A Hometown Went to War

A remarkable, comprehensive collection of oral histories of World War II veterans from one American hometown. Honest, thoughtful, poignant, humorous, and at times irreverent, are the words that describe the stories of these self-effacing men and women of the "GI Generation" who answered their country's call to arms in history's greatest war.

Wartime and postwar generations alike will find A Hometown Went to War extremely compelling reading. In straightforward, delightfully uninhibited language, 39 World War II veterans from one small town have shared with author Kidder and the rest of us their wartime memories: the duties and risks of daily existence; moments of humor; the fear, heartaches and dramas of battle; and the ironies of luck and survival. A helpful reference with maps, endnotes, a bibliography and a thorough index, the book is an amazing story of ordinary young people doing extraordinary things in every corner of the world and the war. Skillfully and interestingly, Kidder weaves commentary on events,weapons and personalities around the stories to place each man and woman into the broader perspective of the overall war effort. An underlying theme of the book is that individual wartime sacrice at home and abroad was made with an incredible commitment to common purpose, and an intense sense of loyalty to comrades and cause.