Download PDF The Gift of Significance GI Joe American Story of War Dr Robert DeBard 9781791391973 Books

Download As PDF : The Gift of Significance GI Joe American Story of War Dr Robert DeBard 9781791391973 Books

The amazing story of "Smokin' Joe" Bredeson reads like fiction, except that it's true. Kept to himself for more than 60 years, the first person account moves well beyond his medals of war with an authenticity few veterans have been willing to venture with a message of sacrifice and salvation as relevant to readers today as when he lived it. From D-Day to the Battle of the Bulge, the reader is presented testimony of the price of freedom for an ordinary American solider faced with extraordinary circumstance. His account of heroism and heartbreak will alert yours senses, the events will rivet your attention, and his ultimate triumph over PTSD in post-war France will warm your heart. Written by his son-in-law, Robert DeBard, based on his notes and interviews with Joe before his death in 2017, The Gift of Significance was dedicated by Joe to those members of the Greatest Generation who never made it home.

Download PDF The Gift of Significance GI Joe American Story of War Dr Robert DeBard 9781791391973 Books

"I certainly agree with the comments made by the other reviewers, but for me another important theme that comes through, is the number of times fate took Joe in a direction, not of his own choosing, and perhaps if he had gone in a different direction he may not have survived to tell his story.

I would guess that many if not all who read this story will recall times in their own lives times that had they gone in a different direction the outcome may have been far less positive. I know that in some of those occasions it was fate and not my own conscious choice. To quote Joe, "You can plan life until you live it."

This story will give the reader a greater appreciation for the sacrifice and duty our men and women in uniform have and continue to give to preserve and protect our freedom. I had the privilege and honor to meet and chat with Joe on a number of occasions, as the author was my neighbor and is a good friend. He did a great job in telling Joe's story. Thank you for your service Joe."

Product details Paperback 247 pages Publisher Independently published (December 11, 2018) Language English ISBN-10 1791391974

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The Gift of Significance GI Joe American Story of War Dr Robert DeBard 9781791391973 Books Reviews :

The Gift of Significance GI Joe American Story of War Dr Robert DeBard 9781791391973 Books Reviews

• This is an exceptionally well written book describing the exploits of a genuine American war hero, patriot, and yes, a survivor of World War 2 told with historical accuracy, genuine honesty, and with inspiration for anyone fortunate enough to read the book. The pre-war, wartime, and post-war life story of Joe Bredeson is captivating, inspirational, and educational in its tone and detailed descriptions of one remarkable man’s resilience, dedication to family, and success in life after unbelievable wartime experiences.
• It is hard to believe that the protagonist of "The Gift of Significance" Joe Bredeson did not actually write this memoir of his World War II experiences. You come to like Joe, even though the author admits that he was a flawed human being. Who wouldn't be after what he faced in combat? His story gives the reader a tremendous feeling for what Hell the Greatest Generation went through while providing enough compassion to warm the heart. Interestingly, the theme of coming through for your fellow human being is every bit as relevant today as it was back in war time. This account is truly moving in its display of triumph and tragedy. It is gratifying to find out how, in the end, the American Dream wins out against great odds. A must read.
• “The Gift of Significance An Ordinary Soldier’s Extraordinary Story of War” is a gift of a story to readers. Told from “Smokin’ Joe” Brederson’s point of view, this honest account of a farm boy from Wisconsin’s journey through Army training, World War II, post-war France, and back home, is a significant work of military literature. Author Robert DeBard wrote this book in such a conversational manner that the reader experiences a closeness to Joe Brederson, genuinely seeing his emotions.
  Smokin’ Joe is anything but “ordinary.” He wants to fly, but he ends up training with the British commandos instead. Ironically, he ends up jumping out of the planes he was told he couldn’t fly due to his vertigo. He becomes one of the men to survive D-Day, parachuting in behind enemy lines. He continues fighting and standing up for his fellow soldiers in one hard battle after another. Besides Joe’s bravery, this book tells the story of a man who could be counted on time and again. But he’s not perfect, which helps paint the realistic picture of this man and those times.
  This book is highly recommended for anyone looking for a glimpse into life during World War II. The author weaves in personal details and heartfelt feelings that make this book much more than just another war novel. At the end, the reader will be glad to have known Joe Brederson the man and his remarkable story.
• Robert DeBard’s obscurely-titled book “A Gift of Significance” is a first-person tour-de-force of the war experiences and life observations of a common WWII soldier, Joe Bredeson, the author’s father-in-law, told by his 96-year-old self after 60 years of silence. It is a powerfully written story retold by a skilled English professor and educator at the height of his narrative ability. At first it seems like historical fiction, but it is clearly both a biography and autobiography of the memory and facts of GI Joe, and his opinions on the significance of these episodes in his life, and by extension, ours.
  
  A powerful Prologue set the stage; by page 10 I was crying, and by page 11 I was exuberantly inspired.
  
  The book mostly covers the narrator’s formative years from ages 19 to 27, from just before to a couple years after WWII, the bulk of it recounting D-Day and the year after. He is a Forrest Gump-like character, living through some of the most significant moments in history and interacting with some great men. He relates personal interactions with Churchill, Eisenhower, and General Collins of the VII Corps of the 1st Army. He was present at the Mortain counterattack during the Battle of Normandy, walked the Champs d’Elysées to the cheers of the French people during the liberation of Paris, fought during the first assault on Germany territory along the Siegfried Line at the Battle of Aachen, and listened to a fellow soldier’s macabre account of the massacres discovered at Dachau. At war’s end, he dined and danced at famous Paris restaurants and nightclubs with his French girlfriend.
  
  But these harrowing and interesting experiences are only the framework of the book. Using a folksy and self-deprecating style that captures the spirit of an everyday soldier who became a Silver Medal hero with a Purple Heart, we learn to welcome and value his aged insights into a time of greatness and horror that have lots of relevance to modern American life and politics.
  
  A significant event in the book is Joe’s stay at the Army Exhaustion Treatment Center near the end of the war. He candidly discusses his feelings of shame and weakness at the PTSD (then called combat fatigue or shell shock) that afflicted him and took him out of the fighting the last few months of the war. It is here we gain significant insights into what bothered him the rest of his life and we come to fully understand and empathize. We too learn that silence was no cure, but that hope and love and caring professionals could bring those afflicted back to life.
  
  Finally, we share the joy and heartbreak of his lengthy courting of and romance with a French woman, which becomes the cornerstone of his future life, the origin of much of his own personal and maturing insights.
  
  There are lots of memorable Joe-quotes in the book. A few examples “What you do is more important than what you say.” “Being the freedom to become…is all we can hope for in this life.” “When people needed me, I showed up.” These observations are what gives the book its meat and meaning. By the end, you will feel that you shared Joe Gump’s life adventures in a way that will make you cry, laugh, and finish knowing you have read a great and significant adventure and book.
• I certainly agree with the comments made by the other reviewers, but for me another important theme that comes through, is the number of times fate took Joe in a direction, not of his own choosing, and perhaps if he had gone in a different direction he may not have survived to tell his story.
  
  I would guess that many if not all who read this story will recall times in their own lives times that had they gone in a different direction the outcome may have been far less positive. I know that in some of those occasions it was fate and not my own conscious choice. To quote Joe, "You can plan life until you live it."
  
  This story will give the reader a greater appreciation for the sacrifice and duty our men and women in uniform have and continue to give to preserve and protect our freedom. I had the privilege and honor to meet and chat with Joe on a number of occasions, as the author was my neighbor and is a good friend. He did a great job in telling Joe's story. Thank you for your service Joe.