audiobook An Uncommon History of Common Things by Bethanne Patrick; John Thompson in History

Description

What makes a man do what he does in times of war? Carl W. Shoudel; 90; began asking himself this haunting question more than 60 years ago while carrying his trusty Browning automatic rifle and crawling through the hills and thick jungles of the South Pacific during World War II. World War II was the largest and most violent conflict in the history of mankind; yet the campaign in the South Pacific has been all but forgotten except by the few remaining veterans who served there. Names like Iwo Jima; Tarawa and Saipan overshadow the South Pacific batttles of Maffin Bay; Luzon; Munoz; the Shimbu Line and two of the war's bloodiest conflicts - Rocky Point and Lone Tree Hill. But Carl Shoudel remembers it vividly. A member of the 1st Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army; Carl remembers his comrades and recounts the horrors he witnessed as a young man while serving in the South Pacific during World War II. He also remembers the tender moments; the time his best friend and company medic; Doc Ogden; broke all the rules and saved a baby - the lone survivor of an enemy massacre - by carrying it in a sling around his waist for three days and feeding the infant coconut milk. And there was the young; orphaned Filipino boy Carl and his comrades "adopted" and took care of for many months during their tour of duty in New Guinea and the Philippines. Documenting the bravery of his comrades and remembering those who gave their lives for freedom was something Carl set out to accomplish when he returned to civilian life in the U.S. after serving in World War II and the Korean War. This book is a tribute to the men - his friends; his comrades - who gave selflessly and served honorably for the country they loved.