World War II Heroes

Ten True Tales

by Alan Zullo

During World War II, everyday citizens fought for our country to protect and preserve the values that made America great. Many of them found incredible courage they didn't know they had in firefights in the bombed-out fields of France, in dogfights over the flak-filled skies of Belgium, and in hand-to-hand combat on the bloody beaches of Okinawa.

Among the heroes, you'll read about the colonel who led his Rangers up a 100-foot-high cliff while the Nazis were firing down on them... the teenage Marine who dived on two exploding grenades to save his fellow soldiers-and lived... the airman who was blinded and wounded from an attack by German planes yet helped save the crew of his crippled bomber.

Genres: History, Historical, Military Fiction, Nonfiction

146 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was really happy when I saw that there was a story in here about Desmond Doss. Hacksaw Ridge is my favorite war movie.

[Zach]

This book was very good. I am trying to learn more about the individual stories of World War 2. I have studied a lot about World War 2, but pretty much just the broad picture. Reading this book answered my one question that was hanging over me as I studied World War 2. How did we win? We didn't have the technological advantage. At first our military was crippled. The answer to this was that we had the heart. As I read the stories like the story about John Finn. He was so brave to be fighting with only a machine gun against plane after plane. To be fighting while your arm is bleeding. Or another story like Desmond Doss who was religious, so instead of fighting, he was a medic. Stories like that helped me realize the answer to the question. Everybody in the 40's during wartime was extremely patriotic. Everybody wanted to fight and defend their country. This book helped me realize, that was our finest hour.

[Sheriden Haase · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal- The book World War II Heroes is about ten men that went above and beyond their call of duty. Some men talk about selfless actions that get them into trouble. Some stories show leadership on the highest mark. Leadership, where one man takes the bullet for his comrade. Men that fought until they absolutely could not. These men, are a different on most angles. They fought for our freedom, our loved ones, and our nation.


Plot- The plot of this book was about the ten men trying to stay alive during WWII. They dodge bullets and get wounded. One of the commanders was shot five times before he was carried off the battlefield. One man saw two grenades on the ground next to him so he jumped on them to save his buddies. One of the grenades blew up and sent him flying in the air. Luckily, only one of the grenades went off and he was still alive. These ten men earned the Medal of Honor for the braveness they showed. The president asked Japan to surrender but they did not. Harry S. Truman ordered the dropping of the Manhattan Project. Nazi Germans and the Japanese soon surrendered ending WWII.


Characterization- The book was told by the narrator. The characters are similar in being all soldiers. All the men are courageous and brave. They did not know when to stop fighting. An example of a character would be John, a soldier that was wounded five times before leaving the battle grounds and escaped the hospital to go back to his platoon.


Setting- All the stories in the book take place in World War Two. Some men fought in different countries, and some are in different oceans. Some stories are in Pearl Harbor, the only battle fought on US soil. The deadliest fighting took place on the Japanese islands, one called Iwo Jima. The men fought during the day, at night they tried to rest but always had to be alert to the sneaky enemy.


Thematic- There are two themes in this book: patriotism and selflessness. The ten men risked their lives not only for freedom of the United States, but for their comrades. They fought tough battles and all of these men received a purple heart for their courageous efforts.


Recommendation- The book was easy to read. Each story was entertaining because of the action the soldiers showed. I think this book would be a great read for middle school boys and high school boys. I would give this book a four star rating. The book gave the reader a great understanding of how hard it was to be a soldier. The vocabulary can be easy to understand. The narrator went into some detail on how badly wounded they were, so this book was not for an elementary audience.

[Ryan Pomerenke · Rating 4 out of 5]

World War II Heroes consists of ten unique stories of men who went above and beyond the call of duty during their service for the United States military during World War Two. Some stories in the book tell of the tremendous leadership of a soldier, while other stories cover their selfless actions. Most of the stories describe how despite impossible odds, a soldier was able to achieve his goal.

The book is told from the narrator’s point of view. In this book, the author is the narrator. The author uses both direct and indirect characterization to describe the characters. The characters were similar in the sense that they were all soldiers, they were all brave, and they all persevered in difficult situations.

