Show Bios

Denver, Colorado
8th Air Force Bomber & Fighter Pilot (B-17 Bomber, P-51 Mustang)
European Theatre: Air war over Europe
Rank & Division: Army Air Force- Second Lieutenant , 401st Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group, then 505th Fighter Squadron, 339th Fighter Group

The artistic, creative writer, Bert describes himself as "a dreamer, a wistful seeker" whose short stories captured the attention of publishing giants in New York before the outbreak of World War II.

Bert enlists in the Air Force almost immediately after Pearl Harbor, but is conflicted about his decision. Although he is a pacifist who feels that "we aren't solving anything with this war," he realises "there is a time when every man must fight."

Vienna, Austria
U.S. Army Sergeant
Pacific Theatre: Attu, Kwajalein, Leyte Gulf, Okinawa
Rank & Division: Entered as a Private, earned stripes after Kwajalein. 1st Sergeant, Army 7th Infantry, 13th Combat Engineers, H and S Company

A politically aware Jewish émigré, Jack fled from Austria after Hitler took over the country. His real name is Hans Werner, but when he arrives in America he changes it to Jack. "Hans just sounded far too German, and I certainly didn't want that."

Jack enlists in the U.S. Army months before Pearl Harbor, determined to fight the fascism that forced him from his home. But once he enlists, his distinctly European views about obedience and leadership cause him to see many American troops as "undisciplined" and he is stunned by other soldiers' open criticism of military leaders.

As he enters the Pacific theatre to fight against the Japanese, he realizes his "undisciplined" fellow soldiers are also fiercely independent, a trait that he comes to respect."

New York, New York
Navy Seaman
Pacific Theatre: Home Front, Atlantic sub scare, Leyte Gulf
Rank & Division: Navy-Seaman 1st Class, USS Samuel B. Roberts, (Destroyer escort, Butler class)

A funny, likable kid, Jack was raised in Queens, and has an unmistakable New York accent to prove it. When he joins the Navy at the end of 1943 Jack is the ultimate rookie, wet behind both ears and far too young to be tangling with U-boats.

In October 1944 Jack finds himself fighting against impossible odds off the coast of the Philippines. His ship is sunk, and he and his shipmates are left floating in shark-infested waters for 72 hours. The same happy-go-lucky attitude that made him seem inexperienced becomes his greatest asset during this ultimate test.

Worcester, Massachusetts
Army Infantryman
European Theatre: Push into Germany, Battle of the Bulge, Rhineland, Concentration Camp Liberation

Rockie has a darkness about him, and is not given to making friends. When the aspiring jazz drummer is drafted, he goes to the army with no sense of greater mission other than perhaps bringing back some Nazi souvenirs. He enters the war with a thrill-seeking, daredevil attitude and though initially shocked by the incredible violence and horror he encounters, he quickly develops a grim attitude in which "killing becomes almost like a sport" and items stripped from the bodies of the dead are "souvenirs" to be sought after and kept.

But as he battles his way across Europe and into the heart of Hitler's Third Reich, Rockie gradually finds himself caught up in an internal battle in which he must confront his own young ideas of humanity and righteousness.

Enid, Oklahoma
Army Captain
European Theatre: North Africa, Sicily, Operation Dragoon, Push into Germany
Rank & Division: Entered as 2nd Lieutenant, promoted to Captain after liberation of Paris, Company C, 39th Infantry Reg., 9th Army

Charles is an athletic and intelligent perfectionist, a hard-working all-American guy raised during the Depression, who is concerned about carrying on his family's tradition of military service. He's used to being the big man on campus, so when he's assigned to train with an experienced British army unit, he isn't accustomed to playing second string. And when he first gets into combat, Charles' naive illusions are immediately shattered.

Facing the pragmatic pressures of a combat command, Charles quickly realises his decisions can literally mean the difference between life and death for his men. By the time he makes it to Germany, he can see that there is no glory in winning, only in surviving.

Huntsville, Alabama
Marine Corps Private
Pacific Theatre: New Britain, Peleliu, Okinawa
Rank & Division: Marines, Corporal, 3rd battalion, 5th marines, 1st division, K Co.

A hormone-filled Alabama boy, Nolen loves three things: drinking, swearing and chasing women. He enlists with the Marines because in Huntsville, "nobody has a future." When he's thrown into intense combat, Nolan's hard-partying attitude is quickly chastened. On his first patrol into enemy territory his squad comes under heavy fire, and three of his friends are killed. Nolen and the one other survivor barely make it back alive.

In the months to come Nolen participates in brutal fighting on two more islands, suffering severe wounds in the process. His descriptions are violently graphic and brutally honest, revealing the shocking, bloody realities of war.
 

