"Aggies of all ages will find it a wonderful read and so will people who are interested in military history, national security or sacrificial service. It is a wonderful book! Don't miss it."--Thomas G. Darling' 54, Major General, USAF (Ret.), Commandant Emeritus

When their country calls, Texas Aggies go to war. From the Spanish-American War and World War I to Operation Iraqi Freedom, Aggies have been in the forefront of America’s armed forces, producing more officers than any other school outside the service academies. More than 20,000 Texas Aggies served in World War II, for instance, including more than 14,000 as commissioned officers. Trained in leadership and the knowledge required for warfare, Aggies have served with distinction in all branches of the military service. In this first-ever compilation of the impressive war record of Texas Aggies, stories of individual soldiers, airmen, sailors, and marines are displayed with an abundance of statistics, maps, and tables. These narratives include • First-person accounts of Aggie heroism in battle in all the wars in which A&M former students have fought; • The horrific experiences of some of the eighty-seven Aggies who were stationed at Corregidor and Bataan; • The perils of five Aggies who participated in the raid over Tokyo with Jimmie Doolittle; • The heroics of the seven Medal of Honor recipients from Texas A&M during World War II; • James Earl Rudder’s leadership of the Ranger assault at Normandy on D-Day; • Examples of vigorous support and devotion to duty given by Aggies in Korea, Vietnam, and the Middle East. Texas Aggies Go to War celebrates the school’s distinctive Corps of Cadets and its military contributions while honoring the individual sacrifices of its members. Those who fought and those who remember them will find here a comprehensive account of the distinguished war record of this school. This book was initiated and sponsored by a group of former students who provided funding through the Texas A&M Foundation. All proceeds from the book will be used to benefit the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets.

Following on the success of Texas Aggie Medals of Honor, James R. Woodall now returns with a new book that focuses on the military service by graduates of Texas A&M University from World War I to Vietnam. Of the tens of thousands of Aggies who served in the nation’s military, Woodall has selected twelve individuals who stand out as singular examples of bravery and heroism. Twelve Texas Aggie War Heroes tells each serviceman’s story in a concise, engaging manner. Some subjects, such as Earl Rudder and James Hollingsworth, will be familiar to readers. But Woodall also introduces us to less familiar but no less notable men as well, from A. D. Bruce’s march from the trenches of France and the crossing of the Rhine in World War I to Bob Acklen’s three tours in Vietnam. In addition to the twelve chapters focusing on these remarkable individuals, Woodall provides an extensive set of appendixes that include the relevant citations for each serviceman as well as larger lists of Aggies who were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, or Air Force Cross.

The Book of Aggie Lists brings together in one volume a vast amount of information that will be welcomed by current and former students of Texas A&M University. Focusing on the military heritage of the university--and especially the Corps of Cadets--this reference work is an invaluable resource for researchers and curious readers alike. Former Commandant of Cadets James R. Woodall and eleven other contributors have painstakingly gathered and organized the names, class years, and ranks of various individuals who served in wars, were decorated, or died in the line of duty, to name just a few of the informative categories presented here. This book represents a way to remember all who served both Texas A&M University and the United States and will aid readers for decades to come. It focuses on and goes beyond the military history of the university to encompass many other fascinating lists, including Hollywood movies with a connection to the university and time-honored Aggie traditions. The Book of Aggie Lists is a never-before-seen wealth of knowledge and will be a frequently accessed book on shelves across campus and throughout the larger Aggie network. Woodall also invites readers to contribute to a larger, ongoing project to compile additional information and Aggie lists to serve the future generations of Texas A&M University.

Following on the success of Texas Aggie Medals of Honor, James R. Woodall now returns with a new book that focuses on the military service by graduates of Texas A&M University from World War I to Vietnam. Of the tens of thousands of Aggies who served in the nation’s military, Woodall has selected twelve individuals who stand out as singular examples of bravery and heroism. Twelve Texas Aggie War Heroes tells each serviceman’s story in a concise, engaging manner. Some subjects, such as Earl Rudder and James Hollingsworth, will be familiar to readers. But Woodall also introduces us to less familiar but no less notable men as well, from A. D. Bruce’s march from the trenches of France and the crossing of the Rhine in World War I to Bob Acklen’s three tours in Vietnam. In addition to the twelve chapters focusing on these remarkable individuals, Woodall provides an extensive set of appendixes that include the relevant citations for each serviceman as well as larger lists of Aggies who were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, or Air Force Cross.

