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American Military Experience
No Average Day: The 24 Hours of October 24, 1944
October 24, 1944, is not a day of national remembrance. Yet, more Americans serving in World War II perished on that day than on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, or on June 6, 1944, when the Allies stormed the beaches of Normandy, or on any other single day of the war. In its telling of the events of October 24, No Average Day proceeds hour by hour and incident by incident. The book begins with Army Private First-Class Paul Miller’s pre-dawn demise in the Sendai #6B Japanese prisoner of war camp. It concludes with the death of Navy Seaman Second Class Wanza E. Matthews, moments before midnight, after the Japanese submarine I-56 attacked his ship off New Guinea. The sinking of the hellship Arisan Maru―a lesser-known tragedy of the war―bookends and weaves through the two-dozen selected other incidents.
No Average Day eschews the conventional discourse of the war’s origins, its great battles, and the maneuvering of generals, admirals, and politicians. Instead, it directs its attention to ordinary individuals―clerks, radio operators, cooks, sailors, machinist mates, riflemen, and pilots and their air crews. These are men, perhaps a reader’s brother, father, or neighbor, who chose to serve their country and soon found themselves in a terrifying and otherworldly place. There, described in relatable terms, the men hunch their shoulders against the cold, wipe grit from their foreheads, or pen a letter home minutes before drawing their last breath. No Average Day reveals the vastness of the war as it reaches past the beaches in France and jungles in the South Pacific, to the villages, placid bays, and forested mountainsides across the globe where the war also raged.
No Average Day eschews the conventional discourse of the war’s origins, its great battles, and the maneuvering of generals, admirals, and politicians. Instead, it directs its attention to ordinary individuals―clerks, radio operators, cooks, sailors, machinist mates, riflemen, and pilots and their air crews. These are men, perhaps a reader’s brother, father, or neighbor, who chose to serve their country and soon found themselves in a terrifying and otherworldly place. There, described in relatable terms, the men hunch their shoulders against the cold, wipe grit from their foreheads, or pen a letter home minutes before drawing their last breath. No Average Day reveals the vastness of the war as it reaches past the beaches in France and jungles in the South Pacific, to the villages, placid bays, and forested mountainsides across the globe where the war also raged.
- GenresWar
362 pages, Hardcover
First published October 24, 2024
About the author
Rona Simmons
11 books50 followersRona Simmons is an award winning author of historical fiction and nonfiction. For the last several years, she has focused on untold and often overlooked stories from World War II, “The sweep of events, from the First World War, to the Great Depression, to World War II, had momentous impact on our lives,” Simmons says. She adds, “the era is a period we can still almost touch with our fingertips,” as she demonstrated successfully in her writing. Her latest work, No Average Day will be released in October 2024, bringing new stories to light.
Simmons has also written for literary journals and online and print magazines and newspapers and is active in her local writing community
Simmons has also written for literary journals and online and print magazines and newspapers and is active in her local writing community
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 28, 2026
No Average Day: The 24 Hours of October 24, 1944 is a deeply moving and extraordinarily ambitious work of historical storytelling that transforms a single day of World War II into a sweeping meditation on sacrifice, memory, and the human cost of global conflict. Rather than focusing solely on generals, strategy, or famous battles, Rona Simmons restores individuality and dignity to the ordinary servicemen and women whose lives were forever shaped or ended on October 24, 1944. The result is one of the most emotionally resonant studies of World War II I have encountered.
What impressed me most was Simmons’ ability to reveal the interconnectedness of the war across multiple theaters and branches of service. Within the span of twenty-four hours, the narrative moves from the Pacific to Europe, from submarines and aircraft carriers to POW camps, bombers, reconnaissance flights, infantry patrols, and support personnel. The sheer breadth of the work underscores the truly global scale of the conflict while simultaneously preserving the intimate humanity of each individual story. Whether describing a pilot lost over occupied Europe, a prisoner dying of malnutrition in a Japanese labor camp, or sailors caught in the chaos of Leyte Gulf, Simmons ensures that each life carries emotional weight and historical significance.
The sections concerning the Arisan Maru are especially devastating. Simmons confronts one of the greatest maritime losses in American history with both restraint and compassion, illuminating the unimaginable suffering endured by Allied prisoners aboard Japanese “hell ships.” The tragedy becomes even more haunting because of the terrible irony surrounding the vessel’s sinking: American submariners, unaware that POWs were aboard, unknowingly contributed to the deaths of their own countrymen. Rather than reducing the event to statistics, Simmons restores humanity to the men trapped within the holds, emphasizing their endurance, fear, and abandonment. These passages exemplify the book’s larger achievement. Demonstrating that behind every casualty number existed an individual life, family, and story.
Another remarkable strength of the book is its exploration of overlooked dimensions of wartime service. Simmons gives equal attention to combat personnel and those whose contributions are often absent from traditional military histories. The inclusion of WAVES personnel, reconnaissance pilots, logisticians, support crews, and military journalists broadens the reader’s understanding of how vast and complex the war effort truly was. I particularly appreciated how the book highlights the dangers that existed far beyond direct combat: training accidents, illness, exhaustion, and the psychological strain of prolonged service. In doing so, Simmons captures the reality that war consumed lives in countless visible and invisible ways.
Thematically, the book excels as both history and remembrance. Simmons continually returns to the idea that there are no “small” deaths in war. Even individuals who left behind little documentation are treated with extraordinary care and dignity. Through meticulous research and compassionate storytelling, she reconstructs fragments of lives that might otherwise have disappeared into obscurity. This approach gives the work a deeply human quality that separates it from more conventional military histories focused primarily on operations and battlefield movements.