Wautoma, Wisconsin
Army Nurse
European Theatre: North Africa, Sicily, Push into Germany, Concentration Camp Liberation
Rank & Division: Army Nurse Corps, First Lieutenant

June begins the war as a fun-loving young woman with a fierce sense of independence that is decades ahead of her time. When the U.S. enters the war she enlists almost immediately, but she is unprepared for the horrors and poor conditions she will face overseas. June battles not only the Nazis, but also hunger, exhaustion, inclement weather and sickness. She often works 18-hour shifts, 7 days a week, caring for the sick, the wounded and the dying. As the war wears on, the daily brutalities tear at her heart, making it harder and harder to keep her fun-loving spirit.

But while the constant misery threatens to overwhelm her, June comes to learn that her good-natured attitude is often her most valuable medicine.

Portland, Oregon
Army Medic (Retired as Colonel)
European Theatre: Italy, Southern France, POW, Liberation
Rank & Division: Army Medic, 3rd Battalion, 442nd Japanese Reg.

The son of Japanese immigrants, Jimmie is devoted to both his family and his country. But his dual loyalties are challenged by the racist backlash of post-Pearl Harbor hysteria. In early 1942, Jimmie's parents are relocated to an internment camp and although he is already in the army, the government initially treats him as a suspect and refuses to allow him to actively fight.

In 1943, Jimmie joins the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a special unit made up of Japanese-American soldiers. Despite his best intentions to set an example of excellence in service, things tend to go wrong for Jimmie in combat. He earns a Silver Star just months before he is captured by German soldiers. After multiple failed escape attempts, he is eventually liberated at the end of the war.

Thomas County, Georgia
TIME Magazine War Correspondent
Pacific Theatre: Attu, Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima, Okinawa

At the start of the war, Robert is an experienced reporter with TIME magazine. But when he first travels to the Pacific, he is stunned by the tenacity and fanaticism of the Japanese enemy he encounters. His press reports about the terrible nature of this new enemy are meant to warn what he sees as a 'complacent America' of the difficulties of the coming war. Only after Sherrod's reports on the Japanese resistance at Saipan does he think America is finally coming to grips with what they're up against - and what it will take to win the peace. Strongly patriotic, Robert firmly believes that the Japanese will never surrender, and will have to be exterminated before the U.S. can claim victory.

Marked Tree, Arkansas
Tuskegee Fighter Pilot (P-51 Mustang)
European Theatre: Air War over Europe
Rank & Division: Army Air Force- First Lieutenant, 99th Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, 15th Air Force

Shelby is a self-sufficient young man with an inner-strength born out of early tragedy. When his parents died, Shelby was just 12 years old. He moved from his small town home to live with his brother in the big city of Toledo, OH, where he attended an integrated high school, free of the sting of racial prejudice.

After Pearl Harbor, he's keen to sign up for the nation's first all-black air corps. It is only when he enters the U.S. military that Shelby's eyes are opened to racial injustice. Shelby decides to be the best pilot in the entire war, convinced that his actions will be the most eloquent testament to his right to equal treatment.
 

Elizabeth, New Jersey
War Correspondent, International News Service
Pacific & European Theatres: Guadalcanal, Sicily, Italy

Richard is a hard-working, tenacious reporter for the New York-based International News Service. Ineligible for the draft because of his Type 1 diabetes, Richard jumps at the opportunity to report on the war, his only ticket to the front line. The graphic descriptions in his best-selling book-turned-movie Guadalcanal Diary open the public's eyes to the harsh realities of war. With his attention to detail and willingness to put himself in harm's way, the rookie combat reporter soon becomes a household name.

But his new-found fame only makes him hunger more for the adrenaline of combat. In the European theatre, he starts taking risks. After several close calls he is finally side-lined by a piece of shrapnel that gets lodged in his brain. He's out of the war before it's over.

Franklin County, New York
Army Corporal
European Theatre: North Africa
Rank & Division: Army Corporal, 39th Infantry, 9th Division, Company H

Archie is a hard-working, quiet young man who worked two jobs while attending high school, tending his family farm, hunting for food and looking after his eight younger siblings.

When the peacetime draft was instituted in the autumn of 1940, Archie was the first person in his town to be called up. He was almost immediately shipped off to Ft. Bragg, NC, for basic training.

The attack on Pearl Harbor and America's subsequent entrance into the war was a shocking experience for Archie. His simple background had left him with no real sense of the impending war, and no way to understand the full scope of it. After he is sent to North Africa, Archie writes home to his family during a quiet evening, telling them that he "thinks the war is coming to an end." He has no idea that North Africa alone is not "the war" and it is most certainly not ""coming to an end."