, the most heavily fortified Japanese
territory in the entire Pacific. They were fighting to wrest
control of the island to stage the next big push toward Japan--and
one journalist was there to chronicle the horror.
Dive into war correspondent Robert Sherrod's battlefield account as
he goes ashore with the assault troops of the U.S. Marines 2nd
Marine Division in Tarawa. Follow the story of the U.S. Army 27th
Infantry Division as nearly 35,000 troops take on less than 5,000
Japanese defenders in one of the most savage engagements of the
war. By the end of the battle, only seventeen Japanese soldiers
were still alive.
This story, a must for any history buff, tells the ins and outs of
life alongside the U.S. Marines in this lesser-known battle of
World War II. The battle itself carried on for three days, but
Sherrod, a dedicated journalist, remained in Tarawa until the very
end, and through his writing, shares every detail.
A topical presentation of firsthand accounts from some of the
thousands of army and navy nurses who served both stateside and
overseas during World War II, this book tells the stories of the
brave women who used any and all resources to save as many lives as
possible. Although military nurses could have made more money as
civilians, thousands chose to leave the warmth and security of home
to care for the young men who went off to war. They were not saints
but vibrant women whose performance changed the face of both
military and civilian nursing. Jackson's account follows both army
and navy nurses from the time they joined the military, through
their active service, to their lives today.
The jobs done by military nurses were valuable and varied. Some
worked in clean stateside hospitals. Some found themselves nursing
in tents or bombed-out buildings. Others entered hospitals so
recently occupied by Axis forces that Nazi propaganda still covered
the walls. While often treating ordinary accidents and illnesses,
they were responsible for men with wounds so disfiguring that it
took all of their willpower to maintain the hopeful attitude that
the men so desperately required. From the humorous account of a
nurse in her forties, who joined the war effort despite the smirks
of those much younger, to the sorrow shared when men and women were
separated and became prisoners of war, these are the stories of
women who lived under extraordinary circumstances in an amazing
time, women who, even today, bear emotional scars along with their
lasting pride.
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