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Uncommon Valor, Common Virtue
by Hal BuellA dramatic photo history of the battle of Iwo Jima and the iconic picture that captured America-DVD included! On February 23, 1945, as the battle for the Japanese island stronghold of Iwo Jima raged below, Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal's camera captured six troops raising the Stars and Stripes on Mt. Suribachi. That photograph would go on to symbolize the Marines' valor and America's determination to win World War II. This is the story of the ten days Rosenthal spent on Iwo Jima-and how his Pulitzer-winning picture came to be. Containing over 120 combat photographs- including shots of the flag-raising by other photographers-quotes from survivors, newspapers and magazines, battle reports and Medal of Honor citations, here is a grunt's eye view of the bloodiest battle in U.S. Marine Corps history. It also recounts "the photograph's" enduring legacy in popular culture, and reveals the fates of the flag raisers- men who became a fixture in their country's history.
Uncommon Valor: The Medal of Honor and the Warriors Who Earned It in Afghanistan and Iraq
by Dwight Jon Zimmerman John D. GreshamUncommon Valor from Dwight Jon Zimmerman and John D. Gresham presents a fascinating look at six of our bravest soldiers and the highest military decoration awarded in this country.Since the Vietnam War ended in 1973, the Medal of Honor, our nation's highest award for valor, has been presented to only eight men for their actions "above and beyond the call of duty." Six of the eight were young men who had fought in the current war in Iraq, Afghanistan, or both. All of these medals were awarded posthumously, as all had made the choice to give their lives so that their comrades might live. Uncommon Valor answers the searing question of who these six young soldiers were, and dramatically details how they found themselves in life-or-death situations, and why they responded as they did. For the first time, this book also provides a comprehensive history of the Medal of Honor itself—one marred by controversies, scandals, and theft. Using an extraordinary range of sources, including interviews with family members and friends, teammates and superiors in the military, personal letters, blogs posted within hours of events, personal and official videos and newly declassified documents, Uncommon Valor is a compelling and important work that recounts incredible acts of heroism and lays bare the ultimate sacrifice of our bravest soldiers.
Uncommon Valour: The Story of the Victoria Cross
by Granville Allen MawerWhat is the nature of courage, how and when should it be recognized, and how has our appreciation of it changed? These are among the questions Granville Allen Mawer seeks to answer in this absorbing study of the history of the Victoria Cross, the highest award in the British honors system for gallantry in the presence of the enemy. His is the first analytical account of the institution of the Victoria Cross, and it is a fascinating study of the ethics of rewarding bravery. It explores in dispassionate detail the thinking behind the creation of the award, the reasons why individual awards were given and how, over the last 160 years, the system has developed and changed. Using vivid and carefully selected examples, he compares individual actions that led to a Victoria Cross and considers the circumstances in which they took place and the reasons given for making the award. So many factors were involved – the character of the individual concerned, the severity of the danger he faced, the situation of the British forces, whether his conduct was seen and recorded, and the interpretation of the criteria for making an award at the time. This unconventional treatment of the Victoria Cross may be controversial, but it should stimulate a deeper understanding of the history of the medal and of the heroism of those to whom it has been awarded.
Uncommon Wrath: How Caesar and Cato's Deadly Rivalry Destroyed the Roman Republic
by Josiah OsgoodA dual biography of Julius Caesar and Cato the Younger that offers a dire warning: republics collapse when partisanship overrides the common good. In Uncommon Wrath, historian Josiah Osgood tells the story of how the political rivalry between Julius Caesar and Marcus Cato precipitated the end of the Roman Republic. As the champions of two dominant but distinct visions for Rome, Caesar and Cato each represented qualities that had made the Republic strong, but their ideological differences entrenched into enmity and mutual fear. The intensity of their collective factions became a tribal divide, hampering their ability to make good decisions and undermining democratic government. The men&’s toxic polarity meant that despite their shared devotion to the Republic, they pushed it into civil war. Deeply researched and compellingly told, Uncommon Wrath is a groundbreaking biography of two men whose hatred for each other destroyed the world they loved.
Uncompromising Honor (Honor Harrington #19)
by David WeberUncompromising Courage. Uncompromising Vengeance. Uncompromising Honor. The Solarian League—for hundreds of years they have borne the banner of human civilization. But the bureaucratic Mandarins who rule today’s League are corrupt and looking for scapegoats. They’ve decided the upstart Star Kingdom of Manticore must be annihilated. Honor Harrington has worn the Star Kingdom’s uniform for half a century. So far, hers has been a voice of caution. But now the Mandarins have committed atrocities such as the galaxy has not known in a thousand years. They have finally killed too many of the people Honor Harrington loves. Now Honor Harrington is coming for the Solarian League. And Hell is riding in her wake.
