Veterans Day Reads

This year, I’m honoring veterans by suggesting books by or about them. Here, I’ve chosen a few that I’ve read or that have been recommended to me. Perhaps you’ll find them of interest. It’s a small way for me to honor veterans (and fellow authors).

If you read any of these books, I hope you’ll leave a good review on Amazon. Star ratings with written reviews help books get seen by other potential readers. It’s a great way to help—and honor a veteran author.

Books: In no specific order

Author Diane Diekman helped pave the way for women in the military. The retired U.S. Navy Captain is a country music historian and memoirist. I’ve read a pre-publication copy of her latest biography, Randy Travis: Storms of Life (2025), which is available for pre-order. This biography provides a window into the life of one of America’s favorite country music figures from his early troubled years to superstar—while capturing the heart and soul of an ordinary (and extraordinary!) man. Diekman’s other country music books include biographies of Faron Young and Marty Robbins. She has also penned memoirs about becoming a leader in the Navy when women were just making inroads, about her experience adopting children as a single woman, and her own childhood. Diekman helped me compose and write this list, too, for which I’m grateful.

With his political career and upward mobility so public these days, the name J.D. Vance won’t come as a surprise in this list. The marine veteran and politician’s book, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis (2018) is an intimate look at the battles navigated by middle-class families attempting to escape the confines of poverty. The struggles—and the victories—are real. This moving memoir was recreated on the big screen, complete with the quirky characters brought to life by big name stars, in the 2020 movie by the same name directed by Ron Howard.

The list of titles by Vietnam veteran and award-winning writer, Tim O’Brien, includes The Things They Carried (with more than 14K Amazon reviews), which provides a reflective, almost meditative view on the Vietnam war.  His National Book Award winning title, Going After Cacciato, is considered a classic. O’Brien’s authorial voice is captivating and real. See more about this author and his books here.

The Rescue of Bat 21 by Darrel D. Whitcomb (1998) – This deeply researched and gripping book shows the true cost of the rescue mission that saved the life of Gene Hambleton, an Air Force colonel who was shot down during the Vietnam War, and whose story was publicized in the 1988 movie, Bat 21. It describes the heroics of all involved and brings up the question of how many lives should be risked and how much equipment should be sacrificed to rescue one person.

Robert E. Lee and Me by Ty Seidule (2020) – The author is a retired U.S. Army brigadier general who grew up in Virginia in a culture that revered Robert E. Lee—a culture that extended to the U.S. Army at West Point. He researched post-Civil War history to discover that Confederate leaders, who were ostracized for the remainder of the 19^th century, became heroes in the 1930s as a response to black citizens wanting to serve. The author traces the history of all the Confederate generals who eventually had statues built and Army posts named after them. How did secessionists and treasonists, who killed thousand of U.S. Army soldiers, gain such status? That’s one question this book asks.

A Higher Standard by General Ann Dunwoody, US Army retired (2015) – The author tells her story of rising through the ranks in the military, always being held to a higher standard as a woman, until she eventually was promoted to be the first female four-star general in the U.S. military. She comes across as level-headed and an inspiring leader.

The Nightengale’s Song by Robert Timberg (1995) – Five Naval Academy graduates (John McCain, James Webb, Oliver North, Bud McFarlane, and John Poindexter) served their time in the military and then played pivotal roles during the administration of President Ronald Reagan. The author, a fellow Naval Academy graduate, expertly weaves together five life stories during the 1980s, against the backdrop of the Vietnam War.

She Went to War by Rhonda Cornum (1992) – A flight surgeon in the U.S. Army, the author was a major when her helicopter was shot down during the 1991 Gulf War. She was taken prisoner, after being seriously injured in the crash that killed her fellow crew members. This book tells of her imprisonment and rescue, along with the media blitz created by being a female POW. She presents herself as an excellent military leader and a mother.

Boy on the Bridge by Andrew Marble (2019) – This biography of General John Shalikashvili, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, tells the story of a leader who serves as a role model of what a leader should be. The unique structure of the book inserts sections of Shalikashvili’s life where they best fit, not in chronological order. This is the story of a penniless European war refugee who came to America following World War II, joined the U.S. Army, and became the highest-ranking military officer in the world’s most powerful military in the 1990s.

Call Sign Revlon by Sally Spears (1998) – Kara Hultgren was the U.S. Navy’s first fully-qualified fighter pilot when her F-14A slammed into the Pacific Ocean in 1994, killing both her and her naval flight officer. The story of her life and her Navy experiences is told through the eyes of her mother. It’s a must-read book for anyone who wants to understand the tremendous pressures under which fighter pilots operate, increased exponentially for women trying to make their way in this male world.

Final thought

Do you recommend other books written by veterans? If so, please leave a comment here with the title, author, and a few sentences about the book and why you recommend it. Have you read any of the ones I’ve mentioned here? Feel free to tell other readers what you liked about it and why.