Each story in this book takes place during World War Two, but not all were in the same location. A few of the stories are set in the Pacific on islands such as Iwo Jima or Pearl Harbor. The rest of the stories take place in European countries such as Italy or France.

There are many prevalent themes in this book. Firstly, one main theme is selfless behavior. Many of the characters risked their lives to save others. Secondly, another theme is patriotism. These characters all had a profound love for the US and proudly fought for their country. The last main theme that I noticed was bravery. All of the men in these stories acted as if they were not afraid to die for their fellow servicemen.

This book has many likeable aspects. For instance, it was not difficult to read or comprehend. Also, because the actions of the highlighted soldiers were so astounding, each individual’s story is entertaining. Since the book is not boring, I would recommend it to anybody that is interested in reading a compilation of miraculous war stories. However, I believe this book would mainly appeal to boys in either middle school or high school.

[David Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book “World War II Heroes” by Allan Zullo. It was interesting book and it talked about ten World War II Heroes that protected and gave their lives for our country. This book is about the struggles 10 men had to face. Some of the men were in captivity and were held captive in japanese camps and were treated harshly. The other men were in the war trying to fight for their lives. These men fought for our country, freedom, and for their families back home.

The plot of this book is all the action and the fighting that is going on. Its about how the men try to survive and stay alive. They dodge bullets and grenades to get to safety or move on to their new destination. Like when, one of the men was near 2 grenades that just landed at his feet. He had no time to react except to jump on them.To protect his fellow brothers, Marines, he jumped on them. One grenade exploded and when he landed back on the ground he was still alive. He couldn't believe it and when they were carrying him off the battlefield he looked back and saw that the second grenade didn't explode. He lived and won the Medal of Honor. His name was Pfc Jack Lucas and he is still alive today.

The setting of the book takes place on the beaches of Iwo Jima and Pearl Harbor. Some of the other settings take place in France and Italy. The time of the war and fighting would happen in early morning.

I would recommend this book to anybody who likes war stories and the history of it. I would not recommend this book to kids in elementary school and under because of the violence. This book is easy to read and comprehend and the vocabulary is not difficult.

[Desiree Roe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tells ten heroic tales during the World War II era. Everything from extreme racism to debating absent leave (AWOL) is covered. This book held my interest with the amount of dialogue shared between both characters, and the teller of each story. I would not recommend this book to smaller children, because it does get kind of bloody during parts of the book.

[Robert Kennedy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was okay, I wasn't too crazy over the book. I think that horror is more of my style.
I did like all the action in the book. But I'm not too crazy about history. unless it's like finding treasure and trying to escape the boobytraps.

[Cindy aka "The Book Fairy" · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awe inspiring....hard to take in what people went through.

[Colby]

The book I read was “World War 2 Heroes”. This book is about ten brave soldiers who have either survived the war or died fighting honorably in combat. This book explains how harsh these men and women were treated in battle or in camp. It explains, best to the soldiers memory or battle records, how the war was fought from their point of view. There aren’t really any main characters except for the characters in the stories.

I thought this was a very good book. Like I said in my other book review on “ War Heroes: Voices from Iraq” I love reading war books. I like to learn about how people fight for us, the weapons they’ve used, and the vehicles they use. I’ve always thought about joining the army but I am too young to enlist. There was one story about a medic named Doss who joined the army but was treated badly because he wouldn’t use a gun or kill anyone. The men in his squad treated him with disrespect also because he prayed every night. He was in one battle near a cave where they were winning at first but then reinforcements came and they were forced to retreat, but there were still wounded American soldiers near the cave. So Doss stayed and brought back roughly 75 wounded soldiers to the rendezvous point, while dodging bullets and grenades. While he was hiding in cover from the enemy, a grenade went off near his leg. He didn’t get his leg blown up, it only got cut a little. He still kept on saving soldiers. After all the men were checked he was next. But he had lost his bible in combat. So he asked the men, the men who made fun of Doss, to look for his Bible in a war zone. They agreed to look after the battle was over. This one part was very interesting to me “ When Doss returned home, a package from the Seventy-seventh Infantry had arrived. Inside were a small box and a note that read ‘ After we defeated the Japanese on the Maeda Escarpment, the entire battalion fanned out and conducted a search of the battlefield until we found what we were looking for.’ He opened up the box and began to cry. The men who had once mocked him for his religious beliefs had mailed home his lost Bible.” I thought this was interesting because he had saved so many men that he had earned the respect of his men.

