false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176208312m/603183.jpg 603183 3 The success of Tom Brokaw's <I>Greatest Generation</I> has sparked a renewed interest in books about World War II and the people who fought in it. Patrick K. O'Donnell maintains, however, that behind those official histories and carefully crafted memoirs lies a "hidden war"--"a bottled up, buried version shielded even from family members because many of the memories are too painful to discuss." In <I>Beyond Valor</I>, O'Donnell brings this hidden war to the surface, allowing men from the elite forces to tell their own stories, thus creating a fascinating combat history of WWII.<p> O'Donnell introduces readers to some of the greatest of the greatest generation--men such as Robert Kinney of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, wounded by a mortar at Anzio ("it tore my fanny open, took a big chunk of meat out of there--I could afford that"). While in the hospital, wounded members of the regiment were asked by one of their officers to return to the front: <blockquote>We all went down, about forty of us in casts, bandages, arms in slings and everything. He said, "Your buddies up there are catching hell and we've got to go back if we can. You don't have to, we're not going to order you, but we're looking for volunteers." We said, "Hell, we'll go." We had just the best-spirited bunch of scrappers you ever saw.</blockquote> There are also stories about compassion in the midst of carnage. Albert Hassenzahl of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment was seriously injured on a drop during the Normandy invasion. While waiting to be rescued, the wind blew his blanket off him. A man on an adjacent stretcher reached over and carefully tucked the blanket in around Hassenzahl. The other man was a German POW. "I didn't say a word to him, but I was able to move my head a little and looked over at him ... neither of us said a word, but mentally I might have said 'thank you' with my eyes and he might have said 'you're welcome' with his."<p> Though it will certainly appeal to them, O'Donnell insists that <I>Beyond Valor</I> is not aimed at war buffs--it's for the soldiers themselves. "My work has been one of preservation, done in gratitude for a generation that sacrificed so much." By sharing these stories, O'Donnell has helped to preserve and honor their memory. <I>--Sunny Delaney</I> 589755 2001 Beyond Valor: World War II's Ranger and Airborne Veterans Reveal the Heart of Combat total:16|5:5|4:6|3:5|2:0|1:0| 16 64 28 1 3 0 false false Fri Sep 04 04:41:08 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 11 17:02:53 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 04 04:41:08 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Nov 27 17:05:57 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 27 17:05:57 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Fri Oct 30 09:45:38 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 30 09:45:38 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Sep 26 18:05:06 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 26 18:05:06 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Aug 24 11:01:04 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 24 11:01:18 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Aug 20 06:36:11 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 20 06:36:11 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Jul 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 27 16:22:32 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 27 16:22:32 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Wed Mar 25 21:39:27 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 25 21:39:27 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Feb 13 15:50:13 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 13 15:50:13 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Feb 02 07:33:07 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 02 07:33:07 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Tue Jan 20 11:11:57 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 20 11:11:57 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Jan 16 08:12:49 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 16 08:12:49 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Jan 03 23:38:28 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 03 23:38:30 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Sep 09 14:20:41 -0700 2009 Sat Dec 06 16:57:41 -0800 2008 Wed Sep 09 14:20:41 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Nov 19 07:56:25 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 19 07:56:33 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Sun Oct 12 13:46:28 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 12 13:46:28 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Tue Aug 12 05:39:38 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 12 05:39:38 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Sun Aug 03 09:24:44 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 03 09:24:44 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Thu Jun 26 06:04:58 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 26 06:05:01 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2003 Thu Apr 10 03:07:07 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 10 03:07:34 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=603183