Britt returned Stateside to a hero’s welcome. Fawned over by journalists and invited to speak at war bond rallies, he was the Sergeant York of his time until Murphy (who didn’t receive his Medal of Honor till war’s end) returned home and superseded him. In the course of the war Murphy earned every citation for valor that the army awards: Bronze Star, Silver Star, Distinguished Service Cross, and Medal of Honor. Audie Murphy was not the first American to earn every citation for valor awarded by the army; that honor went to Maurice Britt, who for a while was the country’s most decorated soldier. What finally made Murphy the most decorated is that he earned three Bronze Stars and two Silver Stars while Britt earned one of each.

The caves were then leached of millions of gallons of water out onto the local rice fields, despite ruining crops etc. Locals came to the fore; community at its best. They prayed. And prayed. Mr. Kershaw follows them from the invasion of North Africa through to the end of the War in Europe where the 3rd had taken Salzburg, Austria. Along the way the 3rd took part in 5 amphibious operations (North Africa, Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, and Southern France). Members of the 3rd were awarded 40 MOHs, including the 4 the main protagonists were awarded.

Describing the near perfect lives of her characters, the author has maintained the balance by introducing many challenges and troubles which gives the book a realistic feeling. The book handles a lot of dimensions in relations. Izzie's relation with Zach is a pointer to whether money should have a role in relations. Whether one should choose a partner on the basis of their career and ability to earn. Justin and Richard's relation is an eye opener about mono-sexual relations and feasibility of having a child through surrogacy. Julies love life is an example of the dilemma to accept the reality we all face when everything is right. William's relation is an indication of complications that could happen when there is a difference of a generation between the couples. The "facts" and memes seem endless, attributing superhuman abilities to Norris, and not without some justification. Ideally martial arts training should help a person avoid physical altercations and other adverse confrontations.” Unfortunately, I was really disappointed with Paul’s attitude throughout the entire book. He’s brought up in children’s homes with horrific experiences, so some could say that he practises all that he has ever known. But Paul’s mentality towards violence, and the amount of times he resorts to violence, is awful. He uses phrases such as ‘because they were scum and they deserved it’ to justify his actions; no Paul, violence is not justified just because someone is ‘scum’. He uses violence so much, that it is clear he is a bully just like the people he is brought up around, and yet doesn’t recognise he is using the same behaviours that he has grown up to despise. I cannot abide how he thinks violence in these situations is okay, and the way he talks about it is so blasé. In one act of violence he fractures someone’s skull. He also says that he has never been involved in petty crime. Perhaps never been involved in petty crime, but caused physical damage to plenty of people and avoided being caught.

Ellie's heart, humour, and hard work has allowed her to achieve her dreams. An advocate for disability, Ellie uses her platform as a disabled model to act as a role model and inspire other people with Down Syndrome. Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil. Here is the story of these two Australian men who became international heroes – it is a story of determination, cunning and triumph that will long be remembered. The spirituality of the region was very important. All of Thailand watched and prayed. Schools were closed. It gripped the world. Along with their UK & global diving colleagues, the Thai Navy Seals etc, these Aussie medico divers, successfully extracted the 13 young boys/coach from an early monsoonal and voluminously flooded cave some 2+kms from the entrance. A long and tedious effort. A great read from their perspective. Beyond the realms of what had been attempted before.The whole world watched and waited for the boys to be found. When they were all found alive, it was a miracle celebrated the world over. But then came the anxious wait while the powers at be debated how to get them out, and get them out alive. The cave area became a complex ‘instant’ city for journalists, locals helping out, political and international personnel with expertise in cave rescue, supposedly. Governments became heavily involved, red tape waived. While there have been numerous stories and even some books on the evolution and rise of the IT industry in India, a definitive account was missing. This book plugs that important gap. That too from not just an industry insider but a person who shaped its evolution.

Aged twenty-two, Britt fell in love with a high-spirited, beautiful freshman called Nancy Mitchell. After he received his commission as a second lieutenant upon graduating, he and eighteen-year-old Nancy were married on June 8, 1941. "Life was simple and serene in those days, six months before Pearl Harbor," he reminisced. "We went on a honeymoon tour of the Ozarks and in the fall we went to Detroit, where I had an offer to try out with the Detroit Lions professional football team." As a former Marne Man, I highly encourage any current or former wearer of the Blue and White to read this work.

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A compelling read that reveals a lot of what went on "behind the scenes" - the tensions, the problem-solving, the camaraderie of cave divers from around the world, the red tape, the many unknown people who were involved, and especially the bravery of all who were committed to the rescue mission. Again, Harry offered assistance. In any way. The word ‘sedation’ was mentioned by his UK friend… “really”? That’s never been done Harry replied at that stage. Most of his films were westerns and I’ve watched most of them, not in theaters, but on TV and even YouTube. And sometimes when I watched one, and in most of them Murphy portrays a hero who is rough, tough and always prevails in a gunfight or even fisticuffs, it was easy to think that he was miscast in that role. Harry and Craig tell of the tension they’d heard while preparing for their own trip. It was a perilous, almost unnavigable environment; how would they survive? Can they swim, dive?? I really enjoyed reading this book, and it was made even more fun reading it before the 2018 Winter Olympics where NHL players were replaced by the underdog Canadians playing in Europe. Not quite the same as the Flyers, but the first time I remember Canada being underdogs in an Olympic tournament. And while the bronze medal in 2018 isn't quite the same as the gold in 1948, the underdog story of journeymen who never thought they'd be considered for an Olympics (and medal hopes also coming down to a game against the Czechs) was fun.

And neither will the rescuers names: Richard ‘Harry’ Harris, from South Australia, and his diving companion, Craig Challen, from Western Australia. Ostensibly, the sedating of children and floating them through dark, silty, underwater chambers for several hours as the threat of more monsoonal flooding surrounded them, gave rise to critical new methods in underwater caving safety and management of children specifically, for survival. Kate Madison's stylish second-hand clothing shop has been a big success in New York, supporting her and her four kids since her husband's untimely death. Now, her children have grown up and are ready to forge lives of their own. They all choose to play against all odds, much to their mother's dismay . . . The coach , Ekk, who is an orphan, displayed indefatigable courage , calmness and perseverance, to keep the boys calm and positive in the adverse inhumane conditions . Before joining the team as an assistant coach, he had joined the Buddhist temple and became a monk and learnt many Tibetan and Buddhist texts , which helped him to teach the kids meditation and live without food and help for 10 days . Complicate relations and realistic scenarios are interwoven with finesse. The way emotions are handled in this book is a far cry from how it was done in her previous book. Overall the book is entertaining, engaging and relatable.These two men were chosen for their medical expertise and cave diving knowledge, but this dangerous rescue asked so much more of them. They had to remain calm under extreme pressure and intense scrutiny, adapt to constantly changing circumstances and importantly, build trust among the rescue team and with the young boys and their coach, whose lives were in their hands. The story is filled with flawed but realistic characters, That's not to say I liked them all! I liked the very reasonable Kate who is the mother of four adult children. She is responsible and worries about her children all day. I enjoyed reading about her business and how she ran her second hand clothing store, "Still fabulous". I also liked Grandma Lou and enjoyed reading about her trips across the world.