Heartland Heroes is a collection of remarkable stories from ordinary men and women who lived through extraordinary times. They resided in places like Lee's Summit, Independence, and Kansas City, yet their experiences were very much like those of World War II veterans everywhere. Some were marines, nurses, or fighter pilots, others were simply civilians who lived through the war under the martial law imposed on the Hawaiian Islands after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In Heartland Heroes, Ken Hatfield gathers the stories of more than eighty men and women, whom he began interviewing in 1984 while reporting for a small weekly newspaper in Liberty, Missouri. Hatfield's first subject was a marine named Bob Barackman, the uncle of one of Hatfield's co-workers. That interview, which lasted for several hours, had a profound effect on Hatfield. He began to realize that as a journalist he had a unique opportunity to preserve that small piece of history each veteran carries with him.

Five fantasy chapter books that are perfect for 9-14 year olds. 1143 pages of reading! Included in this 5-book Box Set: THE WAYFINDER – Book 1 Can Win find what his heart longs for—healing for his land and for his broken heart. This riveting middle-grade fantasy combines the intriguing abilities to Find what’s missing with pulse-pounding suspense. Read to discover what one person can accomplish. THE FALCONER – Book 2 She strode out of the north country and into legend, a courageous falconer and her bird. Together, they must leave behind all they know and stop the fierce Zendi who have invaded her country. Brittney must find a heart of courage to boldly defend the Heartland. LIBERTY – Book 3 When your heart dreams of the impossible, where do you find the courage to push forward? From the fascinating world of tall ships comes this unlikely tale of humble pigs who fight for their dream. Come and join Penelope and Santiago on their journey. GARGOYLES – Book 4 When construction on the Cathedral of St. Stephens stops because of lack of money, Laurel’s father, the architect, must move on. But how can Laurel leave the only home she’s ever known? In this rich, surprising tale, Laurel risks her heart to find a treasure large enough to finish building the cathedral. She needs not one, but two miracles. VAGABONDS – Book 5 Galen’s heart longs for a safe home for his family and his people. Instead, destiny thrusts him into a dangerous quest for a permanent home. Can he lead a band of armadillos to find the fabled Faralone Falls? Read this gripping American fantasy set in Ozark mountains, the heartland of America.

New hope for a soldier Heartland Courtship by Lyn Cote Quaker Rachel Woolsey’s plans to have her own bakery and homestead seem out of reach—until the handsome ex-soldier she nurses back to health offers to help her. At first, Brennan Merriday intends to stay in Pepin, Wisconsin, only long enough to repay his debt to the pretty baker. But soon he longs to rescue dreams of family—for both of them Homefront Hero by Allie Pleiter Dashing and valiantly wounded, Captain John Gallows could have stepped straight out of an army recruitment poster. Leanne Sample can’t help being impressed—although the lovely Red Cross nurse tries to hide it. She knows as soon as he’s well enough, he’ll rush back to war—and far away from South Carolina. But when an epidemic strikes close to home, John comes to realize what it truly means to be a hero—Leanne’s hero. USA TODAY Bestselling Author Lyn Cote

Uniquely Okinawan explores how American soldiers, sailors, and Marines considered race, ethnicity, and identity in the planning and execution of the wartime occupation of Okinawa, during and immediately after the Battle of Okinawa, 1945–46.

This collection offers a multifaceted exploration of World War One and its aftermath in the northern American Heartland, a region often overlooked in wartime histories. The chapters feature archival and newspaper documentation and visual imagery from this era. The first section, “Heartland Histories,” explores experiences of conscription and home front mobilization in the small communities of the heartland, highlighting tensions associated with patriotism, class, ethnicities, and locale. In one chapter, the previously unpublished cartoon art of a USAF POW displays his Midwestern sensibilities. Section Two, “Homefront Propaganda,” examines the cultural networks disseminating national war messages, notably the critical work of local theaters, Four Minute Men, the Allied War Exhibitions, and the local commemorative displays of military relics. Section Three, “Gender in/and War,” highlights aspects often over-shadowed by male experiences of the war itself, including the patriotic mother, androgynous representations in wartime propaganda, and masculine violence following the war. Together, this volume provides rich portraits of the complexities of heartland home front experiences and legacies.

Men and women from all economic backgrounds and of all races present their own narratives concerning time served in the Vietnam War, detailing the combat, sacrifices, compassion, and courage they remember

"Robert F. Martin demonstrates nicely that, beneath all of Billy Sunday's flamboyance, the orphan-turned-baseball player-turned-evangelist embodied the tensions of his age. Martin's prodigious research has yielded a wealth of anecdotal material that adds flavor and spice to his keen analysis." -- Randall Balmer, author of Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America William Ashley "Billy" Sunday was the most popular and influential evangelist of his time. Between 1896 and 1935, the colorful Iowa-born evangelist toured first his native Midwest and then the nation, preaching in tent and tabernacle, espousing a simplistic but, for many, deeply satisfying interpretation of Christianity. Embodying the traditional values and attitudes of the heartland and at home in an increasingly diverse, urban, industrial America, Sunday won the hearts -- and the pocketbooks -- of millions of Americans. Hero of the Heartland is an interpretive biography that focuses on the ways in which the man and his career resonated with the hopes and fears of his contemporaries as they coped with the economic, social, and cultural changes around the start of the 20th century. Robert F. Martin shows how Sunday and his revivalism helped his followers bridge the gap between the traditional past and the progressive future, and made more comfortable the transition from the old order to the new.