Unconditional Democracy: Education and Politics in Occupied Japan, 1945-1952 (Hoover Institution Press Publication #244)
by Toshio NishiThe difficult mission of a regime change: Toshio Nishi gives an account of how America converted the Japanese mindset from war to peace following World War II.
Unconditional Surrender
by Evelyn WaughBy 1941, after serving in North Africa and Crete, Guy Crouchback has lost his Halberdier idealism. A desk job in London gives him the chance of reconciliation with his former wife. Then, in Yugoslavia, as a liaison officer with the partisans, Crouch becomes finally and fully aware of the futility of a war he once saw in terms of honor. Unconditional Surrender is the third novel in Waugh's brilliant Sword of Honor trilogy recording the tumultuous wartime adventures of Guy Crouchback ("the finest work of fiction in English to emerge from World War II" -Atlantic Monthly), which also comprises Men at Arms and Officers and Gentlemen.
Unconditional Surrender, Demobilization and the Atomic Bomb [Illustrated Edition]
by Dr Michael D. PearlmanIncludes The Bombing Of Japan During World War II illustrations pack with 120 maps, plans, and photosThe calculations for bringing large-scale hostilities to an end and for establishing a favorable environment in which post-combat operations, including the occupation of the enemy's homeland, can take place involve high-level military officers in the analysis of a wide range of considerations, many of which fall well beyond what would be traditionally recognized as strictly military in nature.In Unconditional Surrender Demobilization, and the Atomic Bomb, Dr. Michael Pearlman brings home this point through his shrewd assessment of the complex issues confronting U.S. officers as they debated the best course of action to follow in ending the war against Japan. Aside from the list of traditional concerns, such as the human cost of mounting an invasion of Japan, these officers had also to consider such intangibles as continued support for the war effort on the American home front.Thanks to Pearlman's research, the reader comes away with a deeper understanding of why these officers made the recommendations they did to the president and why the president decided to drop the atomic bomb to end World War II.
Unconditional Surrender: The Impact of the Casablanca Policy Upon World War II
by Anne ArmstrongDid the concept of Unconditional Surrender announced by President Roosevelt at the conclusion of the Casablanca conference in 1943 actually prolong the Second World War?No question about Allied policy and conduct of the war has produced more debate, more expression of emotional and political bias—and less dispassionate judgment based upon the facts. This has been so partly because we have not had access to all the facts. In spite of the remarkable coverage of the war given us at the time by our newspapers and our radio reporters and subsequently by historians, we have lacked detailed, authoritative documentation of the impact of Unconditional Surrender upon the people who experienced it at first hand—the Axis powers, their governments and their citizens.Here is a comprehensive and penetrating examination of this controversial policy from its inception as an idea to its utilization as a major Allied propaganda weapon and its imposition upon our enemies as the penalty for aggression and war.In particular, here is the story of what it was like to be part of the other side of the war, to experience developments as members of the German military establishment. Drawing upon hitherto unpublished diaries and letters and upon interviews with leading German generals and members of the anti-Nazi resistance movement, Anne Armstrong presents a vivid picture of the effect of wartime demands for unconditional surrender on those elements in the enemy camp which Allied policy could and should have influenced most decisively—those German leaders with the ability and inclination to terminate the war.
Unconquered: Stories of Nazi Resistance in Occupied Europe
by Robert CarseThe Unconquered, first published in 1942, is a dramatic account of the underground struggle against the Nazis in occupied Europe in World War II. Author Robert Carse (1902-1971) describes resistance activities in a number of countries, including Norway, Holland, Belgium, France, Spain, Greece, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. Based on true incidents and characters, the events are presented in a semi-fictionalized manner, and well-convey the bravery and determination of the people of the occupied nations in their quest for freedom from Nazi tyranny.
Unconventional Warfare
by Don PendletonAn international crime ring rooted in China is distributing raw materials for weapons of mass destruction. Severely battered by counterstrikes, Stony Man suffers casualties in a battle to halt the sale of nuclear material, which is fast becoming a personal race against death.
