Publisher's Synopsis
From the first parachute drops in North Africa to the final battles in Germany, U.S. Ranger and Airborne troops saw the worst action of World War II. In Beyond Valor, Patrick O'Donnell, a pioneer of Internet-based "oral history" who has collected the first-person stories of hundreds of veterans on his online oral history project, re-creates the frontline experience in stunning detail, weaving together more than 650 "e-histories" and interviews into a seamless narrative.
In recollections filled with pain, poignancy, and pride, veterans chronicle the destruction of entire battalions, speak of their own personal scars, and pay tribute to their fallen colleagues. Beyond Valor brings to light the hidden horrors and uncelebrated heroics of a war fought by a now-vanishing generation and preserves them for all future generations.
"The pioneering oral historian Patrick K. O'Donnell has done a wonderful job of making the experiences of America's elite troops come alive again." -Douglas Brinkley, director of the Eisenhower Center and professor of history at the University of New Orleans
"Captures what the average soldier went through during combat." -USA Today
