Finally

I have finally concluded this semester of reading. Before this class I never read. I would only read for school and most of the time I would just spark-note the book. Sometimes I would read an article in a magazine or in the paper but never really a book. As I began reading more and more I noticed that I was drawn more towards books about war and books that have to do with the military. It was very easy for me to find the books that I liked to read and I stuck with them throughout. I just couldn't stop reading a book when I didn't know what all happened. I liked these types of book so much that it was very easy for me to meet the quota for the number of pages to read. I pretty much read anytime I had some down time at school and work. I read most of the time in study hall and if I had 5 minutes toward the end of a period. I never listened to music or texted while I read, I just focused on the book. I occasionally would talk to my dad about a book I was reading but that did not happen to often. I feel like now I will read for fun because reading is fun. I will probably stick to books that have to do with the military because I like those the best. I really don't know that specific book I will be reading next but I will find one. This semester has really changed my outlook on reading and I am happy that I now found reading to be fun.

Tin Can Soldier pt2

I have continued to read "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Soldier" and it is getting better and better. I read pages 50 to 100 and I loved them. As fights and battles continued dawn was still hours away as Copeland's officers and the rest of the crew in the Sammy Bis CIC gathered to listen to an accidental play by play broadcast of an era naval warfare thundering to a close. They did not immediately grasp the significance if the rogue bursts of radiation that skittered off the nighttime ionosphere ad into their shipboard radio receiver. The signal now crisp and clear, bringing the voices to them as if over an intercom, now cut through with static, incomplete, gave them only hints of what was happening in the waters far to the south. They were American voices, under assault and under attack, Navy voices. Upright, impersonal, but girded with confidence that came from long hours of training and drilling on the water. The men were just listening while Americans were fighting and dieing for our freedom. That is what makes American great and that is why I love books like these. The men were willing to fight for others so that people like me could be free and that is what is awesome. I would really like to thank those people and the veterans of this great country.

Tin Can Soldier pt1

I have just begun reading 'The Last Stand of the Tin Can Soldier" by James D. Hornfischer. I read the first 50 pages and I like it alot. A giant stalked through the darkness. In the mood-less calm after midnight, the great fleet seemed not so much to navigate the narrow straight as to fill it with armor and steel. Barely visible even to a night trained eye, the long silhouettes of 23 warships passed in a column ten miles long, guided by the dim glow of the channel lights in the passage threading between the headlands of Luzon and Samar. That such a majestic objects, procession should move without challenge was surprising, unbelievable even, in light of the viscous reception the Americans had already given it on its journey from Borneo to this critical point. Having weathered submarine ambush the night before, and assault by wave after wave of angry blue aircraft the previous afternoon, Vice Admirable. I love this book because it is about war and America. I cannot wait to see how some men sacrificed for this country during this battle. The men that fought and died have helped create America into who we are. It gets to me every time I read a war book. 

Currently

I read a total of 114 pages this week and I finished Ghost Soldiers. It was a great book and really showed what some men went through in WWII.
Total for weeks 2 and 3: 214
"Along the way they saw an American flag set in the turret of a tank. It wasn't much of a flag, writhing in a weak breeze, but for the men of Cabanatuan, the sight was galvanizing. Ralph Hibbs said his heart stopped, for he realized that it was the first Stars and Stripes he'd seen since the surrender."

Ghost Soliers pt6

I have finished the book and i read pages 250 to 314. Finally there help had made it, when the RAngers finally had a strike on the prison many of the POW's didn't believe it. They were at first completely shocked and immobile, but once reality srtuck their chance for a little payback on the their tormentors spurred them on. They were tired of starving to death, and disease killing, and the cruelty of the Japanese soldiers. Stories of Japanese greed, chopping off fingers to get rings, and knocking teeth out to get gold fillings. On one account, some of the prisoners passed back and forth dentures they had found, so they could eat. These times were over now, they had to get ready fast for getting out of the wretched prison camp. The Rangers rescuing the imprisoned soldiers were horrified at the sight of the physical conditions, some wept, some were even more determined than ever to get their comrades back home. This story os an important piece of history, being an account of a band of brothers who would not let their fellow Americans perish at the hands of the enemy. Their bravery is not forgotten and should live forever.

Ghost Soliers pt5

I have read pages 200 to 250 this week. Colonel Mucci, was put in charge of this special opps mission for the rangers. Mucci and a ranger named Prince were in control of leading the mission, slipping behind enemy lines in the Philippines. They had to march 30 rugged miles to rescue 513 prisoners captured and stuck in a wretched camp. Among these POW's are the last survivors of the infamous Bataan Death March. This mission to rescue these prisoners had to completely secretive. Due to several recent massive massacres by the Japanese soldiers. The US troops couldn't let a hint of their coming because the Japanese would quickly kill the POW's and the mission as well as their lives would be at increased danger. As they began their trek, many of the men were very excited and anxious to do their duty. The stakes were incredibly high, a lot of the men weren't worried about getting there, they were worried about getting home with hopefully 513 POW's, but wounded, weak, and fatigued POW's at that. The men that went in were ready to die to save these men and that means alot. Those soldiers were brave and that makes our military great.

Ghost Soldiers pt4

I read pages 150 to 200. General Lee utters the words he has been putting off, "Surrender." AS he handed over his Colt .45 that tucked to his side, he didn't know what was ahead of them, but he knew it wouldn't be good, there was no hope left of rescue. They had a treacherous stretch ahead of them hiking deeper and deeper into enemy territory. The chance of being rescued was a zero percent chance. With so many men sick, wounded, and exhausted the hike to their concentration camp would be devastating. It would soon be called the "Death March." So many miles to walk, with such an environment, having no reason to continue to march if you were an American Soldier because you were marching to your prison camp. Meanwhile, even though the troops that had surrendered thought there was no hope, there was a secret mission of rangers, with captain Mucci, as there leader. A short but scrappy man who took no guff, and wanted to go on a mission. He selected these rangers because they rangers more than anything wanted to go on a mission, and they were just about to get there chance.