Twenty-Five Yards of War

A “gripping” account of WWII war experiences “gives new meaning to such time-honored terms as true grit, undaunted courage, and quiet valor” (Douglas Brinkley, Director of the Eisenhower Center for American Studies at the University of New Orleans).

From the sinking decks of a navy cruiser to the cockpit of a doomed B-twenty-five bomber, Ronald J. Drez takes us to the front lines of World War II.

Through Drez’s gripping narrative style, we meet twelve men, all ordinary soldiers, and learn what the war was like through their eyes, experiencing their own ‘twenty-five yards of war.’ The men in these pages represent all branches of the military who were sent on impossible missions, where they witnessed triumphs and tragedies.

As a result of Drez’s ten years of research and over one,400 interviews, Twenty-Five Yards of War is a tribute to all of the soldiers who fought in World War II—those who walked away with amazing stories to tell, and those who did not make it home.

“In a palpable, unfeigned way, Drez extols their heroism and valor through his focus on the individual combat experience. Resonant reading.” —Booklist