Memories Of Combat

Looks at the effect of deadly battle on the body and mind and offers new research findings to help prevent lasting adverse effects.

A new edition of Paul Fussell's literate, literary, and illuminating account of the Great War, now a classic text of literary and cultural criticism.

"Curating and Re-Curating the American Wars in Vietnam and Iraq is about looking for war knowledge in unexpected places, such as war memorials, museum exhibitions, war cemeteries, and novels and memoirs. What one finds there can contradict the prescribed understandings of a particular war or, say, endorse the tendency to treat military personnel as heroes to be thanked. Especially when 'ordinary curators' display memories of their war experiences through the objects left at memorials and graves, or through the words they curate in war novels, the observer/reader gets a glimpse of actual lives lost, futures cut short and even some of the dull noncombat jobs military do in war zones. The main point is that war is a social institution and its experiences are plentiful and decentralized. Many scholars and other interested readers look for war in the decisions and movements of militaries and states, but this book's difference is that it focuses on how a variety of formal and informal war curators present the American wars in Vietnam and Iraq at a moment of American militarism"--

This book is composed of individual essays that I have written over the last 15 years. They address a variety of topics ranging from the 1944 Normandy invasion to other combat areas that I have had significant personal experience with, beginning with Vietnam through the birth of today's special operations forces. Much of the real background history has been lost over time and I wish to memorialize it while I still can. Above all else, these essays are a salute to the infantry: Army and Marine, who among our military, have borne the greatest burden in all our wars and conflicts since the birth of this nation. I have written these essays with the hope that the lay reader can learn to appreciate the experience of the uniformed participant in our national conflicts and understand the sacrifices and issues that a very small portion of our population experiences on behalf of us all. Normandy has been a particular obsession of mine since I was 10 years old. I commanded the 40th anniversary return to Normandy by the 82d Airborne in 1984 and have been returning there every year to provide staff rides to the U.S. and Allied soldiers and airmen that arrive each year. I have had the privilege of walking the ground with many of the original veterans and gaining insights that no history book contains. I firmly believe that the invasion was the greatest single effort our civilization has ever undertaken and probably ever will. It represents a microcosm of what we are as a people and what our uniformed personnel are all about. It and they are unique. Normandy is unique, hallowed, and largely untouched ground and above all else, it is the story of ordinary people doing extraordinary things, which is the foundation of our nation. Vietnam was the war for my generation. Among many things, I learned to appreciate the qualities of other nationalities as well as the frailties and shortcomings of my own. Above all else, Vietnam gave me a very personal lifelong appreciation for the common soldier doing his work in an uncommon manner; he above all else deserves our respect and appreciation. Grenada was a true watershed in our history. It put the ills of Vietnam behind us, gave us a renewed sense of national pride and was the epitome of what America is all about - returning democracy to those that had lost it and acting as a symbol of selfless sacrifice for something greater than each of us. Grenada, with its failures, provided the impetus for badly needed reforms to the special operations community and spawned all the tools and capabilities that today we take for granted. The Desert Wars have been a huge national stress test for our military. Years of difficult grunt labor for ambiguous purposes and possibly lost causes have not diminished in the slightest the strength and will of our uniformed Americans, despite the fact that they deserve far more than what their nation has granted them in return for their service. Reflections is a collection of comments and observations that have no specific geographical or campaign purpose but make specific points regarding issues and people. The Special Operations experience was perhaps the most meaningful for me on a personal basis. I was there in the beginning with the Iran hostage rescue attempt and saw on a very personal basis how the services resisted and fought creation and enhancement of the capabilities we now enjoy and take for granted. I had a small part in the creation of what we see today as born through the Nunn-Cohen Amendment, MFP 11 (SOF Funding), and Goldwater-Nichols. Despite the institutional pain I suffered as a result of the association, I wear the scars with great pride and know that the capabilities and values will remain long after my passing.

Even the Women Must Fight "Karen Turner and Phan Thanh Hao have brought scholarship and compassion to a long-neglected aspect of the Vietnam War--the contributions of Vietnamese women to the independence struggle of their nation and the terrible price they paid for their courage and patriotism."--Neil Sheehan, author of A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam. A searing chronicle of wartime experiences, Even the Women Must Fight probes the cultural legacy of North Vietnam's American War. Unflinching in its portrayal of hardship, valor, and personal sacrifice, this wrenching account is nothing short of a revelation, banishing in one bold stroke the familiar image of Vietnamese women as passive onlookers, war brides, prostitutes, or helpless refugees. "Karen Turner has given us a book that will change our understanding of the Vietnam War--and of Vietnam today. I found it enthralling." --Cynthia Enloe, author of The Morning After: * Sexual Politics at the End of the Cold War. "A first-rate book that will add substantially to our understanding of the human tragedy associated with one of the most bloody conflicts in recent history."--Robert Brigham, Professor of History, Vassar College.

