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What They Signed Up For: True Stories By Ordinary Soldiers
by
They grew up on wheat farms in Eastern Washington, on a reservation in Oklahoma, in military housing on an Air Force base in Arizona. They signed up to be Marines, soldiers, airmen, and sailors, and they became medics, truck drivers, mechanics, and infantrymen. They enlisted to honor family tradition, to find purpose in their lives, to lift themselves out of poverty, to be
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Paperback, 311 pages
Published
2017
by Blue Ear Books
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This is such a hard book to get through. It's not that it's a difficult read and it's not written badly... it is a book that weighs very heavy on the heart. I'm continually stopping to wipe the tears from my eyes, to bring myself back to reality and to take in my surroundings followed by a few deep breaths. I was not one of these men or women who fought for our country but I was a sibling of one. I received emails from my brother, you know the generic kind, how the weather was, what new city he
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I read this book of 18 Americans soldier's Iraq and Afganistan War stories. The editor, Jeb Wyman, a college teacher in Seattle collected voluntary narratives from his students and because of their honesty and contemporary importance sought a publisher. In this book 18 USA service men each write personal memoirs that their families will cherish and we should read since we sent them to war for us. The battlefield details, family conflicts and love, PTSD, continued military service to our country,
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This is a book that every American should read. Veterans should read it to see their experience in print and to know that they are not alone. Civilians should read it to understand what the individual experience of war is like.
These are not "war stories" per se (i.e. not about bullets), but stories of people who have served. The stories are psychological, hopeful, earnest and full of self-examination. And while there are definite themes, the stories are all so different, from where individuals s ...more
These are not "war stories" per se (i.e. not about bullets), but stories of people who have served. The stories are psychological, hopeful, earnest and full of self-examination. And while there are definite themes, the stories are all so different, from where individuals s ...more
An incredibly powerful book.
The stories were brutally honest and at times hard to read. One of the best parts, was that it wasn't just about door-kicking grunts. They are stories from both men and women who were truck drivers, mechanics, one who was on a disaster response team, and also some of the door-kicker ones too. There was even a story from a spouse... that one was a really tough read.
Anyways, if you ever wanted to know what war was really like, first hand accounts of struggles with PTS ...more
The stories were brutally honest and at times hard to read. One of the best parts, was that it wasn't just about door-kicking grunts. They are stories from both men and women who were truck drivers, mechanics, one who was on a disaster response team, and also some of the door-kicker ones too. There was even a story from a spouse... that one was a really tough read.
Anyways, if you ever wanted to know what war was really like, first hand accounts of struggles with PTS ...more
Despite how heavy the material was, I finished the book within a day. I simply couldn't put it down. Veterans' stories -- not war tales we see in movies but ones of what veterans experience after their service is seemingly up -- are few and far between. This book offers a beautifully written, poignant collection of such experiences and serves as an excellent window for those hoping to understand what our servicemen and women experience once they return home. America's relationship to war and the
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