Contains thirty-seven narratives, drawn from letters, diaries, private memoirs, and oral histories in which American veterans describe their experiences serving in conflicts from the First World War to the twenty-first-century war in Iraq.

"The Library of Congress in association with the National Geographic Society." Includes index. "Library of Congress Veterans History Project."

Chapter 1On the Front Lines -- 1 -- Raymond Brittain: Present at the Beginning -- 3 -- Albert Hassenzahl: First into Europe -- 13 -- Robert Powell: The Modern Near-Ace -- 19 -- John Sudyk: The Soldier of 10,000 Rounds -- 28 -- Raffi Bahadarian: Addressing Spirituality -- 35 -- Hillie John Franz: The Spirit if Not the Letter -- 40 -- Kenneth Ray Rodgers: The Second Time Around -- 45 -- Chapter 2 Brotherhood -- 51 -- Asa Charles Ball: Everybody's Bud -- 53 -- Richard DeLeon: Joining the Brotherhood -- 58 -- Robert Dunning: The Illusion of Brotherhood -- 65 -- Philip Randazzo: The Self-Contained Soldier -- 77 -- Charles Remsburg: The Careful Soldier -- 87 -- Chapter 3 Healers -- 99 -- Ruth Deloris Buckley: Into Action with the Boys -- 101 -- Dodson Curry: The Reluctant Physician -- 109 -- Eugene Curtin: Holding Back Nothing -- 117 -- Julia Grabner Haskell: The Little Sister -- 122 -- Frances Liberty: The Straight-Arrow Nurse -- 130 -- Wendy Wamsley Taines: Healing Hands -- 138 -- Carolyn Hisako Tanaka: The Forgiving Nurse -- 146 -- Chapter 4 Groundbreakers -- 155 -- Darlene Iskra: The Unsung Pioneer -- 156 -- Augustus Prince: The Grateful Pioneer -- 163 -- Bertran Wallace: Too Proud to Bow -- 166 -- Norman Ikari: Eager for a Fight -- 170 -- Yeiichi Kelly Kuwayama: Not Playing it Safe -- 177 -- Chapter 5 Survivors -- 187 -- Harold Lippard: Cool Under Fire -- 188 -- Giles McCoy: The Ultimate Survivor -- 192 -- Rhonda Cornum: Doing Something Honorable -- 207 -- Roger Dean Ingvalson: The Man of Faith -- 215 -- Johann Kasten IV: The Man of Confidence -- 225 -- John McCain: The Inevitable Warrior -- 237 -- Jose Mares: The Stubborn Spaniard -- 244 -- Harold Riley: The Last Prisoner -- 254 -- John Stensby: The Soldier Who Wouldn't Surrender -- 267 -- Milton Stern: The Lucky POW -- 274 -- Chapter 6 War's Consequences -- 287 -- James Dorris: The Liberator -- 288 -- John Dolibois: Confidant to the Nazis -- 293 -- Denton Winslow Crocker, Jr.: A Patriot for His Time -- 304 -- About the Veterans History Project -- 323 -- Research Resources -- 325.