Unconventional Warfare In The American Civil War
by Major Jeremy B. MillerConsidering the history of unconventional warfare in the United States, and specifically, during the Civil War, it begs the question: Did the Confederacy's strategy to engage in unconventional warfare significantly contribute to its conventional strategy? Two assertions remain most accepted by historians and military personnel. The first prevailing opinion is that the Confederacy's use of unconventional warfare was ineffective and negatively affected the overall campaign. The second opinion is that the South's unconventional efforts yielded unparalleled success and prolonged the war. To evaluate the impact of the Confederacy's unconventional campaign plan, the methodology of this study addresses several subordinate questions: Did the Confederacy adopt an unconventional war strategy as part of its overall strategy? How did conventional military leaders apply unconventional warfare? What effects did unconventional warfare have on conventional operations? Was unconventional warfare at the tactical level linked to operational and strategic level objectives?
Unconventional Warfare from Antiquity to the Present Day
by Brian Hughes Fergus RobsonThe contemporary issue of terrorism - not to mention the rebellions and insurrections ongoing around the globe - is one of the signature problems of the modern world. This proposed collection of essays will be the first to address these issues conceptually in a range of historical periods and places, from a variety of analytic perspectives. The advantage of this approach is that it affords an opportunity to gain a more complete understanding of the dynamics of such conflicts and to establish the current and historical parameters of these hybrid forms of war. While modern political discourse shifts easily between sets of valorising and delegitimising discourses in relation to non-conventional conflicts and combatants, using loaded terminology like 'terrorist' or 'freedom fighter', the individuals who are thus described all engage in unconventional warfare. This has often been characterised as small war, in distinction to 'big' war or conflicts between regular armies. This type of conflict, whether pitting paramilitary or guerrilla groups against each other or against conventional forces, is almost certainly the original form of warfare and it has throughout history continued to play a hugely important, if frequently underestimated or ignored, role in the conflicts which shaped the world.
Unconventional Warfare in South Asia, 1947 to the Present (Critical Essays on Warfare in South Asia, 1947 to the Present)
by Kaushik RoyUnconventional war is an umbrella term which includes insurgencies, counter-insurgencies, terrorism and religious conflicts. Insurgencies and communal conflicts have become much more common in this region since 1947, and more people have died in South Asia due to unconventional wars than conventional warfare. The essays in this volume are organized in two sections. While the first section deals with insurgencies, counter-insurgencies and terrorism; the second section covers the religious aspects of the various intra-state conflicts which mar the multi-ethnic societies of South Asia.
Unconventional Warfare: Small Wars and Insurgencies in the India-Myanmar Borderland (1914–1945)
by Pum Khan PauThe book probes the lesser-known history of the Great Wars in the India-Myanmar borderland from the perspective of the indigenous people of the area. It critically studies how the indigenous hill people saw the Wars as an opportunity to defend their land and free themselves from the bondage of colonial rule. The volume provides an in-depth analysis of the effectiveness of unconventional warfare during the First and Second World Wars, where conventional methods of fighting seemed to be irrelevant in the mountainous Indo-Burma frontier, and studies the role played by the indigenous hill people who had traditional expertise in jungle warfare.An important contribution to indigenous studies, this book will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of history, Northeast India, frontier studies, military history, insurgency and counterinsurgency, colonialism, tribal studies, and the history of modern Southeast Asia.
Unconventional Weapons and International Terrorism: Challenges and New Approaches (Political Violence)
by Magnus Ranstorp Magnus NormarkIn recent years, senior policy officials have highlighted increased signs of convergence between terrorism and unconventional (CBRN) weapons. Terrorism now involves technologies available to anyone, anywhere, anytime, deployed through innovative solutions. This indicates a new and more complex global security environment with increasing risks of terrorists trying to acquire and deploy a CBRN (Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear) attack. This book addresses the critical importance of understanding innovation and decision-making between terrorist groups and unconventional weapons, and the difficulty in pinpointing what factors may drive violence escalation. It also underscores the necessity to understand the complex interaction between terrorist group dynamics and decision-making behaviour in relation to old and new technologies. Unconventional Weapons and International Terrorism seeks to identify a set of early warnings and critical indicators for possible future terrorist efforts to acquire and utilize unconventional CBRN weapons as a means to pursue their goals. It also discusses the challenge for intelligence analysis in handling threat convergence in the context of globalisation. The book will be of great interest to students of terrorism studies, counter-terrorism, nuclear proliferation, security studies and IR in general.
