David C. Smith

"This book is a different kind of war story: both a powerful chronicle of life in battle and a unique portrait of courage fueled by a life-long passion for political justice.". "Cane's fight for freedom began well before D-Day. In 1937, he joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and was wounded fighting for democracy in Spain. In 1942, at the age of 30, he enlisted in the new war against fascism. As an officer with the 238th Engineer Combat Battalion, he went ashore on Utah Beach to clear mines, destroy fortifications, and open roads from Normandy to the Siegfried Line. Of the 400 American veterans of the Spanish Civil War in World War II, Cane was the only one to go ashore with the assault wave on D-Day.". "After the war, Lawrence Cane was active in civil rights and peace causes until his death in 1976. Discovered in 1995 by his son David, his letters are not only classic accounts of war and unforgettable expressions of love for family. They are the fiercely patriotic words of a left wing, working class New York Jew (and one-time Communist Party member) who knew exactly why we fought - to create a better world by destroying all forms of fascism one battle at a time."--BOOK JACKET.

The letters of women who served during World War II, from Army nurses at Pearl Harbor to caring for victims of concentration camps.

Drawn from a large archive of wartime correspondence, Since You Went Away collects hundreds of letters written by women of all backgrounds and ages from all over the United States: from Midwestern farms to the Hawaiian Islands, from young girls to anxious mothers. The letters are sometimes touching, sometimes anguished, and always packed with intimate glimpses of the World War II era. With men on the frontlines, women took to repairing cars, balancing budgets, and responding with imagination to all kinds of hardships and wartime shortages ("I stopped at the Piggly Wiggly but could not get fresh meat of any kind, so found that Spam fried in butter made a very tasty Easter dinner."). An entire section is devoted to courtship, so much of which took place through the mail, and another chapter concentrates on letters written by women about their experiences at work ("The more I see of war plants the more I believe that they're dragging this damn war out as long as possible on purpose ... here it seems as tho' they have so much money they don't know what to do with it."). Nor does this collection spare the pain women felt upon learning about the loss of their husbands, lovers, or sons. A pictorial essay gives readers a further window into the war, displaying images, cartoons, and posters. One poster reads: "Be With Him at Every Mail Call," giving an idea of just how important letters were to the men and women of this time. In Since You Went Away we find letters by factory workers, farmers, and nurses, letters written to husbands, brothers, and even a series to General MacArthur. For each thematic section the editors include a brief introduction, and a capsule portrait of each woman and the man to whom she wrote accompanies the letters. These letters capture both the most intimate details in a woman's life, and the great transformations which society at large was undergoing.

A band of troops in its last month of service in Vietnam goes out on a patrol through enemy territory with a female sniper in its path. Recounting the mission in gruesome detail, DeMille—who served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and saw combat in Vietnam as an infantry platoon leader, and earned a Bronze Star—creates a concise masterpiece of moody suspense.