Brave men, gentle heroes : American fathers and sons in World War II and Vietnam / Michael Takiff.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Takiff, Michael, 1955-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American.

World War, 1939-1945.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975.

World War, 1939-1945--Biography.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Biography.

United States--Armed Forces--Biography.

United States.

Armed Forces.

Fathers and sons--United States--Biography.

Fathers and sons.

United States--Biography.

Genre:

Personal narratives -- American.

Biographies.

Personal narratives.

Physical Description:

552 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Morrow, [2003]

Summary:

Brave Men, Gentle Heroes presents the frank, moving, and harrowing stories of men who served in World War II and of their sons who served in Vietnam -- fathers and sons bonded as deeply by their common experience in war as by blood. These are men who served in the army, navy, air force, and Marine Corps. Officers and enlisted men, career servicemen and citizen soldiers. Men of European, African, Asian, Latino, and Native American ancestry. Men who speak with the authentic voices of an Indiana farmer, a Brooklyn bus driver, a Louisiana businessman, a Seattle machinist. The contrasts between World War II and Vietnam are everywhere in these compelling accounts: the clear aims of World War II, the muddled goals of Vietnam; the heroes' welcome accorded World War II veterans, the scorn heaped upon their sons. But the stories in Brave Men, Gentle Heroes are also rich with elements intrinsic to all wars and all soldiers: courage, honor, service, duty, youth, adventure, fear, idealism, love of country and of family, exasperation with military bureaucracy. In these pages you will find war's carnage and war's heroism, war's purpose and war's futility, war's meaning and war's tragic meaninglessness.

Taken together, the stories in Brave Men, Gentle Heroes tell the history of two wars, each the defining experience of a generation. This is history told not at the level of presidents and generals, but through the recollections of men who shouldered the rifles, manned the ships, and flew the planes. We're familiar with the effects of the two wars on world politics. But what did they do to American families? Molded by the awful crucible of war, these seemingly ordinary men offer extraordinary insights into what it means to be a warrior, an American, a father, and a son. Brave Men, Gentle Heroes is a book for those who have been to war and those who have been spared its horror. It is a book for individuals to reflect upon and families to share.

Contents:

I. "His death affected me greatly" / Mike Novosel Sr. 15

II. "You just go get him. Period" / Mike Novosel Jr. 51

III. "We've been given this great country ..." / Legacies of Nation and Family 70

IV. "We knew right away we were going to war" / Pearl Harbor and the Gulf of Tonkin 89

V. "I grew up in two minutes" / Joining and Training 108

VI. "We just lived in snow" / John Mace 129

VII. "Somebody had to walk point" / Michael Mace 147

VIII. "It's not a movie" / First Blood 175

IX. "It was just like flying into a black cloud" / Doing Battle 194

X. "He came to die with me" / Comrades 219

XI. "They were so brave, those guys" / Al Tarbell 234

XII. "You listen to the night" / Mike Tarbell 261

XIII. "An officer doesn't lie, cheat, or steal" / Leaders and Followers 291

XIV. "The soldier who died that night was about nineteen" / Fighting, Killing, Dying 308

XV. "They had plenty of courage" / Enemies and Allies 328

XVI. "There's always been wars" / Gene Swanson 361

XVII. "Not my kids" / Gary Swanson 381

XVIII. "It's got to change you" / Life After War 414

XIX. "For those who were left behind" / Remembering and Forgetting 439

XX. "We are flawed by nature" / Wars Past, Present, and Future 465

XXI. "I didn't let myself worry about it" / Paul Walmsley 472

XXII. "You can't help but care for your family" / Sandy Walmsley 496.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [539]-547).

ISBN:

006621081X

OCLC:

52381280