personal narratives, american

The never-before-told true story of an army aviation task force during combat in the Afghan war, told by the commanding officer who was there. From pilots of lethal Apache attack helicopters to the medevac soldiers who risk their lives on a daily basis, this is a story of selflessness and brotherhood.

"[A] first-hand account of the Battle of Keating, told by Clinton Romesha, who spearheaded both the defense of the outpost and the counter-attack that drove the Taliban back beyond the wire, and received the Medal of Honor for his actions"--From Penguin Random House website.

Through tales of combat and brotherhood, Nicholas Irving shares the true story of his extraordinary career as the 3rd Ranger Battalion's deadliest sniper. Labeled "The Reaper", his actions on the battlefield became the stuff of legend, culminating in an extraordinary face-off against an enemy sniper known simply as The Chechnian.

The true account of the events of September 11, 2012, when terrorists attacked the US State Department Special Mission Compound and a nearby CIA station called the Annex in Benghazi, Libya. A team of six American security operators fought to repel the attackers and protect the Americans stationed there. Those men went beyond the call of duty, performing extraordinary acts of courage and heroism, to avert tragedy on a much larger scale. This is their personal account, never before told, of what happened during the thirteen hours of that now-infamous attack.

Lynda Van Devanter tells of joining the Army as a nurse in 1969 and working for a year in Vietnam, emphasizing the effects of the experience on her life.

Six members of the American security operators working at the US State Department Special Mission Compound in Benghazi, Libya, describe in their own words what happened on the night of September 11, 2012 when the compound was attacked.

His name wasn't Chester Nez. That was the English name he was assigned in kindergarten. And in boarding school at Fort Defiance, he was punished for speaking his native language, as the teachers sought to rid him of his culture and traditions. But discrimination didn't stop Chester from answering the call to defend his country after Pearl Harbor, for the Navajo have always been warriors, and his upbringing on a New Mexico reservation gave him the strength--both physical and mental--to excel as a Marine. During World War II, the Japanese had managed to crack every code the United States used. But when the Marines turned to its Navajo recruits to develop and implement a secret military language, they created the only unbroken code in modern warfare--and helped assure victory for the United States over Japan in the South Pacific.

The book was donated by the author in 2013 and is a memoir of Edward "Skip" Swain about his personal experiences in Vietnam as an enlisted man.