By Anonymous Veteran Community Member
Something for everyone to rest, remember, and maybe even learn
Looking for something to read this Memorial Day weekend? Whether you’re going on a road trip, kicking off the unofficial start to summer at the beach, or spending time at home reflecting, here are 10 books that teach, entertain, and help us remember those who gave their lives in service to our country.
THESE HEROIC HAPPY DEAD: Stories by Luke Mogelson
The title, taken from a poem by ee cummings is worth it’s own read. The are quintessential short stories, which take you into characters’ lives and then, suddenly, often before you’re ready to leave, send you back out. There were some slight overlaps and inter-connectivity here, but the common thread is obvious: war changes you but it also changes your family.
THE INVISIBLE FRONT: Love and Loss in the Era of Endless War by Yochi Dreazen
This is a thoughtful and ultimately inspiring book of a military family that suffered two losses — one son in combat and one son to suicide — and then dedicated themselves fighting the military’s suicide epidemic and making sure that families of troops are treated with dignity and compassion regardless of how their family members may have died.
THE THINGS THEY CARRIED by Tim O’Brien
This award-winning book about the Vietnam War shows up on required reading lists all the time, for good reason. Not exactly a novel and not exactly a collection of short stories, perhaps the most famous chapter is “How to Tell a True War Story.” After getting the same story told from different perspectives and points in time, you wonder if there is any truth at all when it comes to telling war stories. Or if the truth comes in the remembering and the telling.
I’LL MEET YOU THERE by Heather Demetrios
In this Young Adult novel, the main characters, Skyler, a recent high school graduate dreaming of art school while working to support her and her family, and Josh, a Marine who returns home after losing his leg in Afghanistan, are so fully drawn, that you can feel how and why they are making their decisions. There are serious topics to explore, but each obstacle they face serves to enhance the story and bring you closer to understanding how people find ways to deal with hardship.
MATTERHORN by Karl Marlantes
The author was a Marine who served in Vietnam, and was awarded multiple awards; his novel, which follows Marines serving in Vietnam has won multiple awards. Like the war itself, the book just drops you in the jungle, makes you learn the lingo, and there are long stretches with no action. By the end, you’ll have a deeper appreciation for those who fought and died there.
WHAT IT’S LIKE TO GO TO WAR by Karl Marlantes
After publishing his novel, MATTERHORN, he published this incredible work of nonfiction, in which he bring together psychology, mythology, religion, and, most critically, his own experiences as a Marine in Vietnam. (It’s interesting to see which real life experiences influenced and inspired MATTERHORN.) A lot of the lessons, such as awareness and the importance of making conscious choices, can be applied to everyone’s life. But you see how crucial it is in easing a Veteran’s transition, and in helping connect to military families.
GRUNT: THE CURIOUS SCIENCE OF HUMANS AT WAR by Mary Roach
You will learn some crazy things in this book, and think in new ways about the soldiers on the receiving end of all the science that goes into the military. A lot of time people only give credit to those who deployed. But what about the people who thought about the buttons and zippers they would wear so that they could do their jobs without revealing their positions? Everyone’s job is important.
REDEPLOYMENT by Phil Klay
This book has gotten a lot of attention since it was published, and for good reason. Klay is able to capture so many different voices and experiences, with beautiful and nuanced language. Though the stories are told in first person, each narrator is unique, and you’ll be exposed to all sorts of jobs within the military that often get overlooked — such as those in mortuary affairs.
CODE TALKERS: A NOVEL ABOUT THE NAVAJO MARINES OF WORLD WAR TWO by Joseph Bruchac
Throughout WWII, Navajo soldiers were able to communicate in unbreakable code based on their native language. This book is geared towards younger readers, but audiences of any age will get a glimpse of this fascinating piece of history as these Marines get the recognition they deserve.
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| What happens when we get bored, don’t have a book laying around, but do have a melon. Of those participating in this memory, not all survived the tour. Photo: Joey Melon, Baghdad 2005, Elana Duffy
PORTRAITS OF COURAGE by George W. Bush and Laura Bush
President George W. Bush has such a unique relationship with many of today’s veterans, and this book expresses his care and respect in an unexpected way. Since leaving office, President Bush has taken up painting, and here he presents the portraits of wounded warriors alongside their personal stories. The images, combined with the stories, show these wounded warriors in a new light.
Memorial Day can be happy, it can be sad, it can be celebratory, it can be somber, and books can be a part of any of those. There are many who are not with us this weekend, “but,” as Tim O’Brien writes in THE THINGS THEY CARRY, “ in a story, which is a kind of dreaming, the dead sometimes smile and sit up and return to the world.”
The author of this blog is something of a literary guru (our opinion!), with a publishing career at a major firm and a book-a-week — or more — habit. She is also a military family member with a passion for the community and a great friend of Pathfinder.
The author requested anonymity to avoid potential conflicts of interest between her employer and her opinion.
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