Think you've had a bad day? Think again....

Here’s a little secret, I’m in awe veterans. This is because they do (or have done) things that I can’t do. I love reading books about wars. Don’t misunderstand me; I’m not a huge fan of wars. I wish we didn’t need them. But there are times when they’re needed... and it’s at these times when brave people step up. The majority of war books that I’ve read are from the Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam War. I can remember the first time I read about guys being out in the jungle in Vietnam at night. Thank God it wasn’t me! You do NOT want to be with me in a jungle (any jungle) at night if I’m armed. First sound I hear I’m shooting in a 360 degree radius until I’m out of ammo. I have a healthy fear of the dark.

Anyway, in a lot of these books I’ve read about guys who were in desperate situations. We all have ideas about how we would like to act in these situations. At least guys do. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only guy who at some point in my childhood used my imagination to pretend I was a soldier. In those times, no one pretends they’re the guy that is too scared to move... they pretend that they’re the guy that saves the day and wins the battle. But it’s one thing to imagine it... it’s a whole other thing to live it. The guys I’ve read about have lived it. Here are a couple of books I think everyone should read. This isn’t the entire list of war books that I’ve read, just the best of the best. Each of these will give you a great appreciation of what people in war go through.

Halsey’s Typhoon – A book about a typhoon during WWII that tossed around a bunch of aircraft carriers and battleships like they were little toys.

In Harm’s Way – About the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. One word... sharks.

We Were Soldiers Once... And Young – The movie was very close to the book... but the book was 100 times better. Amazing book.

Breakout – A book about the Chosin Reservoir Campaign in Korea (1950).

If you are like me, reading these books will cause you to look at life in a completely different way. You might think you’re having a bad day, but you read what these men went through and you’ll quickly realize that you have no clue what a bad day is really like. God bless these men and the men and women like them who don’t have their names in books.