  Get It On!: What It Means to Lead the Way
"Three words. That’s all it took. I was writing a letter home to my
mom when the call rang out across the American compound: 'Get it
on!' And just like that, the course of my life changed forever."
Decorated U.S. military veteran-turned-country musician Keni Thomas
gives a personal account of his heart-wrenching experiences in the
chaotic 1993 Battle of Mogadishu to express a unique set of
leadership lessons and inspired view of our greater purpose. Get It
On! reminds readers "that we, as individuals, do indeed matter, that
we are anything but ordinary, fully capable of carrying out
life-changing assignments at any level and in any situation. We can
make a difference in this world."
Carrying a guitar now rather than a rifle, Keni also shares stories
from the stage of the Grand Ole Opry to overseas concerts for active
soldiers, always passionate about the battle that "still shapes my
thoughts on a daily basis" and eager to encourage the absolute best
in those who are willing to answer whatever call God places on their
lives.
About the Author
Keni Thomas received the Bronze Star for Valor from the United
States Army and fought the Black Hawk Down battle in Mogadishu,
Somalia. He has since become an award-winning country musician,
appeared in the major motion pictures Sweet Home Alabama and We Were
Soldiers, and is the spokesperson for The Hero Fund. Keni also
speaks to students and adults around the country about leadership,
encouraging them to "Train as you fight. Fight as you train." He
lives in Nashville, Tennessee. |
 The Greatest Generation Collection
Tom Brokaw was born in 1940, but it wasn't until he was a famous newscaster that he began to contemplate what his parents' generation--those born between 1910 and the mid-1920s--had accomplished.
Narrating his own book, he discusses the sacrifices those men and women made: the bodily harm they suffered in war, the diligence with which they built families and businesses, the courage they displayed in rehabilitating their war wounds, the integrity and values that infused their lives. "They never whined or whimpered," Brokaw notes.
The stories these men and women tell Brokaw are consistently startling--triumphant, tragic, courageous, sad, miraculous. Although Brokaw never gets maudlin or sappy, most people will find it impossible to listen to this audiobook with dry eyes.
Running time: 4 hours, 3 cassettes
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 How Can You Mend This Purple Heart?
'How Can You Mend this Purple Heart?' is a blistering fiction built around the 15 painful months author Terry Gould spent in a Vietnam Veterans' recovery ward during 1968/9. This is why his account not only rings faultlessly true, but also burns and bleeds the suffering of America's best who had typically been blown apart by a land mine, losing multiple limbs as they strained to save their minds and recover their sense of hope. 'How Can You Mend This Purple Heart?' is about those who always suffer the rough end of history, who used to beg on their stumps selling matches after previous wars where they were still regarded as heroes. Who returned from Vietnam a hero, and what happened to those who returned home in many pieces? 'Purple Heart' is about as powerful as it gets - the ultimate humane tribute to true warriors, to the indomitable nature of mankind. | |
 G.I. Joe & Lillie: Remembering a Life of Love and Loyalty
Written by Joseph Bonsall, tenor for the world-famous
Oak Ridge Boys, "G.I. Joe & Lillie" is a poignant slice
of Americana that is a true account of life, love, war
(including details and accounts of D-Day) ... and finally,
peace.
Foreword by Former First Lady Barbara Bush | |
  A Salute to Patriotism: The Life and Work of Major General Howard L. Peckham
A descendant of Revolutionary War heroes and born into a family with deep roots in colonial New England, Howard Louis Peckham’s love for his country started early. After his dream of graduating from West Point came true, he served for many years in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In 1942 he transferred to the Quartermaster Corps and went to Washington, where he headed the Fuels and Lubricants Division of the Quartermaster General’s office. While serving concurrently as a member of the Army-Navy Petroleum Board, he testified before Congress about army petroleum needs. For his meritorious work of procuring fuels and allocating them to our armed forces worldwide, he was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal. In postwar Paris, Howard Peckham headed the American Graves Registration Command and returned more than 80,000 American war dead to the United States. Approximately 60,000 others were interred in ten permanent American cemeteries in Europe, graded and constructed under his command. After his return to the United States, he served in highly responsible positions until his retirement in 1956.As a civilian, his patriotic service continued when he worked for the Free Europe Committee and traveled abroad to meet with Western European diplomats. His goal was to get them more involved in the Committee’s work. Nations behind the Iron Curtain peacefully freed from Communist domination, Howard Peckham believed, would ensure more security for the United States. Duty, country, and patriotism would continue to dominate his life to the end. |
Sunchon Tunnel Massacre Survivors (They Came Home Series)
In the early days of the Korean War, 450+ American prisoners were marched from Taejon, South Korea, to Seoul, then on to Pyongyang, North Korea.
There they boarded a train. On October 19, the train pulled into a tunnel. The North Korean guards unloaded the prisoners, a few at a time, and executed them.
Eight of the known survivors tell their story.
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The Final Salute: Together We Live on (Valor in Combat)
A novel by
Kathleen M. Rodgers... "In my debut novel, The Final Salute,
I write about the aftermath of plane crashes, the tight
bond between military pilots, and how crewmembers and
military families cope after terrible tragedies. The
story is based on the years I spent as a military wife
married to an Air Force fighter pilot. I was twenty-one
years old when I married into the world of military
aviation. A world I thought was full of parties at the
Officer s Club, the roar of jet engines, and a place
where my husband and the other pilots lived on the edge
of the envelope at a speed faster than the rest of us.
Early in my marriage, I learned about the other side of
military aviation. The side that nobody likes to talk
about when a plane goes down. When a hush goes over a
squadron of men like a black pall because earth and sky
have collided and one of their brothers isn t coming
home. A young wife is widowed, a child left fatherless,
an older couple s hopes for their son destroyed in a
fireball. In one year alone, my husband and I lost
eleven friends in air mishaps. And this was during
peacetime.
But the crashes kept coming, and the death
toll rose. We toasted the dead and partied on. I learned
to accept two things about my husband s career choice:
His job could kill him, and he loved every minute of it.
When I started writing The Final Salute sixteen years
ago, my goal was to give a voice to the men who perished
flying for their country and the women and children they
left behind. But my novel s not all doom and gloom. In
the story, seasoned fighter pilot Tuck Westerfield, a
Vietnam Vet and father of three, must deal with a
devious commander, an animal-crazy neighbor whose
husband hates pilots, a beautiful but suspicious wife,
and a rebellious teenage daughter. The last thing he
needs is another war. But when Iraq invades Kuwait in
the middle of a muggy Louisiana summer, duty calls." |
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