I think this book deserves a 4.5 out of 5 because it had great detail on how these soldiers got through the war and how they fought and were treated. I would’ve liked to read more stories from people who have fought in WW2. The message from this book is that people will do anything for their country. That even though they are treated badly for their race or religious beliefs, they will try their hardest for the safety of their country.

[Enrique Valverde · Rating 5 out of 5]

World War II Heroes is a book made of different stories telled by people who risked their live for their country and their people. This book have different tales about different ranges of the army.

One of the stories that I have liked is about one kid that was sent to a military camp because of his behavior. When the kid turned 15 he went directly to his mother to ask if he can join the army to fight on the war against the NAZIs and the Japanesse soldiers. He convince his mother to lie about his age fo he can fight on the war. When she did it and he joined the U.S ARMY at the age of 15. He was sent to the training camp with his troop. When he arrived at the training camp he found his cousin training and he aksed “what are you doing here”. The kid sent a letter to the love of his life saying "that he was just at one step of fighting at the age of 15" but he didn't knew that the letter have to be read by the colonel in charge of his troop. When the colonel saw the letter he called the boy to meet him in his office when they met in his office the colonel started to yell at him and ask how does he join the army. He was assign to do hard work. When he turned seventeen he finally went to the real fight the boy was surprise because of the fight they have assigned to his troop it was almost impossible to get out of there. When he arrived at the island he and his troop start to fire their when he saw a grenade at his feet and comrades were at his side he lay over the grenade and carefully unlock one of his grenade and he he let it explode. Can he save his comrades?



In my opinion this book is really good. This book give a lot of good reasons why people risked their life for others life. And why they should stop the NAZIs and the Japanese soldiers. This book caught my attention by his front page just telling its own name "world war II heroes".

I will highly recommend this book to those who really like historical fiction. Because this book is all about historical fiction.And also to those who like history about World War II. Because if you enjoy World War II you will enjoy this book.

[Alberto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book was amazing I like the way it brings up to different heroes and how they almost died.Then beginning made the book interesting and also they second half too.The beginning was about A man in the navy that had tickets for hawaii so his wife and him went and when they awoke they heard shooting noises the man in the navy thought they were practicing there gun skills but they weren't.So the navy man takes the boat to pearl Harbor and that's when he saw zeroes coming so he mad a run for it then when he came out they were bombing pearl harbor so the man was telling everyone how they can't to this and how we can't let them outta here alive.So the man goes outside with a machine gun and starts shooting at the zeroes he destroyed 4 but he was badly hurt shrapnel's flew into his body and when he went home his wife was shocked that he was alive and scared that he was badly injured so she removed the wounds but she counted 28 wounds so the next day the man receives medal of honor.The second half of the story was quite better for me i dont know for you ok here it goes there was A 13 year old that wanted to go to the marines but he was too young so he tried to convince his mom that he was gonna flunk out of school if she didn't lie about his age so the mom said fine.They went to sign the kid up and they believed it so the next day the boy was already training and he was at the top of his class then 5 months later the boy was going to fight in battle he sent A note to one of his comrades and the note said,"Here I am in war at 15 years old" but he didn't know was that the sergeant checks the notes and he found out how old the kid really was so the sergeant said he had to leave the marines and the kid said "If I leave the marines I'll just join the army" so the sergeant let him stay but the kid couldnt go to war but the kid snuck on the vehicle where they take them to war.