This book features the stories of 200 heroic individuals awarded the Medal of Honor for their distinguished military service while fighting for their country, from the Civil War to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. America's Heroes: Medal of Honor Recipients from the Civil War to Afghanistan pays tribute to Americans who have demonstrated uncommon valor in the face of great danger. The Medal of Honor recipients featured in this book all acted heroically to earn this highly coveted award, many of them by risking—or sacrificing—their lives to save the lives of others. The stories of these individuals—chosen to reflect the wide diversity of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, branches of service, and conflicts of the recipients—will broaden readers' understanding and appreciation of the Medal of Honor and the distinguished Americans who have received it. In addition to the gripping stories of these heroic Americans, this unique encyclopedia includes an introduction that chronicles the evolution in the award's significance. The Medal of Honor has changed greatly over the last 150 years, not only in the design of the physical decoration itself, but also in terms of the qualifying criteria for the award's recipients.

Prisoners suffer in every conflict, but American servicemen captured during the Korean War faced a unique ordeal. Like prisoners in other wars, these men endured harsh conditions and brutal mistreatment at the hands of their captors. In Korea, however, they faced something new: a deliberate enemy program of indoctrination and coercion designed to manipulate them for propaganda purposes. Most Americans rejected their captors’ promise of a Marxist paradise, yet after the cease fire in 1953, American prisoners came home to face a second wave of attacks. Exploiting popular American fears of communist infiltration, critics portrayed the returning prisoners as weak-willed pawns who had been “brainwashed” into betraying their country. The truth was far more complicated. Following the North Korean assault on the Republic of Korea in June of 1950, the invaders captured more than a thousand American soldiers and brutally executed hundreds more. American prisoners who survived their initial moments of captivity faced months of neglect, starvation, and brutal treatment as their captors marched them north toward prison camps in the Yalu River Valley. Counterattacks by United Nations forces soon drove the North Koreans back across the 38th Parallel, but the unexpected intervention of Communist Chinese forces in November of 1950 led to the capture of several thousand more American prisoners. Neither the North Koreans nor their Chinese allies were prepared to house or feed the thousands of prisoners in their custody, and half of the Americans captured that winter perished for lack of food, shelter, and medicine. Subsequent communist efforts to indoctrinate and coerce propaganda statements from their prisoners sowed suspicion and doubt among those who survived. Relying on memoirs, trial transcripts, debriefings, declassified government reports, published analysis, and media coverage, plus conversations, interviews, and correspondence with several dozen former prisoners, William Clark Latham Jr. seeks to correct misperceptions that still linger, six decades after the prisoners came home. Through careful research and solid historical narrative, Cold Days in Hell provides a detailed account of their captivity and offers valuable insights into an ongoing issue: the conduct of prisoners in the hands of enemy captors and the rules that should govern their treatment.

In February 1945, some 80,000 U.S. Marines attacked the heavily defended fortress that the Japanese had constructed on the tiny Pacific island of Iwo Jima. Leaders of the Army Air Forces said they needed the airfields there to provide fighter escort for their B-29 bombers. At the cost of 28,000 American casualties, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Marine Divisions dutifully conquered this desolate piece of hell with a determination and sacrifice that have become legendary in the annals of war, immortalized in the photograph of six Marines raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi. But the Army Air Forces’ fighter operations on Iwo Jima subsequently proved both unproductive and unnecessary. After the fact, a number of other justifications were generated to rationalize this tragically expensive battle. Ultimately, misleading statistics were presented to contend that the number of lives saved by B-29 emergency landings on Iwo Jima outweighed the cost of its capture. In The Ghosts of Iwo Jima, Captain Robert S. Burrell masterfully reconsiders the costs of taking Iwo Jima and its role in the war effort. His thought-provoking analysis also highlights the greater contribution of Iwo Jima’s valiant dead: They inspired a reverence for the Marine Corps that proved critical to its institutional survival and its embodiment of American national spirit. From the 7th War Loan Campaign of 1945 through the flag-raising at Ground Zero in 2001, the immortal image of Iwo Jima has become a symbol of American patriotism itself. Burrell’s searching account of this fabled island conflict will advance our understanding of World War II and its continuing legacy for the twenty-first century. At last, the battle’s ghosts may unveil its ultimate, and most crucial, lessons.

Since ancient times, wars have inspired artists and their patrons to commemorate victories. When the United States finally entered World War I, American artists and illustrators were commissioned to paint and draw it. These artists’ commissions, however, were as captains for their patron: the US Army. The eight men—William J. Aylward, Walter J. Duncan, Harvey T. Dunn, George M. Harding, Wallace Morgan, Ernest C. Peixotto, J. Andre Smith, and Harry E. Townsent—arrived in France early in 1918 with the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). Alfred Emile Cornebise presents here the first comprehensive account of the US Army art program in World War I. The AEF artists saw their role as one of preserving images of the entire aspect of American involvement in a way that photography could not.

Given in memory of Gene Brossmann by George Richardson.