Undaunted: The Real Story of America's Servicewomen in Today's Military
by Mark Thompson Tanya BiankAs she did so provocatively with military spouses in Army Wives, Tanya Biank gives us the inside story of women in today's military--their professional and personal challenges from the combat zone to the home front... Since 9/11, more than 240,000 women have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan--more than 140 have died there, and they currently make up fourteen percent of the total active-duty forces. Despite advances, today's servicewomen are constantly pressed to prove themselves, to overcome challenges men never face, and to put the military mission ahead of all other aspects of their lives, particularly marriage and motherhood. In this groundbreaking, insider's look at the women defending our nation, Tanya Biank brings to light the real issues--of femininity, belonging to an old boys' club, veiled discrimination, dating, marriage problems, separation from children, questions about life goals, career trajectories, and self-worth--that servicewomen are facing by focusing on four individual stories. Brigadier General Angela Salinas, the Marine Corps' first Hispanic female general, faces the challenge of commanding an all-male institution. Second Lieutenant Bergan Flanagan finds herself on the frontlines in Afghanistan, serving in the same military police company as her husband. As a marine drill instructor, Sergeant Amy Stokley demands the very best from the recruits at Parris Island. And Major Candice O'Brien deals with deployment to Afghanistan, with two young children and a strained marriage back home. Undaunted is the story of these courageous trailblazers--their struggles, sacrifices, and triumphs in the name of serving the country they love.
Undefeated
by Bill SloanBased on exclusive interviews with more than thirty survivors, Undefeated tells the courageous story of the outnumbered American soldiers and airmen who stood against invading Japanese forces in the Philippines at the beginning of World War II, and continued to resist through three harrowing years as POWs. Bill Sloan, "a master of the combat narrative" (Dallas Morning News), captures the valor, fortitude, and agony of the American defenders of the Philippines. Abandoned by their government, the men and women of the U.S. garrison battled hopeless military odds, rampant disease, and slow starvation to delay the inevitable surrender of the largest American military force ever. For four months they fought toe to toe against overwhelming enemy numbers--and forced the Japanese to pay a heavy cost in blood for every inch of ground they gained on the Bataan peninsula. After the surrender came the infamous Bataan Death March, where up to eighteen thousand American and Filipino prisoners died or were murdered as they marched sixty-five miles under the most hellish conditions imaginable. Rather than picturing these defenders as little more than helpless victims of a powerful and sadistic enemy--as have most previous books about the Philippine campaign--Undefeated tells the full story of the remarkable courage and indomitable will that cost the Japanese invaders thousands of casualties on Bataan and Corregidor. Interwoven throughout this gripping narrative are the harrowing personal experiences of dozens of American soldiers, airmen, and Marines. Sloan also provides vivid portraits of the officers who led the American forces, such as General Douglas MacArthur, who escaped to Australia as the situation on Bataan worsened, and General Jonathan Wainwright, who succeeded him as top U.S. commander in the Philippines and himself became a prisoner of the Japanese. Undefeated chronicles one of the great sagas of World War II--and celebrates a resounding triumph of the human spirit.
Undefeated: From Basketball to Battle
by Jim Noles“A provocative, arresting, put-you-there account of a forgotten 1940s Army basketball team that we now realize shouldn’t be forgotten” (Lars Anderson, New York Times–bestselling author).In 1943, the West Point basketball team, the Cadets, had only managed a 5-10 record, and for the 1944 season, coach Ed Kelleher’s hopes of reversing Army’s fortunes rested on his five starters. They consisted of three seniors—team captain “Big Ed” Christl, John “Three Star” Hennessey, and class president Bobby Faas—and two juniors, Dale Hall and Doug Kenna.As the new season opened in January of 1944, Kelleher’s strategy paid handsome dividends. By the end of January, West Point was 6–0; by the end of February, the team boasted a 13-0 record. Of course, during those weeks, it only took a glance at the newspaper headlines to be reminded that there were far bigger contests than intercollegiate basketball afoot in the winter of 1944. The world was at war. The US Army needed its finest on the front line more than on the court, and the three seniors were soon destined for other battles . . .In the years that followed, the Army’s basketball team would never again have a chance to play in the NCAA tournament, and in the modern era, few remember West Point’s perfect 1944 season. Although West Point’s home basketball court is named the Edward C. Christl Arena, and the National Invitational Tournament’s trophy is named after his coach, Edward A. Kelleher, too few people fully appreciate why. But after reading Undefeated, they will.“Hoosiers meets Band of Brothers.” —Col. Scott Maytan
Under Attack (Kidnapped From Ukraine #1)
by Marsha Forchuk SkrypuchThis gripping, accessible novel by celebrated Ukrainian Canadian author Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch follows two sisters as they struggle to survive the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. 12-year-old twin sisters Rada and Dariia Popkova couldn’t be more different. Dariia is outgoing and chatty while Rada is a quieter and artsy. But what they have in common is their love for each other and their home. The family lives in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which is attacked by the Russians on Feb 24th, 2022.The attack separates the family -- Dariia is with her mom and Rada with her dad. Dariia and her mother are then separated by Russian officials and Dariia is sent to live with a Russian family. As the war rages around them, the sisters and their family must overcome unimaginable hardships. But they will learn how powerful hope is in the face of disaster.
