Beyond Valor: World War II's Ranger and Airborne Veterans Reveal the Heart of Combat (Paperback)

by Patrick K. O'Donnell (Author) "The lives of these three American men, none older than twenty-three years, are frozen in time, etched into a bronze plaque that quietly marks the..." (more)
Key Phrases: parachute infantry regiment, test platoon, designated drop zone, Ranger Battalion, Parachute Infantry Battalion, Ranger Btn (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The success of Tom Brokaw's Greatest Generation has sparked a renewed interest in books about World War II and the people who fought in it. Patrick K. O'Donnell maintains, however, that behind those official histories and carefully crafted memoirs lies a "hidden war"--"a bottled up, buried version shielded even from family members because many of the memories are too painful to discuss." In Beyond Valor, O'Donnell brings this hidden war to the surface, allowing men from the elite forces to tell their own stories, thus creating a fascinating combat history of WWII.

O'Donnell introduces readers to some of the greatest of the greatest generation--men such as Robert Kinney of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, wounded by a mortar at Anzio ("it tore my fanny open, took a big chunk of meat out of there--I could afford that"). While in the hospital, wounded members of the regiment were asked by one of their officers to return to the front:

We all went down, about forty of us in casts, bandages, arms in slings and everything. He said, "Your buddies up there are catching hell and we've got to go back if we can. You don't have to, we're not going to order you, but we're looking for volunteers." We said, "Hell, we'll go." We had just the best-spirited bunch of scrappers you ever saw.

There are also stories about compassion in the midst of carnage. Albert Hassenzahl of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment was seriously injured on a drop during the Normandy invasion. While waiting to be rescued, the wind blew his blanket off him. A man on an adjacent stretcher reached over and carefully tucked the blanket in around Hassenzahl. The other man was a German POW. "I didn't say a word to him, but I was able to move my head a little and looked over at him ... neither of us said a word, but mentally I might have said 'thank you' with my eyes and he might have said 'you're welcome' with his."

Though it will certainly appeal to them, O'Donnell insists that Beyond Valor is not aimed at war buffs--it's for the soldiers themselves. "My work has been one of preservation, done in gratitude for a generation that sacrificed so much." By sharing these stories, O'Donnell has helped to preserve and honor their memory. --Sunny Delaney --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Recalling harrowing rescue missions, gun battles and the knee-deep swamp mud that forced soldiers to hold up their comrades' heads while they slept to keep them from drowning, veterans from elite WWII units relive the Pacific theater in Into the Rising Sun: In Their Own Words, World War II's Pacific Veterans Reveal the Heart of Combat. Editor Patrick K. O'Donnell (Beyond Valor) interviewed hundreds of veterans for this oral history of the battles at Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and other locations. Brief testimonies of horrifying violence and hair-raising close calls are sometimes described with emotion, other times in brutally honest deadpan.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (February 26, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684873850
• ISBN-13: 978-0684873855
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #152,797 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read Book, February 21, 2001

By	Aleister Crowley (Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond Valor: World War II's Ranger and Airborne Veterans Reveal the Heart of Combat (Hardcover)

Beyond Valor is a watershed in the reporting of World War II oral histories -- i.e., the actual participants of history describe the events they participated in in their own words, free from editorial embellishment and hindsight analysis. Mr. O'Donnell diligently interviewed hundreds of American paratrooper and Ranger veterans from the European Theater of Operations in World War II. What he has assembled in Beyond Valor is a collection of personal vignettes from young Americans that describe what hell was like during the bloodiest war ever. These men take us through training, North Africa, Sicily and Italy, Normandy and Southern France, Holland and Belgium, Germany, and going back home. Unlike other war books that use only selected quotes from veterans, embellish their words and otherwise bog you down with information and details that reveal nothing new, Mr. O'Donnell lets each veteran tell his full story. In some cases, veterans for the first time ever release emotions and bitter memories that have been bottled up inside their hearts and minds for 60 years. Many of the stories are powerful and moving, even emotionally overwhelming -- like the Rangers that describe the helpless feeling of seeing their buddies get cut down by machine gun fire right next to them as they rush up to attack a German bunker. In the vein of Stephen Ambrose, Patrick O'Donnell has put together an easy-to-read book with helpful maps that goes deep into the heart of combat as seen from America's living heroes. This book -- a tribute to the greatest generation -- is a definite keeper.

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Valor captures WWII like never before, February 26, 2001

By	Eric Minkoff (Gaithersburg, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond Valor: World War II's Ranger and Airborne Veterans Reveal the Heart of Combat (Hardcover)

Pat O'Donnell's unique way of capturing the heartfelt and poignant views of the Rangers and Airborne of WWII makes for an unbelievable book. These vets put their battle-line experiences in their own words and after keeping them perhaps bottled up inside for 50+ years they come out in such a passionate and unforgettable way. Mr. O'Donnell strings their stories together in a manner that only punctuates events which if not told by the soldiers who actually experienced them, the reader would not believe actually occurred. The stories of how the young men faced death and overcame it will forever change my outlook on the war. This book provides an amazing historical context to the war and reveals events that likely would not have been told if left up to interpretation by those not actually at the Battle of the Bulge, Salerno, Southern France or at the liberation of the camps. What is so unique about this book is that it is not a second hand account as told to an author but the actual words of the soldiers. Mr. O'Donnell's use of "e-histories" is to be commended. This book is as important to documenting the history of World War II as any I've read. The terror and triumph these men experienced played on my emotions as I read chapter after chapter of this book. Mr. O'Donnell serves as the curator of amazing works of history in his web site TheDropZone.org and I am forever grateful that he decided to share some of his masterpieces with the world.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Band of Brothers, June 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Beyond Valor: World War II's Ranger and Airborne Veterans Reveal the Heart of Combat (Hardcover)

Beyond Valor is by far the best oral history of WWII, and I've read all of them. The author does a masterful job of weaving their stories together with his own narrative. As someone who occupation revolves around oral history, I was most impressed by the way he provided minimal editing to their voices which are candid and give the reader a sense that your in the foxhole with these men. Smell, taste, and feelings toward their war that many of these men have buried for nearly sixty years come alive in this amazing book. I highly recommend it!