American Patriots: The Story of Blacks in the Military From the Revolution to Desert Storm
By Gail Buckley. Random House. ISBN 0-375-50279-3.

American military history is filled with heroic examples of bravery by African-Americans. Now author Gail Buckley offers a detailed portrait of the specific individuals who helped make that history.

American Patriots is Buckley's second book, following The Hornes: An American Family (Alfred A. Knopf, 1986). With her current effort, Buckley focuses on African-Americans who served their country and, as she says, whose "heroism belongs as much to white Americans as to blacks."

From Barzillai Lew, a soldier during the American Revolution, to Maj. Flossie Satcher, usa, in the Gulf War, African-Americans have fought in every American war, despite institutional racism. They fought and died for a country they loved and believed in. Buckley describes these heroes in the context of each era's racial tone using many vivid anecdotes of men and women under fire abroad and at home.

For decades, racists claimed that African-Americans were not fit for military service. Even when they were allowed to join, blacks were placed into segregated units and given menial labor or housekeeping duties. As Buckley quickly points out, however, when African-Americans were permitted to fight, they performed with skill, determination, and courage.

But this book is not just a comprehensive history of African-Americans in the U.S. military; it also is a balanced social commentary on racism in American society. Buckley wisely presents the overall context of racism to show how and why black patriots had to prove their desire and ability to serve on the battlefield.

Unlike comparable histories, Buckley's includes examples from the War of 1812, the Spanish-American War in 1898, and the Philippine Insurrection of 1898-1902. Best of all, Buckley recognizes the tremendous contribution the military has made to national race relations, saying, "Once one of the most racist public institutions in America, the military came to afford blacks personal, cultural, and social validity far above the American norm."

Ghost Soldiers: The Forgotten Epic Story of World War II's Most Dramatic Mission
By Hampton Sides. Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-49564-1.

Among the great adventure stories of World War II, Ghost Soldiers is one of the best true stories of the war in the Pacific. Author Hampton Sides tells of the 1945 rescue of 500 American survivors of the Bataan Death March held prisoner for three years in the Philippines.

This is Sides' third book, and it is by far his best work. He combines his skills as a researcher with those of a gifted narrator to produce a moving story of the captured men of Bataan and Corregidor and their rescuers.

Sides tells this story along two converging lines. His first story is about the men who fought in the Philippines in 1941 and 1942 and finally surrendered after a horrific 90-day battle with the Imperial Japanese Army that went on to torture, starve, and brutalize them for three subsequent years.

The second story line is introduced when the U.S. Army's 6th Ranger Battalion invades the Philippines in 1945, and they learn of 500 Bataan survivors being held at the Cabanatuan pow camp, far behind enemy lines. The narrative follows the Rangers' remarkable rescue mission as commanded by the energetic Lt. Col. Henry Mucci.

As the Cabanatuan pows struggled to survive brutality, starvation, and disease, Mucci and his Rangers planned a raid to rescue them. Aided by Filipino guerrillas and a resourceful female American spy, the Rangers marched 30 miles through enemy territory, attacked a well-defended pow camp, rescued the prisoners, and evacuated everyone back to friendly territory. How Mucci and his men pulled this off is a testament to the planning, training, leadership, and audacity of men willing to risk everything to save their comrades. Sides calls this "the largest and most triumphant mission of its kind ever undertaken by the U.S. Army."

Sides' vivid portrayal of the pows' suffering and their rescuers' courage is a riveting and gripping historical narrative that will linger in memory long after the book is put down.

—Reviews by William D. Bushnell

Member Books

Fiction

The Cat Will Mew and Dog Will Have His Day. By Col. Richard B. Beal Jr., USA-Ret.  

Set in the early 21st century in Washington, Great Britain, and North Carolina, this novel begins on three separate and unrelated tracks. As the tracks and the characters gradually merge, the story builds to its climax. The historical aspects are partly factual, partly an adoption of one side of the disputed historical evidence, and partly pure fiction.

Writers Club Press, 5220 S. 16th, Ste. 200, Lincoln, NE 68512. (877) 823-9235. www.iuniverse.com. ISBN 0-595-20010-19. 309 pp. $16.95 plus postage.

A Flash of Emerald: A Harry Stoner Suncoast Novel. By Lt. Col. John M. Taylor Jr., USA-Ret.  

