Veterans Day Display
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the “first celebration using the term Veterans Day occurred in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1947. Raymond Weeks, a World War II veteran, organized “National Veterans Day,” which included a parade and other festivities, to honor all veterans.” Originally called “Armistice Day,” it began as a celebration of the allied forces’ victory during World War I. It was renamed Veterans Day in 1954. Did you know that there is no apostrophe in “Veterans Day”? This is to suggest that the day doesn’t belong to veterans, but honors their service. While Memorial Day specifically recognizes military servicepeople who died while serving, Veterans Day is dedicated to veterans of all wars. During World War II, the military faced a shortage of available men, and the services began accepting women who served in all branches of the military except the Air Force. In June 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act allowing women to serve in all branches of the service. Prior to and during World War II, women also provided medical care to soldiers. If you’re looking for a great story about these veterans, soldiers, and war nurses, check out some of these titles:
"The Secret War of Julia Child" by Diana Chambers focuses on the chef's life before she mastered the art of French cooking. "Before she mastered the art of French cooking in midlife, Julia Child found herself working in the secrets trade in Asia during World War II, a journey that will delight both historical fiction fans and lovers of America's most beloved chef, revealing how the war made her into the icon we know now. Single, 6 foot 2, and thirty years old, Julia McWilliams took a job working for America's first espionage agency, years before cooking or Paris entered the picture. The Secret War of Julia Child traces Julia's transformation from ambitious Pasadena blue blood to Washington, DC file clerk, to head of General "Wild Bill" Donovan's secret File Registry as part of the Office of Strategic Services. The wartime journey takes her to the Far East, to Asia's remote front lines of then-Ceylon, India, and China, where she finds purpose, adventure, self-knowledge - and love with mapmaker Paul Child. The spotlight has rarely shone on this fascinating period of time in the life of ("I'm not a spy") Julia Child, and this lyrical story allows us to explore the unlikely world of a woman in a World War II spy station who has no idea of the impact she'll eventually impart."
"A Hard and Heavy Thing" by Matthew Hefti focuses on a difficult subject matter. "Contemplating suicide after nearly a decade at war, Levi sits down to write a note to his best friend Nick, explaining why things have to come to this inevitable end. Years earlier, Levi--a sergeant in the army--made a tragic choice that led his team into ambush, leaving three soldiers dead and two badly injured. During the attack, Levi risked death to save a badly burned and disfigured Nick. His actions won him the Silver Star for gallantry, but nothing could alleviate the guilt he carried after that fateful day. He may have saved Nick in Iraq, but when Levi returns home and spirals out of control, it is Nick's turn to play the savior, urging Levi to write. Levi begins to type as a way of bidding farewell, but what remains when he is finished is not a suicide note. It's a love song, a novel in which the beginning is the story's end, the story's end is the real beginning of Levi's life, and the future is as mutable as words on a page."
"A Tale of Two War Wives" by Meenu Mann is set in a historical era of British Raj in India and tells the story of two women's struggles and sacrifices before, during and after the WW2. "Annie survives the trauma of neglect and abuse in her childhood but finds love in her husband Peter, an army officer who is sent to India under the imperial Raj to control the constant threats of mutinies erupting all over India during "Quit India" movements. After spending six years of their marriage in India, Annie loses Peter to a local woman who finds Peter half dead in the attack from the freedom fighters. Peter in the state of amnesia don't recognize Annie and chooses to be with his caretaker Miriam. Devastated and desolate Annie finds solace in Peter's friend and fellow army officer Suraj who helps her through the ordeal. Suraj, a valiant and adept army officer is sent to fight the Japanese in Malaysia during WW2 and is badly wounded. From the POW camp he is handed to Indian revolutionaries to fight against the British. Suraj, who realizes the exploitation and atrocities of the British, turns rebellious and joins the Indian national army formed by the freedom fighters. Suraj's wife Maya who lives in a village with her two daughters and elderly in-laws desperately wants a son. Her attempts to have a son fail tragically when complications in pregnancy lead to hysterectomy. Fear of losing Suraj's inheritance to his mean nephews for lack of male heir leaves Maya no option but to marry her husband off to another woman in a hope for a son. Back in England Annie unprepared for racial prejudices in civil world gives birth to Suraj's son Charlie. She carries the burden of shame and scorn but with Mary's support, raises her son single handedly. During WW2, when all single women had to be registered and sent to help in war causes, she marries her second husband Joe who also gets killed in the war. Annie who has kept her son a secret from Suraj all her life, feels obligated to disclose this important information before Suraj dies. Maya is left to introduce Charlie to her daughters and son Veer (from the second wife) and honors Charlie to perform his father's funeral rites. Maya's devotion to her husband and family intrigues Annie. The two remain friends forever. Ironically two brothers from different mothers meet on the same flight but are clueless that they are visiting the same dying father."
"Militia House" by John Milas is a gothic horror novel. "It's 2010, and the recently promoted Corporal Loyette and his unit are finishing up their deployment at a new base in Kajaki, Afghanistan. Their duties here are straightforward--loading and unloading cargo into and out of helicopters--and their days are a mix of boredom and dread. The Brits they're replacing delight in telling them the history of the old barracks just off base, a Soviet-era militia house they claim is haunted, and Loyette and his men don't need much convincing to make a clandestine trip outside the wire to explore it. It's a short, middle-of-the-day adventure, but the men experience a mounting agitation after their visit to the militia house. In the days that follow they try to forget about the strange, unsettling sights and sounds from the house, but things are increasingly . . . not right. Loyette becomes determined to ignore his and his marines' growing unease, convinced that it's just the strain of war playing tricks on them. But something about the militia house will not let them go."
You'll find these and other state's titles in our "Veterans Day" display. For additional title suggestions, see the lists below:
