Soldier Dog


Book Description

With his older brother gone to fight in the Great War, and his father prone to sudden rages, 14-year-old Stanley devotes himself to taking care of the family's greyhound and puppies. Until the morning Stanley wakes to find the puppies gone. Determined to find his brother, Stanley runs away to join an increasingly desperate army. Assigned to the experimental War Dog School, Stanley is given a problematic Great Dane named Bones to train. Against all odds, the pair excels, and Stanley is sent to France. But in Soldier Dog by Sam Angus, the war in France is larger and more brutal than Stanley ever imagined. How can one young boy survive World War I and find his brother with only a dog to help?




Soldier Dogs #1: Air Raid Search and Rescue


Book Description

The paw-biting start to a thrilling new adventure series perfect for fans of Max and the I Survived books, inspired by the brave military dogs who helped our troops win World War II. When Matt’s older brother enlisted in the army, he left Matt his German Shepherd, Chief, a retired fire dog and the best pet EVER. So Matt isn’t happy when Chief starts paying attention to his foster sister Rachel instead of him. But when Nazi planes begin bombing the city, Matt finds himself in an impossible situation. Can he be a hero to his sister when it matters most? And when they get caught outside during the air raid, will Chief be there to save the day?




Soldier Dogs #5: Battle of the Bulge


Book Description

A loyal army of sled dog teams up with an unlikely pair of kids to help Allied forces win the Battle of the Bulge in the fifth book in this action-packed middle grade series! Perfect for fans of the Hero and Scout books. Comes with a pull-out collectible poster and map! Boss the Alaskan Husky is parachuting into the middle of a snowstorm. As an army dog, it's her job to bring supplies to Allied troops during the Battle of the Bulge. But when she finds a wounded sled dog and two lost kids, she knows she has to help them, too. As the blizzard bears down, can Boss complete her mission, escape the Nazis, and get the kids out of the storm alive?




11 Days in December


Book Description

In 11 Days In December, master historian and biographer Stanley Weintraub tells the remarkable story of the Battle of the Bulge as it has never been told before, from frozen foxholes to barn shelters to boxcars packed with wretched prisoners of war. In late December 1944, as the Battle of the Bulge neared its climax, a German loudspeaker challenge was blared across GI lines in the Ardennes: "How would you like to die for Christmas?" In the inhospitable forest straddling Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, only the dense, snow-laden evergreens recalled the season. Most troops hardly knew the calendar day they were trying to live through, or that it was Hitler's last, desperate effort to alter the war's outcome. Yet the final Christmas season of World War II matched desperation with inspiration. When he was offered an ultimatum to surrender the besieged Belgian town of Bastogne, Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe defied the Germans with the memorable one-word response, "Nuts!" And as General Patton prayed for clear skies to allow vital airborne reinforcements to reach his trapped men, he stood in a medieval chapel in Luxembourg and spoke to God as if to a commanding general: "Sir, whose side are you on?" His prayer was answered. The skies cleared, the tide of battle turned, and Allied victory in World War II was assured. Christmas 1944 proved to be one of the most fateful days in world history. Many men did extraordinary things, and extraordinary things happened to ordinary men. "A clear cold Christmas," Patton told his diary, "lovely weather for killing Germans, which seems a bit queer, seeing whose birthday it is." Peace on earth and good will toward men would have to wait. 11 Days in December is unforgettable.




Soldier Dogs #2: Attack on Pearl Harbor


Book Description

Inspired by the stories of the real dogs who courageously served during World War II, this action-packed book takes readers into the action during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. When Skipper, the street dog all the Navy guys love, follows Joe home, Joe can’t believe his luck. But with a new baby brother in the house, he knows his family can’t afford the extra mouth to feed. So he and his friends hatch a perfect plan: present Skipper to Joe’s dad, who works on the USS West Virginia, as a mascot dog for the ship. But when Joe is interrupted by the Japanese surprise attack on the harbor, it may be up to Skipper to make sure they all make it out alive. Perfect for fans of the bestselling Max and Hero books!




