Biography

Year Of Absence, A

Title: A Year Of Absence
Author: Jessica Redmond
Genre: Non-Fiction, Biography
Reviewer: Bill McDonald

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0965748316

A Year of Absence follows the lives of six women whose husbands, all members of the U.S. Army’s First Armored Division based in Germany, deploy to Iraq in April 2003. A young lieutenant’s wife comes dangerously close to alcoholism. Marriages are pushed to the breaking point by the constant strain of fifteen months apart. Each morning the women anxiously scan the headlines, wondering if they still have a husband, if their children still have a father. Some form friendships that become their lifeline. Others somehow find courage despite their isolation. Through tearful goodbyes, long-awaited communication from the front, and joyful yet troubled reunions, A Year of Absence captures what life is like for many families of deployed soldiers: the ever-present fear of death, the pressures of single-parenthood, and the strength and comfort that come with the support of close friends. Book excerpt Jena was strolling home from walking the dog when she noticed an official U.S. Army car carrying two soldiers in Class A uniforms heading toward her street. She felt her pulse quicken and, without meaning to, she started doing the math. If the soldiers stopped at her building, there was a one-in-twenty-four chance that Adam was dead. If they stopped at her stairwell, it was one-in-eight. Don’t come down here, she prayed silently. Please let it be somebody else.

Author(s) Mentioned: 
Redmond, Jessica

By-Laws and Guidelines/Definitions (2012)

ARTICLE I    Name

 This organization is known as the Military Writers Society of America, and is sometimes referred to herein and elsewhere as MWSA

ARTICLE II    Board of Directors

The Board of Directors shall consist of nine members (President is the Chairman, Past-President serves one term as Board Member, the Founder as a Permanent Board Member and six elected members).

W.I.A. (Wounded in Action)

Title: W.I.A. (Wounded in Action)
Author: Thomas C. Robison
Genre: Non-Fiction Sub-Category: Biography
Reviewed by: Bob Flournoy

ISBN (for Amazon store): 1453596402

Based on actual events and set against the historical backdrop of America’s longest war, Wounded in Action tells the compelling and gripping story of courage and determination of one of the Army’s most elite combat soldiers as he faces the realities of surviving near fatal wounds and struggles to overcome the life changing devastation inflicted on his mind and body from the explosion of an enemy landmine.

Author(s) Mentioned: 
Robison, T. Clement

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I Hear No Bugles

Title: I Hear No Bugles
Author: Robert W. Mercy
Genre: Non-Fiction, Biography
Reviewer: Bob Doerr

Link to the book or work with 143571704X

The central theme is Robert's war experiences as a platoon Sergeant of an all-Korean infantry assault unit within an American rifle company; and how a lifetime of absorbed film propaganda and an idealistic quest for honor and meaning plays out against the illusion-shattering reality experienced during 8 major campaigns. The author's twin brother served with him. Collectively they earned 1 Silver Star, 2 Bronze Stars, 4 Purple Hearts and a Presidential Unit Citation for leading a bayonet charge. This is the only known recorded account by a frontline infantrymen who fought in the first hectic year of the Korean War. 106 photos, 7 maps, 18 documents.

Author(s) Mentioned: 
Mercy, Robert W.

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