Letters from the Greatest Generation

Howard H. Peckham (1910–1995) was Professor of History and Director of the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan. From 1945 to 1953, Peckham was Director of the Indiana Historical Bureau and Secretary of the Indiana Historical Society.Shirley A. Snyder (1924–1999) was an editor for the Indiana Historical Society. Previously, she edited for the Indiana Historical Bureau for thirty-one years.James H. Madison is the Thomas and Kathryn Miller Professor of History Emeritus, Indiana University Bloomington.

• Foreword1. Pearl Harbor and Bataan2. Training Camps3. North Africa4. Italy5. England6. France7. Germany8. V-E Day and After9. Alaska and the Aleutians10. Southwest Pacific11. Central Pacific and the Philippines12. China-Burma-India13. The Ryukyu Islands and Japan14. After V-J DayIndex

"Over the last several decades there has been a tendency to simplify and romanticize the experiences of the men and women that fought World War II. These letters, written in the war moment itself, offer a poignant response. Page after page, often in lyrical prose,ordinary Americans tell of their lives atbasic training, at bases and camps on the home front and overseas, and at the front lines in the Pacific, Atlantic, North Africa, Europe, and Asia. What emerges is an intimate portrait of the mundane and remarkable, of heroism and terror, of friendship and loss, of the complexities, contradictions, and, ultimately, the horror of war.Timely, compelling, and important reading." -Matthew L. Basso, author of Men at Work:Rediscovering Depression-era Stories from the Federal Writers' Project "From the time the first Japanese bomb fell on the American Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor to occupation duty in conquered Japan, Americans served in every theater around the world during World War II. These letters give voices to the men and women who served, letting them tell their own stories of loss, heartbreak, and hope. A fitting honor for all veterans." -Ray Boomhower, author of John Bartlow Martin: A Voice for the Underdog