"It's worth the risk, and the friendships you develop, the memories you have, it's all priceless. It molds you into a better person."
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Enlist: Veteran's Histories by Melvin F. Cruthers Trafford Publishing
book review by JG
So many stories of military exploits emphasize the larger picture of the battle, as well as the generals who plotted strategies, rather than the individual soldiers. With his thought-provoking compilation, Cruthers ensures that the stories of many brave and selfless veterans who fought for their country will never be forgotten. As a veteran of the Marines, Cruthers presents a unique profile of veterans' career paths from the 1940s onward. He details their enlistments, describes what they endured in training and follows their career tracks through discharge. At the conclusion of each profile, the author explains what the veteran accomplished following his enlistment and which medals he was awarded for his service. The reader will enjoy stories such as that of Earl William Warne, who quickly found that the service transformed him into a disciplined, respectful person. Warne served honorably in the Pacific Theater, from Peleliu to Okinawa, and then on to China to guard against a possible Japanese invasion.
Cruthers wrote his history to encourage recent high school grads to consider the military as a rewarding career choice. And indeed, his work may very well convince young men and women to take advantage of the many benefits military service offers, such as job training, monetary enticements like paid education, and of course, personal fulfillment. Furthermore, readers can get a glimpse of the many career possibilities for discharged military personnel. However, this book is also a useful tool for expanding the general reader's knowledge of U.S. military history, with a wealth of insider information that may not be readily available elsewhere. The stories of these veterans are peppered with Cruthers' own informed commentary, giving the reader the impression of sitting down to a friendly fireside chat with a knowledgeable veteran.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review