The lengthening shelf of Greatest Generation memoirs gets a pleasant if somewhat rambling and soft-focus addition in this reminiscence by the former Democratic Speaker of the House. Wright traverses the usual rites of passage, including post-Pearl Harbor enlistment, impulsive war marriage, immersion in a melting pot of fellow recruits, poignant farewell to family and, finally, combat with the Japanese as a bombardier on a B-24 Liberator. He survived his plane's run-ins with Zeroes and flak unscathed, but his unit suffered heavy losses, and he recounts the ordeals of other aircrews who were shot down and captured-and sometimes beheaded-by the Japanese. Still, Wright's was not the grimmest of wartime experiences; he was stationed at a relatively comfortable base in Australia.
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