World War II Survivors: Lessons in Resilience

Schiraldi, G. R. (2007). World War II Survivors: Lessons in Resilience. Ellicott City, MD: Chevron. How forty-one combat survivors maintained their sanity, performed well under intense duress, and returned to live productive lives. Engaging and inspiring stories hold timeless lessons for people in all walks of life today. Those who were interviewed represent nearly all aspects of WWII: Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen, Navajo Code Talkers, Tuskegee Airmen, Battle of the Bulge, Iwo Jima, and more. They show that while the technology or war changes, the human experience of war and the wisdom that preserves inner stability do not. “[A] wonderful collection of war stories; proof once again that any understanding of the dynamics of war—and especially this one—must begin with so-called ordinary soldiers, not the celebrity generals or politicians who are rarely on the front lines.” (Ken Burns, historian, filmmaker of PBS’s The War).