Non-Fiction

Book Title:Write Soon, Love Fran
Author: L.E. Starks
Reviewed by: Edward Cox
Genre: Non-fiction Sub-Category: Biography/Memoir

ISBN (for Amazon store): 1456083805

The Army career of Corporal Frances M. Bushey, now retired, began on April 28, 1949 and lasted until she was honorably discharged on September 7, 1951. This book is based on the letters written by Corporal Bushey, now known as Mrs. Frances M. Wissner, to her mother throughout her military career as well as her personal remembrances of the events. Mrs. Wissner is my mother-in-law and the actual writer of these letters, which have been edited for clarity and brevity. The personal experiences of this Korean War WAC are shared with you, the reader, and include her opinions and thoughts on her relationships, friendships and her work as a cook in the Army. The reader will be privy to all the intimate details of daily life as recounted by a woman in the Women’s Army Corps who started her army career as a Private and ended it as a Corporal.

Title: Medals, Flags, and Memories
Author: John and Stacey Holley
Genre: Non-Fiction Sub-Category: History
Reviewed by: Nancy E. Rial
ISBN: 0983416826

On November 15, 2005, John and Stacey Holley unwillingly became Gold Star Parents. Their son and only child, Matthew John Holley, was killed along with three other Soldiers when an IED exploded under their Humvee while on patrol in Iraq. Racked with grief over their son’s death, John and Stacey’s sorrow turned to outrage when they learned that Matthew’s casket would return to San Diego’s Lindbergh Field as common freight. There would be no honor guard to welcome this fallen hero back to the nation of his birth. Instead, Matthew Holley’s remains would be transferred by forklifts and baggage handlers, like a crate of auto parts. Determined to welcome their son home with honors befitting his sacrifice, the Holleys embarked on a quest to challenge the law, and to begin a journey of healing that would touch the lives of Gold Star Families across the country.

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.

Title: Beyond the Call, Memoirs of a Medical Visionary Vol I
Author: William E. Mayer
Genre: Non-Fiction, Reference
Reviewer: Don Arndt

Beyond the Call, a gripping account of the life and times of William (Bud) Mayer, a distinguished citizen-physician-soldier, in frequent conflict with the status quo and in combat with bureaucrats in and out of uniform and the entrenched politicians. He speaks out about the unconscionable treatment of the mentally ill and alcoholic persons among us; the mind-twisting methods of tyrants, past and present, who seek to destroy freedom; and about the miracles of modern military medicine that keep countless soldiers alive. Seen from the inside of the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Army and the Public Health Service and at the end, the Pentagon itself, these thoughts and experiences are essential to an understanding of what freedom allows us to do, and what our adversaries would destroy.