Dave Barr had had a penchant for trouble since day one, born in the back of a car, shooting by the time he was five, riding a motorbike at seven, Dave regularly got into fights at school. The only reading Dave would do growing up involved motorbikes, shooting, westerns and the military. After reading Battle Cry by Leon Uris aged 12 he knew he wanted to be a Marine. Following a series of menial jobs, working at a barbers and in service stations, at 17 he joined the Marines before shipping out to Vietnam. This was his dream come true, flying as a helicopter gunner, he ended the war with an impressive 57 Air Medals. After leaving the Marines, like many veterans Dave found it hard to hold down a good job and stay out of trouble. It was then that he read about Israel. Always looking for a rush Dave learnt to skydive before he deciding to take his chances, emigrating illegally to Israel. He was inducted into the Israeli Army and then the Paratroops, where the training was difficult, involving long tough marches, and learning Hebrew. After serving his time he left Israel - back in the USA Dave was stuck in a rut and ready for his next adventure....This is the first volume in the gripping and action-packed memoirs of Dave Barr, providing a rich and colorful account of one man's odyssey as a professional soldier, seeing war at the 'sharp end'.

Dave Barr knew from 12 years old he wanted to be a Marine. Following a series of menial jobs - including working at a shoe shiner in a barber's shop and in service stations - at 17 he joined the Marines before shipping out to Vietnam. This was his dream come true - flying as a helicopter gunner - and he ended the war with an impressive 57 Air Medals, one Air Medal for every 20 combat missions. After leaving the Marines, like many veterans, Dave found it hard to hold down a good job and stay out of trouble. It was then that he read about Israel. Always looking for a rush, Dave learnt to skydive before deciding to take his chances - emigrating illegally to Israel. He was inducted into the Israeli Army and then the Paratroopers, where the training was difficult - involving long tough marches, as well as learning Hebrew. After serving his time, he left Israel - and back in the USA, Dave was stuck in a rut and ready for his next adventure. This is the second volume of Dave's memoirs. Just as rich and colourful an account as the first instalment, the book portrays a professional soldier's view of the 'sharp end' of war. Following on from his time in the Israeli Army paratroopers, Dave travelled to Rhodesia and fought alongside the Rhodesian Light Infantry. His next assignment was with the South African Defence Force in operations in South West Africa and Angola. Then came the fateful day and near fatal injuries as a result of a land mine explosion. Almost a year later following 20 operations and Dave was finally allowed back onto active duty and doing what he did best, being a soldier.

The commanding officer of an infantry battalion in Vietnam in 1969 recounts how he took over a demoralized unit of ordinary draftees and turned it into an elite fighting force, and describes its accomplishments.

One of our most enduring national myths surrounds the men and women who fought in the so-called "Good War." The Greatest Generation, we're told by Tom Brokaw and others, fought heroically, then returned to America happy, healthy and well-adjusted. They quickly and cheerfully went on with the business of rebuilding their lives. In this shocking and hauntingly beautiful book, historian Thomas Childers shatters that myth. He interweaves the intimate story of three families--including his own--with a decades' worth of research to paint an entirely new picture of the war's aftermath. Drawing on government documents, interviews, oral histories and diaries, he reveals that 10,000 veterans a month were being diagnosed with psycho-neurotic disorder (now known as PTSD). Alcoholism, homelessness, and unemployment were rampant, leading to a skyrocketing divorce rate. Many veterans bounced back, but their struggle has been lost in a wave of nostalgia that threatens to undermine a new generation of returning soldiers. Novelistic in its telling and impeccably researched, Childers's book is a stark reminder that the price of war is unimaginably high. The consequences are human, not just political, and the toll can stretch across generations.