BattleFire!: Combat Stories from World War II

by Arthur L. Kelly

Overview

Battlefire! Combat Stories from World War II features twelve tales of courage told by ordinary men who participated in the war that shaped the latter half of the twentieth century. The collection includes battle stories from every theater. From the anguish and pain of the Bataan Death March to the numbing cold and nail-biting danger of the Battle of the Bulge to the terrifying kamikaze attacks off Okinawa, Col. Kelly recounts the stories with crisp detail and realism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813146003
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	07/07/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	567,611
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Col. Arthur L. Kelly (U.S. Army, Ret.), a veteran of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, interviewed more than a hundred veterans over the course of a decade for this book. He lives in Springfield, Kentucky

Table of Contents

	List of Illustrations	ix
	Acknowledgments	xi
	Introduction	1
1	Pearl Harbor, Leyte Gulf, and Okinawa: Signalman First Class Lee Ebner, U.S. Navy	4
2	The Bataan Death March and Camp Cabanatuan: Corporal Field Reed Jr., Tanker, U.S. Army	15
3	Kamikaze Attacks in the Pacific: Lieutenant John Barrows, Aircraft Carrier Pilot, U.S. Navy	36
4	Monte Pantano, Monte Cassino, and Beyond: Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Butler, Infantryman, U.S. Army	52
5	The Air War over Germany, and Stalag 17: Sergeant Bernell S. Heaton, B-17 Bomber Gunner, U.S. Army Air Force	88
6	Normandy, Holland, Bastogne, and Stalag 4B: Captain Willis P. McKee, Airborne Surgeon, U.S. Army	107
7	New Guinea and the Philippines: Technician Fourth Class Thomas W. Murphy, Combat Medic, U.S. Army	123
8	Normandy and Lorraine: Staff Sergeant Paul Mudd, Infantryman, U.S. Army	138
9	Depth-Charge Attacks in the Pacific: Torpedoman First Class Hanly Davis, Submariner, U.S. Navy	160
10	Bastogne and Germany: Technician Third Class Robert Haney, Radio Operator, U.S. Army	165
11	Iwo Jima: Paul and Joe Simms, U.S. Marine Corps, and Hometown Friends	184
	Epilogue	213
	Sources	216
	Index	218

Editorial Reviews

From Pearl Harbor to Leyte Gulf and Okinawa to Iwo Jima, the stories are presented as the individual soldiers, sailors, and marines lived them.

Gun Week

I salute all of these Kentucky heroes, as well as Kelly, who reminds us of what these old soldiers cannot forget.

Lexington Herald Leader Bob Edwards

You can experience the shocking events of Pearl Harbor, the Bataan Death March, Bastogne, Kamikase hits, and POW life.

Springfield Sun

These are all well written stories of men at their best in the worst of all possible times, brave Americans well worthy of their citizenship, state, and community.

Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

This excellent book continues the current trend of exploring the individual soldier's experiences in World War II.

Military Review

They were there all right—and you're right there with them!

World War II Magazine C. Brian Kelly

A remarkably gripping work. To this reviewer, who served as a combat infantry officer in the war, the accounts ring extraordinarily true.

Charles P. Roland

"A remarkably gripping work. To this reviewer, who served as a combat infantry officer in the war, the accounts ring extraordinarily true." -- Charles P. Roland

"Anyone wanting to read of combat and courage can find it aplenty in this excellent book." -- Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

"From Pearl Harbor to Leyte Gulf and Okinawa to Iwo Jima, the stories are presented as the individual soldiers, sailors, and marines lived them." -- Gun Week

"I salute all of these Kentucky heroes, as well as Kelly, who reminds us of what these old soldiers cannot forget." -- Bob Edwards, Lexington Herald Leader

"These are all well written stories of men at their best in the worst of all possible times, brave Americans well worthy of their citizenship, state, and community." -- Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

"They were there all right -- and you're right there with them!" -- C. Brian Kelly, World War II Magazine

"This excellent book continues the current trend of exploring the individual soldier's experiences in World War II." -- Military Review

"You can experience the shocking events of Pearl Harbor, the Bataan Death March, Bastogne, Kamikase hits, and POW life." -- Springfield Sun

From the Publisher