Bringing Mulligan Home

The Other Side of the Good War

By: Dale Maharidge

Narrated by: Pete Larkin

Sgt. Steve Maharidge, like many of his generation, hardly ever talked about the war. The only sign he'd served in it was a single black and white photograph of himself and another soldier tacked to the wall of his basement workshop.

After Steve Maharidge's death, his son Dale, now an adult, began a 12-year quest to understand his father's preoccupation with the photo. What had happened during the battle for Okinawa, and why had his father remained silent about his experiences and the man in the picture, Herman Mulligan? In his search for answers, Maharidge sought out the survivors of Love Company, many of whom had never before spoken so openly and emotionally about what they saw and experienced on Okinawa.

In Bringing Mulligan Home, Maharidge delivers an affecting narrative of war and its aftermath, of fathers and sons, with lessons for the children whose parents are returning from war today.

©2013 Dale Maharidge. Recorded by arrangement with PublicAffairs TM, a member of the Perseus Book Group (P)2013 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"A powerful narrative of the dark side of American combat in the Pacific theater and the persistence of resulting injuries decades after the war ended." ( Kirkus)

"Through deep and sensitive interviewing, Dale Maharidge has achieved what many have previously thought impossible: He has opened up the 'silent generation' of World War Two veterans and enabled them to tell their stories. These veterans...break your heart and win it all at once.... An entirely fresh look at 'The Good War' that may well change our view of it forever." (Helen Benedict, author of The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq and Sand Queen)

Very good book

Best true life account of the far east battles during WWII. Stories told by the real men who were there.

Great second hand accounts of WW2...

Great writing style and content from a guy who talked to a lot of WW2 vets. Stories are solid. However... The author tends to dip into his personal politics a bit too much while telling a story that doesn't need them. Particularly, his comparisons of WW2 and the Global War on Terror in terms of American efforts to avoid civilian casualties are way off the mark.