Download Beyond Valor: World War II's Ranger and Airborne Veterans Reveal the Heart of Combat AudioBook Free
Previous catalogs have promised to describe the combat connection with the World Conflict II GI, but there's never been a booklet like Patrick O'Donnell's Beyond Valor. This is actually the first combat history of the battle in Europe in what of the men themselves, and perhaps the most honest and brutal account of battle possible. For more than 50 years the average person stories that make up this narrative - shockingly frank reflections of sacrifice and courage - have been bottled up, buried, or circulated privately. Now, nearing the ends of the lives, our WW II troops have at last unburdened themselves. Beyond Valor recaptures their invisible history. A pioneering dental historian, Patrick O'Donnell used his award-winning website, The Drop Area, to solicit dental- and "e-histories" from specific soldiers. Slowly and gradually, working from within the community, O'Donnell convinced a few of the war's most battle-hardened troops to see their stories. The result is WW II seen through the eyes of the men who found the most strong of its action. O'Donnell focuses on the elite products of the battle - the Rangers, Airborne, and 1st Special Service Power - troops that spearheaded the most dangerous businesses and frequently made the difference between triumph and defeat. From more than 650 interviews O'Donnell has chosen dental- and e-histories that form a seamless story collection, a pointillistic history of the battle in Europe from the first parachute drops in North Africa through the ultimate battles in Germany and the long trip home. It is the report of the battle not reviewed in polite company. O'Donnell reveals the wreckage of whole battalions practically annihilated, unseen personal marks, and hauntingrevelations of wartime atrocities. But more important will be the men who recount lives risked without hesitation for comrades and cause, and the ones who didn't give back: the friends who perished in their biceps and triceps. Their reviews remind all of us that victory came up only at the best price. Remembering the infamous cliffs at Pointe-du-Hoc, bloody Omaha Beach, the bitter fighting at the Fight of the Bulge, and Hill 400 in the Hurtgen Forest, the troops reveal battle as seen, listened to, and smelled by the GIs on leading collection. Also included is the unique report of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, and the trailblazing African-American "Experimental" Test Platoon that was required to fight its own battle behind the lines.
