Courage In Combat

These stories of military heroism, focusing on members of the Legion of Valor, offer a sweeping study of courage in service to America. Published in conjunction with the Legion of Valor of the United States of America, Courage in Combat shares the stories of military heroes from the Civil War onward. They are recipients of the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross, and the Air Force Cross. Their awards are our nation’s highest military decorations, given only to one in twenty thousand combatants. Among them are sergeants and generals, as well as corpsmen, civilians, engineers, “grunts,” and paratroopers. There are men and women, a mess attendant, aviators, spies and POWs, a cavalry scout, candidates for sainthood, and a president of the United States. The stories of these brave individuals relate personal accounts of heroism, as well as reflections on combat and war. This book also includes a short history of the Legion of Valor, America’s oldest military service organization, and an extensive list of its members, past and present. Courage in Combat explores the concept of courage through the lives, thoughts, and actions of this elite group—most of whom would say, “I was just doing my job.”

Linderman traces each soldier's path from the exhilaration of enlistment to the disillusionment of battle to postwar alienation. He provides a rare glimpse of the personal battle that raged within soldiers then and now.

This book addresses the critical importance of courage in combat and when in a dangerous situation. A soldierOs combat performance pivots on his courage. Without it, all other combat qualities may be forfeited.Military leaders have recognized that it is the will of the soldier that is decisive. Combat is a mutual and sustained act of will between contending parties. A battle is usually decided when the soldier, or one side, loses its moral resolution to stand and fight. This book describes the factors that contribute to the soldierOs will and spirit to preserve in combat. A framework is presented relative to the Army training model of Leader, Individual and Collective Training to meet this goal, the demands of the modern battlefield and the expectations of your soldiers. A set of principles, with illustrative techniques, are described to provide an insight into ways developing and harnessing a soldierOs courage. The rationale for these considerations is also presented.

Profiles of the 98 German soldiers--out of millions--who received both the Knight's Cross (for extreme bravery) and the Close-Combat Clasp in Gold (for at least 50 days of hand-to-hand fighting) during World War II.

Few of us spend much time thinking about courage, but we know it when we see it--or do we? Is it best displayed by marching into danger, making the charge, or by resisting, enduring without complaint? Is it physical or moral, or both? Is it fearless, or does it involve subduing fear? Abner Small, a Civil War soldier, was puzzled by what he called the "mystery of bravery"; to him, courage and cowardice seemed strangely divorced from character and will. It is this mystery, just as puzzling in our day, that William Ian Miller unravels in this engrossing meditation. Miller culls sources as varied as soldiers' memoirs, heroic and romantic literature, and philosophical discussions to get to the heart of courage--and to expose its role in generating the central anxieties of masculinity and manhood. He probes the link between courage and fear, and explores the connection between bravery and seemingly related states: rashness, stubbornness, madness, cruelty, fury; pride and fear of disgrace; and the authority and experience that minimize fear. By turns witty and moving, inquisitive and critical, his inquiry takes us from ancient Greece to medieval Europe, to the American Civil War, to the Great War and Vietnam, with sidetrips to the schoolyard, the bedroom, and the restaurant. Whether consulting Aristotle or private soldiers, Miller elicits consistently compelling insights into a condition as endlessly interesting as it is elusive.

An anthology of pieces by and about the recipients of the United States' highest decorations, focusing on the theme of courage in combat.

"On War" by Carl von Clausewitz (translated by J. J. Graham). Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

How does an ordinary person become a hero? It happens in a split second, a moment of focus and clarity, when a choice is made. Here are the gripping accounts of Medal of Honor recipients who demonstrated guts and selflessness on the battlefield and confronted life-threatening danger to make a difference. There are the stories of George Sakato and Vernon Baker—both of whom overcame racial discrimination to enlist in the army during World War II (Sakato was a second-generation Japanese American, Baker an African American) and went on to prove that heroes come in all colors—and Clint Romesha, who led his outnumbered fellow soldiers against a determined enemy to prevent the Taliban from taking over a remote U.S. Army outpost in Afghanistan. Also included are civilians who have been honored by the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation for outstanding acts of bravery in crisis situations, from a school shooting to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Adding depth and context are illuminating essays on the combat experience and its aftermath, covering topics such as overcoming fear; a mother mourning the loss of her son; and “surviving hell” as a prisoner of war.