| How It Was: The Tears and Triumphs of Men and Women at War | ||||||||
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Assembly Majority Leader Michael Bragman; Edward Fletcher, Korean War veteran, representative from the
New York State Council of Veterans' Organizations;
Robert Shetler, Navy-USMC veteran of World War II and Korean War; and Ronald
C. Tocci, Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee Chair.
The great conflicts of the 20th Century are defining moments in world history. World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War will be debated for generations to come with much of the discussion focusing on broad concepts such as political ideology. In this regard, it is true that these wars helped determine whether totalitarianism or democracy would prevail in the world. But there is another, more fundamental reality to these events: Individual men and women took up arms and fought these wars.
Therein lies the importance of this project entitled: How It Was: The Tears and Triumphs of Men and Women at War.
In the pages that follow, we have compiled a broad sampling of published works on the subject of war and the individual soldier’s experience in it. This bibliography is not limited to the major wars of the 20th Century. It includes many other important conflicts that occurred since the birth of our nation. The titles were chosen, for the most part, because they were written by participants. In some cases, the works are collections of narratives, reports and interviews. In others, they are the personal diaries or journals kept by service men and women as their experiences unfolded. Some of these books are histories, which amplify the experiences cited in some of the other works. And still others were written by career soldiers, some whom became professional writers.
The stories found here are not just overviews of battles, but also descriptions of daily life in wartime &emdash; the camaraderie, the boredom, the anticipation, the marches, the horrors and the glimmers of hope. One book about the Civil War, for example, provides a depiction of the 1,338 days on which battles were NOT fought. Regardless of the author and the content, most of these publications serve the purpose of presenting the realities of war -- from what it means to leave home to defend one’s country, to being on the front lines. In relaying their experiences, these authors have provided not only rewarding reading, but also rich, poignant and personal histories.
May these voices help build a new appreciation and understanding of the contributions of veterans in society, and, at the same time, instruct all of us on what is worth fighting for in life.