Forever A Soldier: Unforgettable Stories of Wartime Service

This second volume (following VOICES OF WAR) culled from more than 35,000 stories in the ongoing Library of Congress Veterans History Project is a dense collection of reminiscences - oral histories, letters and diaries - from WWI to the Persian Gulf War, with emphasis on WWII. The most compelling stories are eyewitness accounts: a sailor recounts the attack on Pearl Harbor, a survivor of the Indianapolis sinking in 1945 describes five days in shark-infested Pacific waters, a doctor relates the horrors of trench warfare in 1917, a soldier endures murderous combat during the 1968 Tet offense in Vietnam. Contributors survive long, terrible experiences as prisoners in Germany, Japan, North Korea and Vietnam - and a short, unpleasant confinement in Iraq. Military buffs will happily add this to their shelves.