Combat Memoirs

Since World War II, the American public has become fully aware of the exploits of the 101st Airborne Division, the paratroopers who led the Allied invasions into Nazi-held Europe. But within the ranks of the 101st, a sub-unit attained legendary status at the time, its reputation persisting among veterans over the decades. Primarily products of the Dustbowl and the Depression, the Filthy13 grew notorious, even within the ranks of the elite 101st. Never ones to salute an officer, or take a bath, this squad became singular within the Screaming Eagles.

Wounded five times and awarded numerous decorations for valor, Gottlob Herbert Bidermann saw action in the Crimea and siege of Sebastopol, participated in the vicious battles in the forests south of Leningrad, and ended the war in the Courland Pocket. In his memoir, he shares his impressions of countless Russian POWs seen at the outset of his service, of peasants struggling to survive the hostilities while caught between two ruthless antagonists, and of corpses littering the landscape.

All Aces, No Jokers: The Wartime Memoirs of an American Fighter Pilot is the must-read first-person account of air combat by one of the most highly decorated, professional, and lethally talented warriors in modern history. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas “Axe” Littleton is a veteran of Just Cause, Desert Storm, Somalia, the No-Fly Zones over Iraq, the Balkan Wars, the Kosovo Air War, Afghanistan, and the second Gulf War. He was highly decorated, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross, six Air Medals, and three Aerial Achievement Medals for heroism while logging more than 600 combat hours ...

“Viper Pilot is fantastic….A great read!” —Dale Brown, former USAF Captain and New York Times bestselling author of A Time for Patriots Action-packed and breathtakingly authentic, Viper Pilot is the electrifying memoir of one of the most decorated F-16 pilots in American history: U.S...

What was it like to fly a MiG or Mirage in combat over Angola? Most books on the Angolan Bush War, especially those in English, present the South African perspective of events. Now a former MiG-23 Squadron Commander of the Cuban Air Force has collaborated with an ex-SAAF pilot to paint a remarkable new picture of the aerial conflict over Angola in the 1980s. In The MiG Diaries the recollections of Lt-Col Eduardo González Sarría are blended by Lionel Reid with those of air combatants from the Angolan, Cuban and South African air forces. Many are being published for the first time. Using ...

The mighty, iconic A-10 Warthog was first thrust into battle in Operation Desert Storm. The men who took it through walls of flak and surface-to-air missiles to help defeat the world's fourth-largest army were as untested as their airplanes, so they relied on personal determination and the amazing A-10 to accomplish their missions, despite the odds.

WINGMAN AT WAR is a first-hand, earnest, exciting, and heartfelt journey into the cockpit and beyond of a talented young fighter pilot suddenly called into combat without prior notice or fanfare. Derived from a personal journal kept completely secret from the world until now, the author Matt "Boz" Beals, takes the reader on a flight of a lifetime as the youngest F-15C Eagle pilot flying combat in the Persian Gulf War. Raw, unencumbered, and without agenda, this brand-new mission ready wingman tells the remarkable story of deploying, flying, fighting, and winning the air war over Iraq during...

The Flag Was Still There is the story of one combat infantry soldier’s Tour of Duty in the Vietnam War between September 14, 1970, and September 13, 1971. LeBron Matthews was initially assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment (Red Warriors) of the 4th Infantry Division. Six weeks later, he was reassigned to Company C, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment (Rakkasans) of the 101st Airborne Division. This book chronicles the daily existence of grunts living together in the bush for weeks at a time, where daily boredom was only interrupted by moments of sheer terror, ...

You Just Survive is a combat veteran memoir that pulls no punches. These modern war stories from Iraq and Afghanistan sit beside plain spoken accounts of PTSD and trauma recovery, raw combat moments and the quiet battles that follow when the uniform comes off. This is not a sanitized war book. It is a combat veteran memoir told hour by hour, from turret scans in Ramadi and Marjah to patrols that ended with IEDs, mortars, and decisions you carry forever. If you search for modern war stories from Iraq and Afghanistan, you will find the real, unfiltered scenes that define this book. The book ...

