Honor Flights, Honor Stories

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 a historical 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.

An oral history of the themes of war provides letters, photographs, and sketches, from from U.S. veterans' that have fought in World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf.

Most American soldiers can pinpoint a specific time when life stood still, when they thought, "I'm going to remember this moment forever." It's times like these that have the power to change the future. Forever a Soldier—drawn from the massive national collection of the Library of Congress Veterans History Project—illustrates how American soldiers have answered the call to duty with a singular spirit of patriotism, and how military service has transformed their lives. Some of the remarkable stories include a World War II prisoner of war who describes desperate hours spent trying to conceal his Jewish heritage from his German captors; a nurse stationed in Vietnam who remembers a dying patient, his miraculous recovery, and her reward years later; and the survivor of a famed World War II shipwreck who flashes back to four harrowing days in the shark-infested waters of the Pacific Ocean. Culled from letters, diaries, and oral histories by soldiers, sailors, marines, and supporting citizens, these fifty stories constitute an astonishing historical record, a powerful tribute to those who fought, and a celebration of the enduring power of the words of few to speak for many. Forever a Soldier captures the personal perspective of war that is all too often lost in news reports and government statements. It is an indispensable contribution to understanding war and its impact on us all.