Under False Flags (The Wendell Lett Novels)
by Steve AndersonForced into the Battle of the Bulge, two soldiers on opposing sides find the courage to desert when their honor is betrayed in this WWII thriller.Belgium, 1944. For both American GI Wendell Lett and German seaman Holger Frings, the relentless bloodbath of World War II has become a prison and a curse. Just as Lett meets a Belgian woman who offers him deliverance from the toll of combat, he is pushed into a reckless false flag mission. At the same time, Frings is conscripted into a similar operation that takes him to the breaking point. Their fates collide in the surprise Ardennes counteroffensive known as the Battle of the Bulge. As Lett tries to find his way back to his beloved Heloise, he and Frings team up to desert their savage overseers while the battle rages around them. In Under False Flags, the absurdity of war is brought to brutal light as each side attempts to disguise their cannon fodder in enemy uniform. Under False Flags is the prequel to The Preserve, the second book featuring Wendell Lett.
Under False Flags: A Novel
by Steve AndersonForced into the brutal Battle of the Bulge of 1944, two soldiers on opposing sides find the courage to desert a war gone sour.For both American GI Wendell Lett and German seaman Holger Frings, the relentless bloodbath of World War II has become a treacherous prison and a curse. Just as Wendell Lett meets Heloise, a wise Belgian woman who offers him a chance of deliverance from the physical and emotional carnage of war, he is pushed into a reckless false flag mission. At the same time behind enemy lines, Frings becomes a forced volunteer for a similar German operation that takes him to a breaking point. The two enemies' destructive fates collide in the surprise Ardennes counteroffensive-the 1944 Battle of the Bulge-and both have to finally confront the war that betrayed them.As Lett tries to find his way back to his beloved Heloise, he and Frings team up to desert their savage overseers while the battles rage around them. In Under False Flags, the absurdity of war is brought to brutal light as each side-whether friend or foe-attempts to disguise their cannon fodder in enemy uniform. This is a gritty war tale that turns conventional notions of valor, heroism, and prestige on its head.
Under Fire
by Henri BarbusseThis book follows a squad of French volunteer soldiers on the front in France after the German invasion. The book opens and ends with broad visions shared by multiple characters. The anecdotes are episodic in nature, each with an individual chapter title. In contrast to many war novels which came before it, Under Fire describes war in gritty and brutal realism.
Under Fire (Corps #9)
by W.E.B. GriffinGriffin takes his Marine heroes to Korea, in the biggest Corps novel of them all.Through eight books, Griffin's bestselling chronicle of the Marine Corps has proven itself to be one of the country's most enduring and popular series. Now, Griffin leaves World War II behind and thrusts his readers deep into the heart of the Korean War.June 1, 1950: Captain Ken McCoy's report on probable North Korean hostilities meets with so much bureaucratic displeasure that not only is it promptly suppressed, but McCoy himself is kicked out of the Corps. At least two outfits, however, are not impressed by such infighting: the fledgling CIA, which promptly hires McCoy, and the North Koreans, who on June 25th invade across the 38th parallel. Immediately, veterans scattered throughout military and civilian life are called up, many with only 72 hours' notice. Fleming Pickering and his daredevil son Malcolm, Ed Manning, George Hart, Jack Stecker, Jake Dillon, Ernie Zimmerman - for them and their sweethearts and wives, names such as Inchon, Pusan, and the Choisin Reservoir will acquire a new, bloody reality, and Korea will become not only a new battlefield...but their greatest challenge of all.Filled with the crackling realism, adventure, and rich characters that are his hallmarks, Under Fire is further proof, as Tom Clancy says, that "W.E.B. Griffin is a storyteller in the grand tradition."
Under Fire in the Dardanelles: The Great War Diaries & Photographs of Major Edward Cadogan
by Viscount ChelseaEdward Cadogan kept a record of his war in words and photographs. His baptism by fire in Gallipoli made a profound effect on him but, as the situation deteriorated and casualties mounted, he became highly critical of the plan and the leadership. His front line experiences are balanced by his contact with senior commanders. Wounded and clearly in poor health he was fortunate to survive. After the ignominious withdrawal, Cadogan soldiered on in Egypt and Palestine increasingly disenchanted with the conduct of the War. His descriptions of conditions at the Front are complemented by his interest in family affairs at home.This compilation is not only superb military history but a unique piece of social commentary.