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| Books about soldiers in battle for Memorial Day |
| 2007-05-27 |
| By John McCain 1. "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway Before I entered the U.S. Naval Academy as a young man, I'd read "For Whom the Bell Tolls," a book that helped bring home to me one of the fundamentals of military experience: what it is that moves soldiers in battle. Clashing ideologies and interests might be the genesis of war, but for the soldier any conflict comes down to fighting for his brothers. In Ernest Hemingway's novel, the main character, Robert Jordan, is an American teacher who has joined the International Brigades; he is an idealist battling against fascism in the Spanish Civil War. But he becomes disenchanted--not necessarily with his cause but with its leaders and with their foreign allies. Still, in the end, Jordan voluntarily sacrifices his life for the sake of the people he fought alongside, the people he had come to love. Hemingway himself was not a veteran, but he saw war close up in the ambulance corps in World War I--a perspective that gave him a profound grasp of the instinct that binds warriors together. 2. "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" by Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon's six-volume classic is rightly considered the greatest historical narrative ever written. It chronicles Roman rule from the second century to the empire's collapse in the west in the fourth century and in the east in the 15th, with the fall of Constantinople. Gibbon famously portrayed the "vicissitudes of fortune, which spares neither man nor the proudest of his works, which buries empires and cities in a common grave." But his eloquent, sweeping exposition showed that this peerless imperial power had a hand in its own decay, done in by decadence, corruption and war. The soldiers of Rome's legions could not make up for the negligence of their leaders. 3. "This Kind of War" by T.R. Fehrenbach T.R. Fehrenbach's "This Kind of War: A Study in Unpreparedness" is perhaps the best book ever written on the Korean War. Fehrenbach, who saw the conflict firsthand as an Army officer, offers a sobering, comprehensive look at a war that the U.S. military was ill prepared to fight. He relates in detail how American soldiers--many of whom were poorly trained and equipped--bore the burden of bad planning and the bad decisions of their senior commanders. The soldiers endured many setbacks and the most awful conditions, yet still overcame their enemy. The Korean War, sandwiched between World War II and the Vietnam War, is often overlooked, but it occasioned no smaller measure of heroism--or suffering--from the Americans who fought it. 4. "Hell in a Very Small Place" by Bernard B. Fall "Hell in a Very Small Place: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu," another classic of its kind, is a fascinating look at the decisions in the French Indo-China war that led to the decisive battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, when a communist guerrilla force overwhelmed a French military base. The book also explores how the battle influenced America's involvement in Vietnam and how it helped the enemy learn a strategy and gain the confidence to fight us. Journalist Bernard Fall--who was killed in Vietnam in 1967, a year after the book's publication--merited all the acclaim he received for "Hell in a Very Small Place." It stands as a brilliant work of enduring historical importance. American leaders should ponder the lessons of Dien Bien Phu today just as they should have pondered them before following the French into Vietnam. 5. "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque In Erich Maria Remarque's extraordinary novel, based on his experience fighting for Germany in World War I, a young man and his classmates march off to the trenches full of bravado--but in their first encounter with battle, they fall apart. All his vanity gone, the young man learns to hate the thing he thought would be an adventure. "All Quiet on the Western Front" is an indelible depiction of World War I, but it is also a timeless reminder that whether a conflict is necessary or not, whether it is ably commanded or mishandled, whether its outcome is just or unjust, war is a deadly enterprise. We should all shed a tear when war claims its wages. Personally, I would recommend the book "The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme" by John Keegan. It really makes you feel like you have some grasp on what it might have been like to be in those battles and is a great read. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #11 I saw Patton and Eisenhower (begrudginly) too. Sounds like the vets wanted early distribution of funds the gov't didn't have. No good answer, but bayonets seems a little extreme |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-05-27 20:00 |
| #10 The Commander of the troops in charge of driving out the Bonus Army was? 100 points for the answer. AW, I'll tell ya anyway. Douglas McArthur |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2007-05-27 19:48 |
| #9 it certainly sounded like a no-win situation, for ALL involved |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-05-27 19:36 |
| #8 Frank, you might want to take a look at this. Naturally the libs fall all over themselves about it, but it was not one of the brighter points in any of the careers discussed. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2007-05-27 19:21 |
| #7 I found this to be a fascinating and revealing list. Every one of the books is about defeat, none about victory. None is inspirational. I wonder what his list would have been before his stay at the Hanoi Hilton. That is why McCain, combat hero that he is notwithstanding, still will not win the Presidency. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2007-05-27 19:16 |
| #6 excellent, thanks |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-05-27 19:12 |
| #5 Here's a bit of basic info on the Bonus Army (as they were called), Frank. I'm sure there are some good books out there as well. |
| Posted by: ryuge 2007-05-27 18:57 |
| #4 Moose, that was news to me about the US WWI vets being driven out? Curious to see any links you have...learn something new every day at the burg |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-05-27 18:53 |
| #3 Thank you for that, Icerigger. Your link wouldn't open for me (gunk in the intartubes, no doubt), but this one will: link |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-05-27 18:24 |
| #2 Just as important as reading about war, is reading about what happens after war is over. Though it is hard to find, I recommend Erich Maria Remarque's lesser known book, "The Road Back". It continues the story of the German soldiers back from the war, to be greeted by a cold, indifferent, and even cruel civilian world that looks on them with contempt and even hatred. And much like the American veterans of WWI, who were denied support when ruined in the great depression, then driven out of Washington, D.C. at the point of bayonets, the Germans veterans, when they protested a lack of pensions, were greeted with machine gun fire. And those are the stories that should also be remembered on Memorial Day. As well as the hatred of the left for veterans. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-05-27 18:05 |
| #1 A day early but maybe someone wants to post this Monday. Happy Memorial Day-Decoration Day, in Honor of those who Served. The Mansions of the Lord (song online) Sung by the West Point Glee Club "We Were Soldiers" To fallen soldiers let us sing where no rockets fly nor bullets wing Our broken brothers let us bring to the mansions of the Lord No more bleeding no more fight No prayers pleading through the night just divine embrace, eternal light in the mansions of the Lord Where no mothers cry and no children weep We will stand and guard to the angels sleep All through the ages safely keep the mansions of the Lord |
| Posted by: Icerigger 2007-05-27 11:49 |