Bøger i Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series serien

"Black Dragon is the unique account of a single Marine Rifle company-2-F-23, or "Fox" Company-and its drive through the central Pacific in World War II. Author Steven D. McCloud, through painstaking research in battlefield reports and extensive interviews with surviving members of Fox Company, has reanimated the grueling, day-by-day slog through the Pacific theater through the eyes of the US Marines who endured it. This is the story of American teenagers who left home, many for the first time, trained together, and formed a team that held strong until, at last, those who survived tried to leave it all behind as they dispersed, returned home, and sought to build their lives. Decades later they reformed through correspondence and reunions. Fox Company also welcomed McCloud into their midst and began telling their stories. McCloud took notes, chased down company reports and other documents to fill in the gaps, and reconstructed their journey. As one member of Fox Company recalled after returning to Iwo Jima half a century later, "I think the pilgrimage to Iwo has helped me conquer my black dragons-those bloody and stinking nightmares that made nightly uninvited visits for fifty-six years. My dreams were in color, predominantly bloody red. Those remaining are in black and white and shades of gray, not so violent and stinking. These I can live with.""--

The mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle, or MRAP, required years of entrepreneurial marketing by the defense industry. In Securing theMRAP, James Hasik explores how these vehicles, which the American military mostly rejected despite the great need for them, eventually came to be adopted as the Pentagon's top procurement priority.

Takes readers on the full journey of the Sea Cloud, from its postwar ownership by Rafael Trujillo, to its use as a commercial cruise ship in Panama, its near-disastrous physical deterioration and restoration, and on to the present day as a luxury charter sailing yacht.

Late in 1940, the young men of the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery Regiment stepped off the trucks at Camp Bowie in Brownwood, Texas, ready to complete the training they would need for active duty in World War II. This title includes personal memoirs and oral history interviews of the "Lost Battalion" members.

By recounting both the technical development and the combat operations of the plane, and by looking at the proposed alternatives for its use in the War on Terror, Night Hunters offers a clear view of the role of gunships and of close air support in US wars. In today s never-ending brushfire wars, the AC-130s continue to uphold their reputation for excellence.

"Execute against Japan should be required reading for naval officers (especially in submarine wardrooms), as well as for anyone interested in history, policy, or international law." - Adm. James P. Wisecup, President, US Naval War College (for Naval War College Review)

In April 1969, Linda Moore-Lanning watched her husband, Lt Michael Lee Lanning, board a Greyhound bus that would take him to a military flight scheduled to deposit him in Vietnam. As he boarded the bus, Lee told her, 'It's only for a year'. This title presents the personal account of Moore-Lanning's year as a waiting wife.

During World War I, nearly half a million immigrant draftees from 46 nations served in the US Army. This work explores how the US War Department integrated this diverse group into a united fighting force, and illuminates what it meant for the military to re-examine early-20th-century nativism.

In riveting detail, veteran US Civil War historian Frank E. Vandiver recounts the campaigns and major battles of the first war of the Industrial Revolution, with its machinery, firepower, and engineering beyond imagination. With provocative insight, he traces a picture of the war as rooted in the character and vision of its two leaders and their two sectional revolutions.

Every Medal of Honor represents a story of gallantry, courage, and sacrifice. Seven of the 464 Medals of Honor awarded during World War II went to Texas Aggies. James R. Woodall carried out a dedicated search of archives, family collections, and scores of other resources to gather, for the first time, the complete stories of these seven courageous men.

Thomas E. Alexander served for a number of years in the elite Strategic Air Command, designed as a primary deterrent to Soviet military ambitions. In this gripping memoir, Alexander presents 'an honest and reflective account of the impact the Cold War had on individuals who were then on the front lines of defense - like it or not.'

Frederick R. Gabriel graduated from medical school in 1940, entered the US Army, and was assigned to the newly-created 39th Station Hospital. His letters from the Pacific theatre - especially from Guadalcanal, Angaur, and Saipan - capture the everyday life of a soldier physician.

A tightly packed and provocative book containing a series of connected essays on the many competing narratives - both fiction and nonfiction - that are used to explain recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, how those narratives are perceived through preexisting social, political, and literary lenses, and how they often fall short.

Hans Mark recounts in detail his life as a twentieth-century "rocket man." Here is the inside story of one who - in a career spanning more than six decades - was on the technological front line, from long-range bombers to the space shuttle. Along the way, Mark reveals many never-before-told stories from life at NASA and more.

From the defeat of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam at Ap Bac to the battles of the Ia Drang Valley, Khe Sanh, and more, Storms over the Mekong offers a reassessment of key turning points in the Vietnam War.

Texas, home to more than 1.7 million living veterans (the second largest number of any state), is also home to six nationally run and four state-run veterans cemeteries. The Veterans Cemeteries of Texas recounts the stories of these ten official final resting places for Texas veterans, creating a complete guide to these solemn bivouacs of the dead.

Tells the remarkable story of Lt. Gen. James F. Hollingsworth, a three-time recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross along with four Silver Stars, six Purple Hearts, and a host of additional medals and commendations. His career spanned wars both cold and hot, and throughout, ""Holly"" was a hard-charging, hands-on soldier who could be irreverent and brash but always ""led from the front."

Edith May Witt served her country by joining the Red Cross in World War II as a staff assistant (or ""club woman"") in Oran, Algeria, and worked throughout the Mediterranean theatre. She was also a talented writer and left behind a rich archive that illuminates the wartime experiences of civilian women.