Stoner began his special operations career with a night jump from the belly of a Strategic Air Command B-47 over Cuba for the CIA. Now he must return to the fight, this time not only for country but for family! They murdered his wife and now threaten his daughter. Stoner goes back to the seamy side of Tampa’s Ybor City and on to the Florida Keys where he is drawn into a web of international arms dealers and fanatic terrorists, each with their own plans for the use of a stolen nuclear weapon. 

Blue Eagle Press, 23745 Oakside Blvd., Lutz, FL 33559-6904. (813) 948-7747. Sales@BlueEaglePress.com. ISBN 1-879043-08-4. 255 pp. $14.99 plus postage.

Faces in the Mirror: Multiple Lives. By Col. William L. Cramer Jr., USAF-Ret.  

Maj. Barry Flamm, a special agent with the Office of Special Investigations, receives a concurrent assignment to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). His undercover work begins in Paris, and further assignments take him into the Near East, North Africa, and Russia. After his Air Force retirement, he is offered a full-time position with the CIA and immediately and happily accepts. Filled with danger and excitement.

Xlibris Corporation, 436 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19101. (888) 795-4274. www.xlibris.com. ISBN 0-7388-3341-X. 269 pp. $22 postpaid.

Nonfiction

The Few, The Proud, The Bankrupt. By Lt. Col. K.R. Wright, USAR.  

This book looks at the successes, failures, and early competition within the airline industry from early aviation history to the genesis and aftermath of deregulation. It’s a fascinating study of airline labor and management relations from the early days of Airmail Pilots through deregulation and up to the present.

Biddle Publishing Company, PMB 103, P.O. Box 1305, Brunswick, ME 04011. (800) 949-7690. ISBN 1-879418-60-6. 256 pp. $29.95 postpaid.

Sea Stories of Cape Cod and the Islands. By Capt. Admont G. Clark, USCGR-Ret.  

Clark has collected about 50 "sea stories" - all true, all historic and richly illustrated. Along with a fair amount of history, read about the first English fort on this continent (1602), mutiny, piracy, bravery, women at sea, clipper ships built on Cape Cod, rum-running, and cannibalism. Read about thrilling ocean disasters like that caused by the Great October Gale of 1841. The world of the seamen was dangerous indeed. This collection sums up the superb qualities of the people of Cape Cod and the Islands - their courage, ingenuity, and heroism.

Lower Cape Publishing, P.O. Box 218, Yarmouth Port, MA 02675. (508) 362-9335. Adamgamble@mediaone.net. ISBN 0-935972-17-3. 281 pp. $39.95 plus postage.

The Eleven Days of Christmas: America's Last Vietnam Battle. By Col. Marshall Michel III, USAF-Ret.  

In 1972, President Nixon ordered the massive bombing of Hanoi by the Strategic Air Command’s B-52s in an effort to pressure the North Vietnamese into signing a peace agreement. Instead of being overwhelmed by the attack, however, the North Vietnamese Surface to Air Missile crews initially shattered the B-52 force. For 11 days the epic battle swung back and forth, moving from what appeared to be a certain U.S. victory to a possible North Vietnamese triumph to the ultimate ambiguous denouement in which each side won and lost. Michel, who flew fighter cover in this epic air battle, researched hundreds of formerly classified documents from both American and Vietnamese archives, and he interviewed participants on both sides to tell for the first time the dramatic story of this pivotal moment in the Vietnam War. The result is a gripping tale of heroism and incompetence in a battle whose political and military legacy is still a matter of controversy.

Encounter Books, 665 Third Street, Ste. 330, San Francisco, CA 94107-1951. (415) 538-1460. ISBN 1-893554-24-4. 304 pp. $25.95 plus postage.

Chicken Little Updated. By Cmdr. Pamela A. Kaires, USN-Ret.  

In this highly referenced book, Dr. Kaires reviews the sudden unexplained deaths of various birds, fish, and small animals in locations such as Lake Apopka and Lake Griffin in Florida and Lake Shawano in Wisconsin. Also discussed are human illnesses such as West Nile virus and Gulf War Syndrome. Kaires ultimately connects the dots and advances the theory that biological chemicals are the root of these events, that the government knows more than it has revealed, and that more is yet to come. She presents a 1991 quote from Saddam Hussein, “You will not be able to define the battlefield, the type of the weapons that will be used, nor the duration of the battle.” Very timely.

but but Publications, 3647 Cedarbrae Lane, San Diego, CA 92106-3255. ISBN 0-9679536-1-8. 144 pp. $26.33 postpaid.

