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During World War II, thousands of American servicemen were taken prisoner by the Axis powers. They were beaten and tortured; over half never reached home again. Of those who did, many never fully recovered from what they saw, what they lived through, and the feelings that so racked their lives ...

During World War II, thousands of American servicemen were taken prisoner by the Axis powers. They were beaten and tortured; over half never reached home again. Of those who did, many never fully recovered from what they saw, what they lived through, and the feelings that so racked their lives. Almost all have or had a drinking problem. Some suffer such consistently extreme flashbacks that they are forced to use sleeping medication just to help them make it through the night. The ten interviews included in this work were chosen from dozens of contacted POW accounts. Theirs are stories of hardship, pain, survival, and, at times, enlightenment. From the introduction to Mario Garbin's interview: "Mario was one of the more fortunate POWs who put to use in his later life what he learned from his incarceration. At present, he is retired from over twenty years' service with the Chrysler Corporation, where he was a high-ranking vice president within the company, reporting directly only to the chairman ofthe board.,Although powerful and charismatic, he still cried uncontrollably during one portion of the interview". Hidden in the tales of these men is a message we can all relate to, making this book a read not only for the ex-POW or World War II history buff, but for any reader who cares about the purest meaning of life.

Translated by Marie-Claire Connes Wrage and edited by Lois Davis VinesThis lyrical memoir offers a fresh look inside the trauma of war and captivity during the First World War, with resonance for today's world.Georges Connes was a young literature graduate when he was drafted and served in the ...

Translated by Marie-Claire Connes Wrage and edited by Lois Davis VinesThis lyrical memoir offers a fresh look inside the trauma of war and captivity during the First World War, with resonance for today's world.Georges Connes was a young literature graduate when he was drafted and served in the infamous and bloody battle of Verdun. A survivor, he was captured by the Germans in June 1916 and became a prisoner of war until his repatriation in January 1919. In the Second World War, he was active in the French Resistance, was arrested and detained, and ultimately went into hiding. After the war, he served as the interim mayor of Dijon before returning to his academic life as a professor of British and American literature.Connes referred to his time as a POW as ''The Other Ordeal', recognizing that the most important suffering continued for those who had to endure the 'firing, blood and mud' of war. Connes focuses on the human aspects of war, which are all too easy to forget in the age of mass media. He passionately argues against the predominant black and white view of 'us versus them' to unearth the complexities of war. Rather than demonizing his German captors, for example, he describes individual examples of gratuitous acts of kindness.Connes offers a pacifist, internationalist perspective on war. A survivor of two of the greatest conflicts in modern history, Connes remained optimistic about humanity. This voice of hope provides insight not only into the First World War but into the contemporary world.