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It really matters very little who died last,"" wrote Civil War
historian William Marvel, ""but for some reason we seem fascinated
with knowing."" Drawing on a wide range of sources including
correspondence with descendants, this book covers the last living
Civil War veterans in each state, providing details of their
wartime service as soldiers and sailors and their postwar lives as
family men, entrepreneurs, politicians, frontier pioneers and
honored veterans.
A Story for All Americans: Vietnam, Victims, and Veterans (formerly
titled, Touched by the Dragon) details wartime accounts of average
servicemen and women - some heroic, some frightening, some amusing,
some nearly unbelievable. The work is ahistorical compendium of
fascinating and compelling stories woven together in a theme
format. What makes this book truly unique, however, is its absence
of literary pretentiousness. Relating oral accounts, the veterans
speak in a no-nonsense, matter-of-fact way. As seen through the
eyes of the veterans, the stories include first-person experiences
of infantry soldiers, a flight officer, a medic, a nurse, a combat
engineer, an intelligence soldier, and various support personnel.
Personalities emerge gradually as the veterans discuss their
pre-war days, their training and preparation for Vietnam, and their
actual in-country experiences. The stories speak of fear and
survival: the paranoia of not knowing who or where the enemy was;
the bullets, rockets, and mortars that could mangle a body or snuff
out a life in an instant; and going home with a CMH - not the
Congressional Medal of Honor, but a Casket with Metal Handles. The
veterans also speak of friendships and simple acts of kindness. But
more importantly, they speak of healing - both physical and mental.
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