Flying With Iron Angels: The Diaries and Memories of Navy Carrier Pilots Fighting the Pacific War in 1944. By Lt. J.G. Charles M. Houston, USNR-Ret.  

The Iron Angels were Navy fighter pilots who flew the Grumman Hellcat to escort and protect dive bombers and torpedo planes. Here is a collection of personal diary accounts of their daily activities, interspersed with today’s memories of these same veterans as they review their adventures of a half-century ago. In addition to human interest and drama, this narrative is packed with accurate historical information about World War II as it was fought in the skies and over the islands of the Pacific Ocean.

Available from the author. 1685 West Robinwood, Fresno, CA 93711 (559) 439-6227. www.airgroup14.com. ISBN 0-9711526-0-8. 480 pp. $40 plus postage.

Wedell-Williams: Air Service. By Maj. Robert S. Hirsch, USAF-Ret., and Barbara H. Schultz. 

Harry P. Williams and James R. Wedell formed one of the most productive alliances in aviation in the 1930s. Their company, the Wedell-Williams Air Service Corporation, left a remarkable legacy to the world of air racing and the state of Louisiana. Wedell possessed a keen sense of aerodynamics. His aircraft designs set a precedent by demonstrating that bigger engines, with more power, were not always the right combination to place first. The Wedell-Williams story is about individual genius, business savvy, and dedicated teamwork. It is a history of air racing at its best.

Raceplanes by Hirsch, 8439 Dale Ave., Buena park, CA 90620. ISBN 0-9652181-1-2. 124 pp. $21.95 postpaid.

Memoirs

Reeducation in Postwar Vietnam: Personal Postscripts to Peace. By Col. Edward P. Metzner, USA-Ret.  

In 1975, when helicopters plucked the last Americans off the roof of the defunct U.S. Embassy in Saigon, countless Vietnamese who had worked for the Americans remained behind. An estimated 250,000 were arrested and sent to “reeducation” camps in the remote jungle, where they faced forced labor, indoctrination sessions, and severe deprivation. The lucky ones disappeared for years and the not so fortunate, forever. For a decade before the fall of Saigon, Metzner served as an advisor among the people of the beautiful and hotly contested Mekong Delta. After the war, he diligently sought news of the close friends and comrades he had made among the Vietnamese military officers. Many had died; others could not be found. When he eventually located a few, he believed their stories should be told. Three agreed to do so, and their accounts form the core of Metzner writing.

Texas A&M University Press, 4354 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4354. (979) 458-3982. www.tamu.edu/upress. ISBN 1-58544-129-5. 160 pp. $24.95 plus postage.

Four Stars on a Blue Shield: A Year in Vietnam with the Americal Division. By Maj. Robert Allen Bratt, USA-Ret.  

Writing from memory, Bratt recalls his experiences as one soldier among the many who fought in the Vietnam War for one long year, in 1968 and 1969, while assigned to the Americal Division at Chu Lai, South Vietnam. Written in an easy conversational style, Bratt’s book offers a unique personal view of life in combat. Soldiers who served in combat with the Americal division wear the distinctive shoulder patch, four stars on a blue shield. Among those who wear the shield are Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, and Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf. 

1^st Books Library, 2595 Vernal Pike, Bloomington, IN 47404. (888) 280-7715. www.1stbooks.com. ISBN 0-75964-239-7. 91 pp. $9.95 plus postage.

Navy Greenshirt: A Leader Made, Not Born. By Capt. Diane J. Diekman, USN.  

A story of a female pioneer in the male-dominated world of naval aviation, this book takes the reader around the world and through 18 years of U.S. Navy experiences that culminate in Diekman’s promotion to captain. Upon becoming an aviation maintenance officer, a “greenshirt,” in 1978, she was challenged to prove herself professionally before earning the acceptance routinely granted men. The commanding officer of her first squadron fired her when she failed his hidden test of her ability to assert herself as a leader. That painful lesson strengthened the timid South Dakota farm girl and defined her future leadership style. This book describes the experiences that molded Diekman into a successful leader and offers hope to men and women not born to lead. 

Magnificent Moments. By Lt. Cmdr. M. McGowan Slappey, USN-Ret.

This is a collection of truly magnificent moments in the life of one who has more than eight decades of experiences. Slappey’s insight and perspective are charming and inspiring. 

Interspace Books, 4500 Chesapeake, NW, Washington, DC 20016. (202) 363-9082. ISBN 0930061-38-1. 21 pp. $5 plus postage.