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World War II was a very large cataclysm, involving tens of millions of people, maybe more if you include all the civilians whose lives were affected by the war. It is important to understand the overall flow of space-time history in this event, but it is also important, and very interesting, too, to balance that overall view by looking at the experiences of individuals in combat. Battlefire! Combat Stories from World War II, by Colonel Arthur L. Kelly, is a collection of eleven true stories of combat experiences. Written vividly at the high school level or higher, the author makes the combat experience come alive through his careful research, which includes many interviews with surviving veterans. Many clear maps and added historical background help the reader to understand the context and importance of these stories, aided by a comprehensive index.
The author includes, in an epilogue, some information on what happened to these heroes after the war. In most cases, the ordinary people did ordinary things after the war – they were done with extraordinary. However, working at a job and getting married and having children is, in a different way, extraordinary, too. Battlefire! Combat Stories from World War II shows that, just like in the American Revolution or indeed any war, ordinary men can do extraordinary things – and become heroes.
Colonel Kelly (1925-2023) was a veteran of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. A native of Kentucky, he was a highly decorated veteran with three Legions of Merit, two Bronze Stars, and numerous other decorations. In World War II, he started out as a Private and worked his way up the ranks to Colonel by the end of his 30-year service.