Arcadia Public Library

"On a May afternoon in 1943, an American military plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane's bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary sagas of the Second World War. The lieutenant's name was Louis Zamperini."--...

A historic account of the 1942 mission to bomb Tokyo describes the planning, White House secrecy, and the tragic aftermath of the raid.

See the fascinating story of the Hellcats, the TBFs. tje B29s, and the Lightnings that changed the course of the war, from the first to the last days. In the Bloody Ridges Pf Peleliu, watch the surprisingly brutal battle marines encountered with Japanese dug into caves. See everything from the opening naval bombardment to vicious guerrilla warfare. Includes bonus : Return to the Philippines/ Okinawa : The last battle.

"The founder of the U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons program, aka "TOPGUN," shares the untold story of how he and eight other young pilots revolutionized the art of aerial combat and created the center for excellence and incubator of leadership that thrives to this day."--

In the tradition of Hidden Figures, debut author Patricia Pearson offers a beautifully written account of the remarkable but often forgotten group of female fighter pilots who answered their country's call in its time of need during World War II.

In a time when the U.S. military was segregated, the Tuskegee Airmen proved that blacks could fight as well and with as much courage as anyone. Learn about this group of exceptional pilots, whose outstanding flying and performances paved the way for the integration of the military.

"During World War II, black Americans were fighting for their country and for freedom in Europe, yet they had to endure a totally segregated military in the United States, where they weren't considered smart enough to become military pilots. After acquiring government funding for aviation training, civil rights activists were able to kickstart the first African American military flight program in the US at Tuskegee University in Alabama. While this...

"Seven minutes past midnight on March 10, 1945, nearly 300 American B-29s thundered into the skies over Tokyo. Their payloads of incendiaries ignited a firestorm that reached up to 2,800 degrees, liquefying asphalt and vaporizing thousands; sixteen square miles of the city were flattened and more than 100,000 men, women, and children were killed. Black Snow is the story of this devastating operation, orchestrated by Major General Curtis LeMay, who...

1943. Naval Intelligence intercepted the itinerary of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet, whose stealth attack on Pearl Harbor precipitated America's entry into the war. On April 18th he would travel to Rabaul in the South Pacific to visit Japanese troops, then fly to the Japanese airfield at Balalale, 400 miles to the southeast. Operation Vengeance was born. To avoid detection, U.S. pilots had to embark...

"Of the many myths that emerged following the end of the Korean War, the prevailing one in the West was that of the absolute supremacy of US Air Force pilots and aircraft over their Soviet-supplied opponents. The claims of the 10:1 victory-loss ratio achieved by the US Air Force fighter pilots flying the North American F-86 Sabre against their communist adversaries, amongst other such fabrications, went unchallenged until the end of the Cold War,...