[Calvin F · Rating 5 out of 5]

November Book Review
World War II Heroes
Allan Zullo

World War II Heroes is a very inspiring book about ten different soldiers who fought on the battle fields of WWII. The book tells ten different heart warming, true stories of men who fought in the war. Each of the ten men are true heroes and played a key part in WWII. The reader really gets a realistic glimpse of what these men went through physically, mentally, and emotionally during the war. The collection of stories give a true representation of U.S. soldiers who bravely fight for our country and our freedom.

The main idea of this book is to portray the life of soldiers and how much they depend on and protect each other, even in life and death situations. They stick to their missions and will battle to defend their base and fellow soldiers until death, if needed. I know this is the theme because it is a common thread throughout the book and each of the stories. For instance, when Flinn was shot numerous times and thought he was going to die, he continued to defend his base for 18 hours until all of the enemy were either dead or gone. Another example is when Desmond Doss saved 75 soldiers by running into crossfire and dragging fellow soldiers, one by one, who were injured to safety. All of the stories portray this kind of bravery and dedication.

[Andrew Klink · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book, out of all the book I have read about the war this one is the best. It talkes about the heroes that change the war, and had extreme bravery to do more than the call of duty. There's a ton of information about the war in this book. There was a man who was in Pearl Harbor the day of the attack and was shot 12 times and had shrapnel wounds all over and fought and fought until the attack was over. He wouldn't leave the fight until his commanding officer told him to get help.
There was also another man that went above and beyond the call of duty. He was a medic and he vowed to never kill a man so he was a medic. He always carried around he bible with him that his wife gave him. They were on top of a mountain taking heavy fire. He was running into the battlefield without a weapon and dragging ,en into safety. He saved 20 men that day. He was shot 3 times and needs medical attention but refused to get any because the men in the battle field needed him. I was then shot in the chest and was carried of the field. He had lost his bible. He was so depressed. His fellow friends went back and found his bible. This book was amazing I learned a lot about the war through this book.

[Norberto Leyva · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like the book. It was really hard for me to read. The vocabulary was hard to understand and also the subject. I didn't like the book, and while I was reading it I found myself bored. If you are interested in war or history stories this is your book. I found it hard to understand and follow along with the plot of the story. This book did not hold my interest very well and I didn't remember a lot from the story.

[Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The name of this book is World War 2 Heroes. Its written by Allan Zullo, and the genre is a historic non fiction. This book is about ten war heroes that get the medal of honor. They undergo enormous troubles and save lives. I rated this book five stars for its real facts about great people. It was slightly suspenseful, and a real thriller. Its a great book to read.

[Porter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was waking behind nemesis lines I started to here Germans talk and then they started to scream. I loved this book it was so for me lots of ache and the story never slows dow it keeps it consistent. This si for kids or teens they will both like it the reason is because they will never get bored or they will love this book.

[Dayna Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ten true stories of heroes from WWII. What a great book to read to not only learn more about WWII, but to celebrate the heroism of those who selflessly served our country. Boys will love this and it is a good way to introduce them to nonfiction reading.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book about 10 different men who fought in the War. I have heard some of the stories before, but they were all good. Each man earned the Congressional Medal of Honor.

[Jake kaczmarek]

Amazing book for lower class readers and non-fiction readers.

[Nicholas S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books like this that tell true stories of the men and we on who serve over seas.

[Mr. Coomey teacher · Rating 5 out of 5]

The athor is very descriptive.

[Landon Duhn]

I thought this was a very inspiration book because it showed how normal men became heroes. It really showed how to be a team player and how to die for your country with honor.

[Aidan Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is filled with brav stories and most of the men who are in this book, received the Medal of Honor. Their stories were very heroic!

[Alan Huihuitoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read the book and it was so amazing i loved the stories and it was trilling my favorite chapter is we must fight back and flying blind.

[Trent]

good book

[Damien Evenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was a grate book and the war was hard we proved winers

[Cole Hilliard]

I like this one better than voices from Iraq because it tells more about the person than the other book. I also liked that they didn’t just talk about marines. The other book just droned on about how good the marines were and they are i just think that people in the navy or military or air forces deserve creadit.