Heartland Heroes: Remembering World War II
Heartland Heroes is a collection of remarkable stories from ordinary men and women who lived through extraordinary times. They resided in places like Lee's Summit, Independence, and Kansas City, yet their experiences were very much like those of World War II veterans everywhere. Some were marines, nurses, or fighter pilots, others were simply civilians who lived through the war under the martial law imposed on the Hawaiian Islands after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In Heartland Heroes, Ken Hatfield gathers the stories of more than eighty men and women, whom he began interviewing in 1984 while reporting for a small weekly newspaper in Liberty, Missouri. Hatfield's first subject was a marine named Bob Barackman, the uncle of one of Hatfield's co-workers. That interview, which lasted for several hours, had a profound effect on Hatfield. He began to realize that as a journalist he had a unique opportunity to preserve that small piece of history each veteran carries with him.
|
Contents
First Strikes
|
21 |
Ocean War
|
42 |
Italy
|
63 |
Women in War
|
80 |
DDay
|
114 |
War in the Pacific Part 3
|
148 |
War in Europe Part 1
|
164 |
Battle of the Bulge
|
177 |
The Secret War
|
203 |
Iwo Jima
|
216 |
War in the Pacific Part 4
|
235 |
War in Europe Part 3
|
258 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
airmen Allied American army air corps artillery assigned attack Banta Barackman Bastogne battalion battle beach began bomb bombers Boyce bullets camp carrier casualties civilians code talkers combat commander complete page image convoy crew D-Day destroyer Division enemy engines enlisted explosions feet fifty-caliber fighters fighting fire flak flying German going Grimes ground Guadalcanal gunner Hawaii head Hollingsworth Hoover infantry invasion island Iwo Jima Japan Japanese kamikaze Kansas City killed knew landing craft later Liberty ship machine gun McMeins merchant marine miles mission Missouri months mortar navy never night Okinawa Pacific Pearl Harbor pilots planes Pruessner radio raid remembers Rigney sailors Saipan Saunders Seabees sent shell ship shooting shot snipers soldiers spent Stagner Stringer submarine tank target thing thousand Tinian told took torpedoes troops U-boats U.S. Army U.S. Army Air U.S. Navy V-J Day view the complete World World War II wounded