Donna Diane

Imagine that you’re suffocating from poisonous gas being pumped into the chamber you’re locked in.  You hear explosions and feel concussions all around. You feel helpless as you are thrust down toward a watery grave. Fear is gripping you, and thinking about a terrifying death is pushing you toward madness. Will you drown or pass out from a lack of oxygen?

War Beneath the Waves by Don Keith is not a Hollywood movie or a fictional horror novel, it’s the true story of the submarine the USS Billfish and the men who served aboard her during World War II. They lived and fought in horrible conditions so they could defend America by hunting the enemy in stealth.

Some of our submerged predators were commanded by men whose lack of fortitude put our sailor’s lives at risk, and some had cunning skippers who inspired valor in their crews and used their boats to deal punishing blows to the enemy. These commanders had to make up the rules as they went along because although submarines weren’t new, we had never used them in such a wartime manner and there was no previous experience for predicting the nature of enemy engagements. Dauntless skippers learned from their mistakes, if they lived through them, and then incorporated what was successful into their rule book.

This book is a great read for all and especially our military. The behavior of the officers described in this book must certainly be used as lessons for our current officer corps. Enemies change and evolve and only a military that is adaptable and sometimes daring can be prevail. This book will improve the crucible in which we test our military before they get to war, and the harder they are tested in training the less likely they are to fail in combat.

You will find this book to be an exciting page turner as well as educational!

The very real events of Islands of the Damned took place over sixty-five years ago yet it is a timely book relevant to today’s war. The chilling effects of hand to hand combat on the individual have not changed in millennia, and as we prosecute our global war on terror it would be wise for us to become aware of the exacting toll it takes on those who fight our wars. Islands of the Damned will charge you with the deeply emotional demands of men faced with killing the enemy in defense of our country.

You will come to understand why unnecessary battles end up being fought and the physical and mental tolls of such battles. From the joys of watching porpoises and flying fish frolic in the wake of the ships carrying our Marines to the war, to the heartbreak of friendly fire causalities, you will learn how ordinary men can step up and perform extraordinarily valiant acts or make tragic mistakes that have lifelong consequences.

Historically this is a different view of the battles of New Britain, Peleliu and Okinawa than the traditionally accepted texts. R.V. Burgin will broaden your mind of what happened during these world changing battles. As the ranks of our World War II veterans grow thinner by the day, these first-hand accounts of front line events become more precious.

Read Islands of the Damned and personally connect with the feelings and expectations of regular guys off the farms and streets who were forced into war to by an enemy who breached the rules of combat and employed terrorist tactics long before  September 11, 2001.

Victory Point will sweep you into the arcane world of Afghanistan’s beautiful yet austere Hindu Kush Mountains, a place ruled by a mix of ancient tribalism and Islam. This recounting of two historic military operations in the ongoing war against terror is written with the riveting passion usually found in first class works of fiction.

You will experience fear, laugh at jarhead humor, cry for our lost warriors, and cheer for grunts, Warthogs, and amazing feats of flying by Shock Army and Dustoff aviators. Exhausted from hiking nearly vertical terrain in 120 degree temperatures while carrying 130 pounds of gear each, the grunts of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines crushed a ruthless Islamic fundamentalist. This is the true story of men whose resolve to win surpassed the most punishing environment imaginable and an evil enemy who had all the advantages.

Read the entire book and let Ed Darack educate you. From the first forays into the seemingly impassable Hindu Kush Mountains by Alexander the Great in 330 BC to the Soviets of the 1980’s, the peoples of this region have been invaded time after time experiencing some of the most gruesome and widespread acts of inhumanity in history.

Your gut will churn as you read about the widow and her child who were doused in gasoline and burnt alive by the Soviets, and your heart will soar with pride as one Marine enlists the help of Americans back home to build and supply a girl’s school.

Victory Point is the real story of our military and how this war is being fought. It tells about the mistakes, the chance happenings, the value of human intelligence, the plans that get pushed aside making operations more dangerous, and the gut feelings that turn out to be true. You will learn why Marines persevere when all others fail.

A personal note: I am biased towards these Marines. It was early June 2005 when I browsed the list of units in Afghanistan on AnySoldier.com. I selected three units of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines to support and immediately started writing weekly letters and sending bi-weekly care packages to the three units. During the several months that I supported these Marines I received nearly thirty letters from them; some written just after returning from the very missions chronicled in this engaging book. At the time I didn’t realize how treacherous their missions had been.