Featuring an entirely new chapter for US readers, the story of his induction into the UFC Hall of Fame, fresh insights about his fighting career, never-before-told stories about his film and TV career, and a harrowing account of his fighting off attempted kidnappers while filming in South Africa, Quitters Never Win tells the incredible story of how he went from rough and humble beginnings and then on to a legendary mixed martial arts career capped by winning the Middleweight Championship in one of the greatest upsets in UFC history.

In this captivating memoir, Bob J. Garcia, a door gunner from the 117th Assault Helicopter Company plunges listeners into a combat helicopter during the height of the Vietnam War and his lifelong struggles with PTSD. “We were God’s young lunatics. We were reckless as we faced death every day in Vietnam. We acted fearlessly, even when we were at times scared as we flew our thinly built Army helicopters into combat, the wind sometimes threatening to crash us into mountains and rice paddies.

The Yalu River Boys is the true story of the forgotten men from the forgotten war. Follow a B-29 bomber crew as it battles Russian MiG-15 fighters in the heart of MiG Alley during the Korean War. Learn the heartbreaking truth of the communist prison camp gulags, the cruelty of the North Korean enemy, and the propaganda attacks from friend and foe. Marvin King joined the US Air Force in peacetime but soon found himself in the midst of jet-age aerial combat, captured and taken into China, and later subjected to the abject horror of a place in North Korea known only as The Caves.

War is hell....but sometimes it's also funny as hell.

Airstrikes rain down, Gatling guns pound, and snipers lurk in the distance - welcome to the combat aid station of a young doctor embedded with the heavily weaponized First Marines Division as the Battle of Fallujah boils over. On the night of April 4, 2004, First Marine Expeditionary Forces launch a major assault on the city of Fallujah. 

From the beaches of Normandy to the forests of Bastogne. From the skies over Occupied France to the battlefields of Nazi Germany. At the height of World War II, the US military drew some 16 million men into its ranks. They came from nearly every walk of life—farmers, tradesmen, teachers, lawyers, professional athletes, and even Hollywood celebrities. But whether they came from the wheat fields of Kansas, the streets of New York, or the backlots of Tinseltown, these everyday heroes answered the call of duty when their country needed them. They were ordinary men who accomplished ...

One Trip Too Many, A Pilot’s Memoirs of 38 Months in Combat over Laos and Vietnam, is an autobiography about my life as a pilot in Southeast Asia during the conflict in Vietnam. It is primarily a story to share with family and friends about my personal involvement in the conflict and the turbulent decade of the 60s and does not attempt to question the politics of the era. It begins with a brief description of my quest to gain admittance to the United States Air Force Academy, my four years at the Academy, and the subsequent year of pilot training. I flew three different types of aircraft ...

It takes a certain kind of person to do whatever is necessary to make a living as a mixed martial arts fighter. And it takes another kind of person to stand out from all the rest as both a wild man and a rock star. Chris Leben, otherwise known as "The Crippler", is that kind of person. Leben's reputation started when he appeared on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, a reality show and competition where hopeful fighters live together and vie for a UFC contract and a path to greatness.

There has been much said about Dusty Rhodes, the 'American Dream', over the years by both his fans and peers. Aside from the frequent fictional prose penned by wrestling magazine journalists and internet smart marks that run rumor-mill websites, however, there has not been much written about him. Until now. With the exception of a select few, there has been no bigger name or personality in the annals of pro wrestling history than Dusty Rhodes.

The military strategy was clear: stand up as the local forces stood down. But in the most dangerous city in Iraq, there was no one left to stand. In May 2006, the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division ("Ready First") arrived in Ramadi. A city heavily controlled by Al Qaeda in Iraq, who had already declared it the capital of their brutal caliphate. The conventional method of conducting quick patrols from distant bases was failing, creating a dangerous vacuum that the enemy filled the moment American tracks withdrew.

The salt stick dissolves on my tongue. Thirty seconds to drop. I am a drop marine. I fall from orbit into places my government will never admit exist, doing things that will never appear in any official record. I lead Task Force Wraith — seven operators, one squad, zero safety net. We run missions under a covert doctrine called the Veil. If we succeed, no one knows. If we die, no one cares. Tonight's job is simple. Infiltrate a relay station on a frozen mining moon. Grab a data slate. Get out. The briefing was clean. The intel was tidy. The extraction was guaranteed. The briefing was a ...