Overview

"""For all of us to be free, a few of us must be brave, and that is the history of America."" But dying for freedom isn't the worst that could happen. Being forgotten is. -- ""You flew with what I would call 'controlled fear'. You were scared stiff, but it was controlled. My ball turret gunner--he couldn't take it anymore... I guess he was right. He's dead now. But he had lost control of the fear. He never got out of that ball turret; he died in that ball turret."" --B-24 bombardier THE LONG-AWAITED SEQUEL IN THE BEST SELLING 'The Things Our Fathers Saw' SERIES How soon we forget. Or perhaps, we were never told. That is understandable, given what they saw. -- ""I spent a lot of time in hospitals. I had a lot of trouble reconciling how my mother died [of a cerebral hemorrhage] from the telegram she opened, saying I was [shot down and] ""missing in action"". I didn't explain to her the fact that 'missing in action' is not necessarily 'killed in action'. You know? I didn't even think about that. How do you think you feel when you find out you killed your mother?"" --B-24 bombardier At the height of World War II, LOOK Magazine profiled a small upstate New York community for a series of articles portraying it as the wholesome, patriotic model of life on the home front. Seventy years later, a history teacher tracks down the veterans with a connection to ""Hometown, USA"" who fought the war in the air over Europe, men who were tempered in the tough times of the Great Depression and forged in battle. He rescues and resurrects firsthand accounts of combat and brotherhood, of captivity and redemption, and the aftermath of a war that left no American community unscathed. Here are the stories that the magazine could not tell, from a vanishing generation speaking to America today. -- ""I was in the hospital with a flak wound. The next mission, the entire crew was killed. The thing that haunts me is that I can't put a face to the guy who was a replacement. He was an 18-year old Jewish kid named Henry Vogelstein from Brooklyn. It was his first and last mission. He made his only mission with a crew of strangers."" --B-24 navigator By the end of 2018, fewer than 400,000 WW II veterans will still be with us, out of the over 16 million who put on a uniform. But why is it that today, nobody seems to know these stories? As we forge ahead as a nation, we owe it to ourselves to become reacquainted with a generation that is fast leaving us, who asked for nothing but gave everything, to attune ourselves as Americans to a broader appreciation of what we stand for. -- ""A must-read in every high school in America. It is a very poignant look back at our greatest generation; maybe it will inspire the next one."" Reviewer, Vol. I"

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9781948155069

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Volume II. This book is full of wonderful history of some B 17 and B 24 heavy bomber crewmen telling their stories... I read this book in two days, was hard to put it down to go to bed last night, or I would have read the book in one sitting. Author's style is comfortable and easy to read. Disturbing but true description of the sheer madness of sending hundreds of bombers, with crews of 9-10, on missions in which 30%-60% did not return. Even a cursory reading reveals the guts, patriotism, and sense of manhood that so many of our citizens displayed during and after WW2. An excellent book, with the right touch of humanity. We tend to forget that The Greatest Generation were just every day Americans who responded to their nation's call to fight. Some were good, some bad, some rebellious, but they served and did their part with the goal of not letting their friends down in the heat of battle. This series of books tells it as it was through the eyes of the men themselves, no glossing up, but in their own words. This is important to me because in this way the true history, the pure history, is preserved without bias. What an eyeopener! I learned so much about WWII! I am amazed by these personal stories about our citizen warriors who walked into the jaws of danger and death seemingly undaunted day after day after day. Just regular guys (and ladies, too) doing a tough job. This book meant a lot to me as my father was a WWII bomber pilot, but like so many of his generation, he never talked about the war. This book gave me insight into what he would have experienced from pilot training through his overseas bombing missions. The little I know was information my mother shared after dad died. I'm so happy I read it! I love Matthew Rozell's books. Each with interviews from those who served in World War II. I've read all of them, and it is like being in the room and listening in. If you love history and World War II era in particular, you can't go wrong with these books. This book was excellent. I read it in two days and am buying his other WWII books. It's important that we hear the story of the war from the people that were in it. It's the only way to know what they went through. This book gives these veterans a voice and I want to know what they have to say. I loved reading the stories of each man. I truly believe they were the greatest generation. Just average men who allowed this country to be a great country. The stories are real and read as if the person was speaking with you. The stories are very personal, and detailed. This is highly recommended for those who appreciate historical essays, and diaries. I will purchase the other volumes soon. Loved it! So far I have read three of Matthew Rozell's books and have yet to be disappointed. Hearing the stories of the men who had the courage to fly into combat really puts life itself into perspective. If you love WWII you'll find this an excellent read. We owe all those heroes a debt we can never repay. Put yourself in the place of the ball turret gunner who couldn't take it anymore but continued mission after mission until eventually being killed while doing his job in that turret. How scared he must have been, and what an awful way to die. Such a debt we owe!

Author Information

MATTHEW ROZELL is an award-winning history teacher, author, blogger and speaker. He has been featured as the ABC World News 'Person of the Week' and has had his work filmed for CBS News, NBC Learn, the Israeli Broadcast Authority, the New York State United Teachers, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Most recently, he is the recipient of the New York State Education Department's Yavner Teaching Award for Distinguished Contributions to Teaching the Holocaust and Human Rights. Visit his blog at TeachingHistoryMatters.com.

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