Undaunted: Five True Stories from World War II

by J. Pepper Bryars

Undaunted is a brief collection (34 pages) of five true stories of heroes from World War II who served in the U.S. Army, the U.S. Army Air Corps, the U.S. Marines, and the U.S. Merchant Marines.
These stories are from both theaters – European and Pacific – and they span the length of the war. First we meet a young artillery officer who devises a plan to keep the Japanese at bay while besieged in the Philippines. Then we walk beside a soldier who loses his leg after the infamous Bataan Death March. Next we leap from a crippled plane with a bombardier in the skies over Nazi-occupied France, then sail with a Merchant Seaman through the U-boat infested waters of the Mediterranean, and finally stand with an awestruck Marine in the middle of downtown Nagasaki.
Undaunted adds the tales of these courageous men to the historic record of American bravery and sacrifice during World War II.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

34 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 24, 2013

About the author

J. Pepper Bryars began his career writing for military newspapers while serving in the Army National Guard, and he received the Army Commendation Medal for his deployment to Hungary in support of the peace-enforcement mission in Bosnia.

Pepper then became a newspaper reporter, spent time as an aide to a congressman and governor, and served as a presidential appointee in the Defense Department. He was also a strategic communication advisor to U.S. military forces operating in Europe, Africa, and Latin America. He was twice awarded the Office of the Secretary of Defense Award for Exceptional Public Service, once for service in Baghdad and a second time for work at the Pentagon.

His weekly opinion column is published in the Birmingham News, Mobile Press-Register, Huntsville Times, the Mississippi Press, and at AL.com.

Reviews

[Bobby Dees · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great memories!

I enjoyed reading Mr. Bryars' short stories very much. The fact that he interviewed all but one participant himself, it's not hearsay or passed on. The stories are short and to the point. He brought out things that I didn't know such as the radiation that affected our troops as well.

[Ross Safford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too short

The short stories in this volume were well written, but they were entirely too short. There were many questions that many readers would normally have that weren't answered.

[Ray Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book and easy read.

In some cases, a little more information would have been better. Still enjoyed it very much. Any one of the stories could easily be a book itself.

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting short read, containing five stories of heroic action. It would have been nice for these stories to have been made a little longer. It was interesting to read in the 'Biographies' as to what became of these men.

[creig speed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good war stories

All the stories are of very brave men who sacrificed much to protect our freedom and way of life. All these men are a testament to ordinary men doing extraordinary feats.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good short stories

Very good short reads !! And don't really no what more to.say it was entertaining and that's it really c

[Kath · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great set of short stories touching on World War 2.

[Scott Marler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Read. .


I found the real life characters to be interesting, and the true stories to be humbling. Fast paced reading that keeps you turning the pages.

[Carlistoa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this looking for short stories for class- they are ok but not as detailed as i was looking for.

[al maxwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our father's war

It gave me a great perspective as a baby boomer to
try and understand what our father faced in combat.