If you have ever served in the military, you probably have many stories to tell about the people you met and the things you experienced. Military stories make some of the most memorable and inspiring narratives. Take a look at AFBA's top five military novels that epitomize what it means to be a soldier and most accurately recount war.
1. 'Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10'
This nonfiction story follows Operation Redwing leader Marcus Luttrell and his unit. This elite team was tasked with taking down a known al-Qaeda leader on the Pakistani border in 2005. By the end of their mission, only Luttrell remained alive. Operation Redwing saw the largest loss of Navy SEAL life in history, but it also recounts Luttrell's unrelenting will to live as he crawled, wounded and alone, 7 miles through enemy territory in the Pakistani mountains. This amazing story follows the leader's account of his survival and recovery, and it is a must-read for anyone who has ever known the loss of a unit member.
2. 'All Quiet on the Western Front'
Erich Maria Remarque's classic 1928 novel has often been referred to as the greatest war novel of all time. Remarque tells the story of Paul Bäumer, a young man who follows his friends into enlistment with the German army. Bäumer quickly becomes disenchanted with the war and rejects the senseless hatred that drives men into battle. The young soldier witnesses many horrors and makes a vow to combat the prejudices that turn men against one another if he can survive the war.
3. 'Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest'
This novel follows the U.S. Army's 506th Airborne Division. The real men who fought in this unit were notorious for getting some of World War II's toughest assignments. Stephen Ambrose's nonfiction novel recounts their mission to parachute into Berchtesgaden in France on the morning of D-Day to the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest. This mission resulted in a 150 percent fatality rate. The novel demonstrates the unfailing courage of the American soldier to complete assigned missions and the brotherhood that is forged along the way.
4. 'The Killer Angels'
Michael Shaara's historical fiction is one of the most interesting accounts ever written about the Battle of Gettysburg. The novel gives unique insight into the thoughts and emotions commanders from each side may have experienced. More than that, it defines what the American Civil War was all about. More than brother vs. brother, the war pitted two different ideologies against each other. Starving, exhausted men fought with everything they had left to preserve the country they believed in. Shaara's dramatic recount captures all of this in an unforgettable way.
5. 'Black Hawk Down'
Set in Somalia in October 1993, Mark Bowden's nonfiction novel tells the story of the 100 Americans who were airdropped into a Mogadishu marketplace. Their mission to capture two lieutenants to a major Somalian warlord was supposed to be a quick one. Instead, it became one of the toughest missions in American history. The Americans had to spend an entire night fending off thousands of armed Somalians. The novel documents their bravery in the face of adversity, and it demonstrated the strength it takes to survive in the face of certain doom.
There are many novels that convey the bravery of soldiers and equally as many that tell of the strength it takes to overcome the horrors of war. However, the five novels outlined above stand out from the rest. They take the reader on a journey through the lives of soldiers and show what it takes to be a hero.