Soldier Dogs #3: Secret Mission: Guam


Book Description

Step into the action as the U.S. Marines and the Dobermans of World War II fight to recapture the island of Guam from Japanese troops. It’s 1944, and the Second Battle of Guam is in full gear. Twelve-year-old Bo just escaped from a work camp, and he’s ready to help kick the enemy off his island. Stryker is an official U.S. Marine Doberman on an urgent mission. When Bo and Stryker meet in the jungle, they team up to help the American forces. But between painful injuries, raging rivers, wild animals, and a surprise attack on a hospital, their job isn’t easy. With a Japanese soldier hot on their trail, can they deliver their top-secret message in time? Told in the alternating perspectives of Bo and Stryker, this action-packed adventure is inspired by the real-life Dobermans of World War II who bravely served beside the U.S. Marines.




Dog Company


Book Description

An epic World War II story of valor, sacrifice, and the Rangers who led the way to victory in Europe It is said that the right man in the right place at the right time can make the difference between victory and defeat. This is the dramatic story of sixty-eight soldiers of the U.S. Army's 2nd Ranger Battalion, D Company -- Dog Company -- who made that difference, time and again. From D-Day, when German guns atop Pointe du Hoc threatened the Allied landings and the men of Dog Company scaled the ninety-foot cliffs to destroy them; to the thickly forested slopes of Hill 400, in Germany's Hü Forest, where the Rangers launched a desperate bayonet charge across an open field, captured the crucial hill, and held it against all odds. In each battle, the men of Dog Company made the difference. Dog Company is their unforgettable story -- thoroughly researched and vividly told by acclaimed combat historian Patrick K. O'Donnell -- a story of extraordinary bravery, courage, and determination. America had many heroes in World War II, but few can say that, but for them, the course of the war may have been very different. The right men, in the right place, at the right time -- Dog Company.




Inside the Battle of the Bulge


Book Description

Military Memoirs Reading List 2014.




House to House


Book Description

On 8 November 2004, the largest battle of the War on Terror began, with the US Army's assault on Fallujah and its network of tens of thousands of insurgents hiding in fortified bunkers, on rooftops, and inside booby-trapped houses. For Sgt. David Bellavia of 3rd Platoon, Alpha Company, it quickly turned into a battle on foot, from street to street and house to house. On the second day, he and his men laid siege to a mosque, only to be driven to a rooftop and surrounded, before heavy artillery could smash through to rescue them. By the third day, Bellavia charges an insurgent-filled house and finds himself trapped with six enemy fighters. One by one, he shoots, wrestles, stabs, and kills five of them, until his men arrive to take care of the final target. It is one of the most hair-raising battle stories of any age -- yet it does not spell the end of Bellavia's service. It would take serveral more weeks before the Battle of Fallujah finally came to a close, with Bellavia, miraculously, alive. In the words of the author: "HOUSE TO HOUSE holds nothing back. It is a raw, gritty look at killing and combat and how men react to it. It is gut-wrenching, shocking and brutal. It is honest. It is not a glorification of war. Yet it will not shy from acknowledging this: sometimes it takes something as terrible as war for the full beauty of the human spirit to emerge."




Finding Your Father's War


Book Description

A guide to learning more about your relatives’ experience serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. In this fully revised edition of Finding Your Father’s War, military historian Jonathan Gawne has written an easily accessible handbook for anyone seeking greater knowledge of their relatives’ experience in World War II, or indeed anyone seeking a better understanding of the U.S. Army during World War II. With over 470 photographs, charts, and an engaging narrative with many rare insights into wartime service, this book is an invaluable tool for understanding our “citizen soldiers,” who once rose as a generation to fight the greatest war in American history. “Jonathan's Gawne’s book is a 5-star blueprint, well-written and beautifully illustrated, to deciphering a loved one’s WW2 U.S. Army service.” —The Commander’s Voice “A great read not only for genealogists wishing to research an ancestor, but also for those who simply have an interest in the United States Army during World War II . . . written so that anyone, even those with no military background, can understand, yet also includes more advanced information . . . detail is phenomenal . . . a must read reference book for any professional genealogist or military historian.” —APG Quarterly




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