Veterans Day: Recommended Reads

Veterans Day is celebrated on November 11.  Originally it was known as Armistice Day which was to mark the end of World War I when major fighting ended on November 11, 1918. In 1938, Congress made the day a federal holiday which was dedicated to the Veterans of World War I. After World War II and the Korean War, many veterans advocated for the day to honor all service members. President Eisenhower signed a bill to change the name of the holiday to Veterans Day in 1954. For a short while in the 1970s, the day was observed on the fourth Monday of October, but after it caused a lot of confusion the holiday returned to the original date where it has remained since 1978. Today, the holiday honors all U.S. military veterans.

Here are some books from our collection, highlighting the stories of those who have served.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Finkel’s book Thank You for your Service follows U.S soldiers as they return home from the Iraq War. Finkel Highlights how invisible wounds affect day-to-day life of soldiers and those around them.

Dr. Jon Kersetter wrote his memoir, Crossings, after suffering a stroke. Dr. Kerstetter details his life story from his childhood on the Oneida reservation to becoming a doctor and then a soldier, and the struggle between the conflicting goals of both aspects of his identity followed by his transition to recovery patient himself.   

Fighter pilot Major Mary Jennings Hegar was shot down during a Medevac mission in Afghanistan. Despite being injured, she still had the resiliency to save the lives of her crew and patients. Upon her return home, Hegar continues to fight but for women’s equality and recognition while challenging the U.S. Department of Defense Ground Combat Exclusion Policy as recounted in her memoir, Shoot Like A Girl.

Lightning Down tells the true story of Joe Moser, an American fighter pilot whose plane was damaged in Nazi occupied France during World War II. Captured and imprisoned, Moser and his comrades endured horrific experiences but manage to survive against all odds, but those experiences follow him home after the war.

Home Before Morning is the autobiography of Vietnam army nurse, Lynda Van Devanter. After high school she attended nursing school and in 1969 she joined the army and was shipped off to Vietnam which drastically changed her. After a year, she came back but nothing was the same, not even herself.