Perfectly blending a vast historical scope with intensely individual viewpoints, this stirring collection of stories brings a man-on-the-ground perspective to a huge range of military history, with stories of a quarter-century of war from nearly every corner of the earth, including Europe; the Pacific; mainland Asia; a tense confrontation in Guantanamo Bay during the Cuban Missile Crisis; POW camps in Germany, Japan, and California; and the San Joaquin Valley home front from the 1940s through the 1960s. These 72 highly individualized narratives of combat, military service, and the personal sacrifices of war – penned by ordinary San Joaquin Valley residents and buttressed with more than 100 personal photographs – bring commentaries from soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, nurses, ambulance drivers, and civilians. In simple, direct, and authentic language, with stories both horrific and touching, this volume perfectly illustrates the personal side of war.