Del Norte Public Library

Since the Civil War more than 39 million men and women have answered the call to serve. Of those, 3,440 served with such uncommon valor and and extraordinary courage that they were presented with the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award. Each of their heroic actions is as unique as the person who performed it, and here more than one hundred of of America's living Medal of Honor recipients are honored and their bravery recounted by best-selling...

"In over a decade of working with veterans, Johnny Joey Jones has discovered the power of battle-forged friendships. Suffering a life-changing injury while deployed in Afghanistan, he faced a daunting recovery. But coming home would have been much harder without the support of his brothers and sisters in arms. In Unbroken Bonds of Battle, Joey tells the stories of those very warriors, who for years have supported and inspired him on the battlefield...

"What turns an ordinary person into a hero? What happens in the blink of an eye on a battlefield (or in any dangerous situation) to bring out true courage? The men and women who have been recognized by the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation know the answers to these questions deep in their hearts"--Amazon.com.

"Some of the most important roles in American life have been filled by people born outside the United States. Immigrants have served in the military since the Civil War. Some immigrants have made fortunes and given them away-to create libraries, fund after-school programs, and protect citizens' civil rights. Still others have held political office or served our nation as ambassadors or-literally-rocket scientists. Here are 25 immigrants who have served...

Valor features the thrilling stories that are the fruit of Mark Lee Greenblatt's interviews with brave American servicemen from twenty-first-century wars. These soldiers, sailors, and Marines have risked their lives several times over for their country as well as for their fellow troops and civilians. Still, until now, their stories have largely gone unnoticed by the public, perhaps lost in the frenzied and often nasty debate surrounding those conflicts....

Foreword by Chuck Hagel, former Secretary of Defense and Senator from Nebraska. Adaptable. Cunning. Ferocious. Fearless. The Indochinese tiger is just one of the formidable predators roaming Vietnam's jungle. In 1966 a small band of US Special Forces soldiers--most especially Bennie Adkins--spent four grueling days facing down the "tiger" among them. While the rain and mist of an early March moved over the valley, then-Sergeant First Class Bennie...

Buzz Williams chronicles the experiences he had while serving in the Marines, discussing how his life was turned upside down when he was called up from the reserves to fight in the front lines.

McGowan enlisted in the army in the late 1980s with a secret: he was gay. In the don't-ask-don't-tell world of the Clinton-era army, being gay meant automatic expulsion, so he hid his sexual identity and continued to serve with distinction for ten years. He commanded U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf, eventually rising to the rank of major, but ultimately realized that the army held no future for gay men--even closeted ones.