It was another miserable, hot day in the hell they called Dong Ha, Vietnam. I was hanging on the fence just below the razor wire with my head dropped in shame. The rock I had just thrown at the POW missed, but the act stung like a killer bee. I knew instantly when he glanced towards me and our eyes met it was a cowardly act. "The Look" he gave would serve me well for the rest of my life. We were two young men caught in a war we both knew very little about. One was being held as a trophy on display and the other just angry; waiting for his ride home from a hell hole they called war. Who put us there does not factor. Only how we conduct the acts we are obligated to perform stands the test of time. Those acts will be memories parading through our minds for the rest of our lives causing shame, guilt, pride, or lack of either. Within seconds after throwing that rock I knew he and I would both always remember this moment in time. The empathy overwhelming at times ends only when hopeful thoughts of his survival relieve the vision. Our path crossing again is unlikely, but that memory serves as a reminder that we will always be inseparable in thought. This early lesson in humanity guided many actions of a nineteen year old into maturity with constant reminders. Repeating an episode of this behavior was never repeated again. So for that one look, that one look of disappointment in the prisoner's eyes I owe a deep sincere appreciation. With that split second stare I obtained a valuable necessary lesson in life. In the Library of Congress the book of U.S. Marines in Vietnam "An Expanding War" 1966 there is mention of a prisoner captured near the Cam Lo and Dong Ha area. Under some persuasion and interrogation he gave up the plans of the Northern invaders to retake the Rock Pile and DMZ areas of Vietnam. In this little French made fort the process of extracting this information took place only one thin wall away from my presence. Making sense of it all is the question I keep asking myself these days. We live, love, laugh, prosper, and enjoy our lives for so many years before this question even becomes a thought. In an almost panic to put it all together we may feel compelled to divide our lives in sections of importance. Remembering what made us this way, what developed our skills, and how they were acquired must shed light on where our personality and traits, good or bad, came from. This writer hopes somehow after reading this memoir others can relate to their childhood knowing that maturity feeds the question "who am I", and how did I get this way? If we are to understand this, then it would seem possible to come to grips with our accomplishments and disappointments in a manner that will help us understand the twists and turns of your own lives. This look back should not be to find blame for our decisions. We were all "in charge" of our lives after a certain age. We have all had the option to change directions at any time during our adult years. Even though our childhood experiences had profound influence on our future, we all eventually knew right from wrong, and the decisions we made, good or bad, became solely our responsibility. The potential of severe emotional toll that surfaces on most all participants is not to be taken lightly. Looking back through the years with as much detachment and humor as possible feels like a much healthier agenda. Does denying our negative history enable us to start over, or just suggest the inability to let it go? No need, it will always be there. The primary fuel for starting this memoir has been to explore the lasting effect on combat-zone youth and military or civilian personal with similar exposure to war. I hope the following chapters will expose the intent to explain lack of accomplishments or poor choices of direction is not to lay blame on others. Own It, heal it, and survive the experience with a measure of success.

"When I was eighteen, Uncle Sam told me he'd like me to put on a uniform and go off to fight a guy by the name of Adolf. So I did." When Alan Cope joined the army and went off to fight in World War II, he had no idea what he was getting into. This graphic memoir is the story of his life during wartime, a story told with poignant intimacy and matchless artistry. Across a generation, a deep friendship blossomed between Alan Cope and author/artist Emmanuel Guibert. From it, Alan's War was born – a graphic novel that is a deeply personal and moving experience, straight from the heart of the Greatest Generation – a unique piece of WWII literature and a ground-breaking graphic memoir.

This is the story of my life from ages eighteen to twenty-one, serving as an infantry soldier and radio operator in the European Theater during those years of combat against Germany during World War II. I am now eighty-six, looking back to those eventful years and remembering history. I grew up in the Bronx in New York in a wonderfully mixed neighborhood, full of Italian, Jewish, Polish, and Irish people and attended POS 89 along with all the other kids. We all walked to school together tossing a ball around and at times causing mischief, especially with a farmer and his goat along the way. Prejudice wasnt a word we know. At eighteen, in the early forties, I enlisted in the army and began a whole new life. These are some of my most vivid memories from that time. It is about a friendship that was formed with two other soldiers who I met at Camp Wheeler by sheer coincidence; we went into combat together and became lifelong friends: one Italian, one Jewish, and the other Irish. We fought together, laughed together, cried together, and bonded. We were kids who became soldiers together and never lost the kinship we had found. Lord, how I miss them both. England, France, Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakiawhere else could an eighteen-year-old go free of charge, and with all his friends, too? And being on a huge passenger liner to boot well, there were a few problems but hey, thats the way it was. This is dedicated to those few of us who are still here and to all who didnt make it.

Michael D. "Moon" Mullins with his usual flair has found a perfect way to bring life to the stories of America's Warriors. His lyrical way with words has opened a window into the past that is closing much too quickly. Out of the Mist, Memories of War touches the soul and brings the reader to a deep understanding of the sacrifices made by those ready to stand in the breach. ~ D. H. Brown, Award-winning author of Honor Defended, Board member of Military Writers Society of America, Vietnam Veteran

Explores the parallels between the healing of Vietnam veterans and Americans' collective recovery from the war. Examines films and novels, as well as political speeches, national monuments, and the backwoods rituals of the men's movement in light of the testimony of traumatized veterans. During the Vietnam War, both soldiers in combat and citizens on the home front witnessed the collapse of the myths on which they had been raised. As they have tried to rebuild those myths over the last 25 years, both traumatized veterans and Americans at large have slipped into complex cycles of denial and recollection. Americans must accept, rather than seek to expunge, their memories of the conflict.