What ultimately makes No Average Day so powerful is its balance between historical scope and emotional intimacy. Simmons demonstrates how one seemingly ordinary Tuesday contained acts of heroism, terror, loneliness, sacrifice, and endurance unfolding simultaneously across the globe. By narrowing her lens to a single day, she paradoxically captures the enormity of the entire war. The book serves not only as a work of military history, but also as a profound act of remembrance for those whose stories rarely receive sustained attention.
This is an exceptional and unforgettable work. Emotionally affecting and written with genuine compassion for the individuals at its center. Rona Simmons has created a powerful tribute to the countless lives touched by World War II, reminding readers that October 24, 1944, was indeed no average day.
What impressed me most was Simmons’ ability to reveal the interconnectedness of the war across multiple theaters and branches of service. Within the span of twenty-four hours, the narrative moves from the Pacific to Europe, from submarines and aircraft carriers to POW camps, bombers, reconnaissance flights, infantry patrols, and support personnel. The sheer breadth of the work underscores the truly global scale of the conflict while simultaneously preserving the intimate humanity of each individual story. Whether describing a pilot lost over occupied Europe, a prisoner dying of malnutrition in a Japanese labor camp, or sailors caught in the chaos of Leyte Gulf, Simmons ensures that each life carries emotional weight and historical significance.
The sections concerning the Arisan Maru are especially devastating. Simmons confronts one of the greatest maritime losses in American history with both restraint and compassion, illuminating the unimaginable suffering endured by Allied prisoners aboard Japanese “hell ships.” The tragedy becomes even more haunting because of the terrible irony surrounding the vessel’s sinking: American submariners, unaware that POWs were aboard, unknowingly contributed to the deaths of their own countrymen. Rather than reducing the event to statistics, Simmons restores humanity to the men trapped within the holds, emphasizing their endurance, fear, and abandonment. These passages exemplify the book’s larger achievement. Demonstrating that behind every casualty number existed an individual life, family, and story.
Another remarkable strength of the book is its exploration of overlooked dimensions of wartime service. Simmons gives equal attention to combat personnel and those whose contributions are often absent from traditional military histories. The inclusion of WAVES personnel, reconnaissance pilots, logisticians, support crews, and military journalists broadens the reader’s understanding of how vast and complex the war effort truly was. I particularly appreciated how the book highlights the dangers that existed far beyond direct combat: training accidents, illness, exhaustion, and the psychological strain of prolonged service. In doing so, Simmons captures the reality that war consumed lives in countless visible and invisible ways.
Thematically, the book excels as both history and remembrance. Simmons continually returns to the idea that there are no “small” deaths in war. Even individuals who left behind little documentation are treated with extraordinary care and dignity. Through meticulous research and compassionate storytelling, she reconstructs fragments of lives that might otherwise have disappeared into obscurity. This approach gives the work a deeply human quality that separates it from more conventional military histories focused primarily on operations and battlefield movements.
What ultimately makes No Average Day so powerful is its balance between historical scope and emotional intimacy. Simmons demonstrates how one seemingly ordinary Tuesday contained acts of heroism, terror, loneliness, sacrifice, and endurance unfolding simultaneously across the globe. By narrowing her lens to a single day, she paradoxically captures the enormity of the entire war. The book serves not only as a work of military history, but also as a profound act of remembrance for those whose stories rarely receive sustained attention.
This is an exceptional and unforgettable work. Emotionally affecting and written with genuine compassion for the individuals at its center. Rona Simmons has created a powerful tribute to the countless lives touched by World War II, reminding readers that October 24, 1944, was indeed no average day.
December 4, 2024
Rona Simmons has done it again. She kept me turning the pages. You’re going to want to turn your head. You may want to quit reading when you realize the men you grow to love end up dying. But don’t. These men and women deserve to have their stories heard. Simmons does a remarkable job of telling their stories—all twenty-six hundred of them who lost their lives on October 24, 1944, and the many who survived to tell of the horrors of war. How she completed the research necessary to bring this book to fruition is beyond me. It’s a masterpiece. What a tribute to those unsung heroes who served to protect our freedom.Hang in there to the end, where she lists the names of every American who died on that fateful day 80 years ago. A must read for all who are grateful for their freedom.
January 19, 2026
A profoundly moving tribute to the forgotten day of World War II
No Average Day is one of the most powerful and sobering World War II books I have ever read. By focusing on October 24, 1944, a day most Americans have never heard of, the author restores dignity and memory to thousands of lives lost outside the spotlight of history’s most famous battles. The hour-by-hour structure is masterful, giving the day an almost unbearable tension as one tragedy unfolds after another. What struck me most was the humanity in the storytelling: these are not abstract casualties, but real men with cold hands, unfinished letters, and final moments that feel heartbreakingly close. This book does more than inform, it honors.
No Average Day is one of the most powerful and sobering World War II books I have ever read. By focusing on October 24, 1944, a day most Americans have never heard of, the author restores dignity and memory to thousands of lives lost outside the spotlight of history’s most famous battles. The hour-by-hour structure is masterful, giving the day an almost unbearable tension as one tragedy unfolds after another. What struck me most was the humanity in the storytelling: these are not abstract casualties, but real men with cold hands, unfinished letters, and final moments that feel heartbreakingly close. This book does more than inform, it honors.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews