"H.L. "Bud" Curtis, 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team (PRCT) 1943-1945"--Cover.

It was Christmastime, 2010, in Billings, Montana, when my father-in-law handed me a shoebox. Its contents, unknown to me at the time, sparked a curiosity, an adventure, a challenge. Inside were stacks and stacks of letters. That day I learned of a man named Sonnie Rockford, my wife's great-uncle who was a paratrooper in World War II. Sonnie was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (H-Minus), 1st Battalion, Company C. He served for over 2 years, visited at least 6 countries, and survived 4 combat jumps. This is Sonnie's story.

The Letters to Annie describe a young mans' life in the Army and his love for his country and his family. Bill Blahut wrote his older sister, Annie, while training to become an Army Paratrooper in 1943. He achieved that, and was promoted to Corporal as he fought his way from southern France to the Battle of the Bulge in January 1944, in Belgium. Annie saved her letters from Bill. I pulled these letters from the bottom of a large Army issued wooden footlocker, that came into my possession. Almost 70 years later, I uncover a collection of letters that were stored in a dated tin box. These letters that Annie saved, must have been passed on to Bill's son Billy. The letters and footlocker came into my possession after the death of both Bill and his older sister, Wanda. Bill's son was a Bronze Star recipient and died an early death at 42.

This book recounts the author's experiences as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne in World War II through letters written home to his mother. As the title suggests, Guy's censored letters often forced his family to read "between the lines" to figure out the many subtle messages he was sending. Through these letters and Guy's narrative, we relive many of his experiences: Army training and the voyage to England on the S.S. Strathnaver; his historic jumps into Normandy on D-Day and into Holland during Operation Market Garden; and being seriously wounded by a German mortar shell that killed two of his friends nearly causing his own leg to be amputated. These letters show the progression of a young man as he grew in maturity and the resilience of the true and honorable soldier that emerged.

This book recounts the author's experiences as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne in World War II through letters written home to his mother. As the title suggests, Guy's censored letters often forced his family to read "between the lines" to figure out the many subtle messages he was sending. Through these letters and Guy's narrative, we relive many of his experiences: Army training and the voyage to England on the S.S. Strathnaver; his historic jumps into Normandy on D-Day and into Holland during Operation Market Garden; and being seriously wounded by a German mortar shell that killed two of his friends nearly causing his own leg to be amputated. These letters show the progression of a young man as he grew in maturity and the resilience of the true and honorable soldier that emerged.

Winner of the Everett Family Jewish Book of the Year Award (a National Jewish Book Award) and the RUSA Sophie Brody Medal. In Like Dreamers, acclaimed journalist Yossi Klein Halevi interweaves the stories of a group of 1967 paratroopers who reunited Jerusalem, tracing the history of Israel and the divergent ideologies shaping it from the Six-Day War to the present. Following the lives of seven young members from the 55th Paratroopers Reserve Brigade, the unit responsible for restoring Jewish sovereignty to Jerusalem, Halevi reveals how this band of brothers played pivotal roles in shaping Israel’s destiny long after their historic victory. While they worked together to reunite their country in 1967, these men harbored drastically different visions for Israel’s future. One emerges at the forefront of the religious settlement movement, while another is instrumental in the 2005 unilateral withdrawal from Gaza. One becomes a driving force in the growth of Israel’s capitalist economy, while another ardently defends the socialist kibbutzim. One is a leading peace activist, while another helps create an anti-Zionist terror underground in Damascus. Featuring an eight pages of black-and-white photos and maps, Like Dreamers is a nuanced, in-depth look at these diverse men and the conflicting beliefs that have helped to define modern Israel and the Middle East.