Three books about Memorial Day

Every year on the last Monday of May, we dedicate a day to remember the men and women who have died in military service. For most people, Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer, and is traditionally celebrated by having a barbecue with friends or getting stuck in the car in a huge traffic jam trying to get out of the city. But it's worth taking time to think about Memorial Day's original purpose. Here are three remarkable books that explore the subject.

1. WWI: Dalton Trumbo, Johnny Got His Gun
I know a lot of guys in high school who read this book because of the Metallica song. It may be the biggest impact Metallica could have hoped to have on their fans, because every head banger who read this book was changed by the experience. You can't help but be moved and horrified by this novel about a hopeful young soldier who exits WWI armless, legless, and faceless, but with his mind intact and trapped inside his immobile body.

2. WWII: Stephen Ambrose, Band of Brothers
Ambrose is not just a highly-regarded historian, he's also a gifted writer with an amazing ability to bring his topics to life. This 2001 book followed "Easy Company," the 506th Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, a group of elite combat paratroopers who took on the most difficult assignments (including parachuting into France on D-Day, liberating Dachau, and capturing Hitler's Eagle's Nest). This book formed the basis for the incredibly popular HBO movie which will no doubt be airing back-to-back this weekend.

3. Iraq: Kirsten Holmstedt, Band of Sisters: American Women at War in Iraq

The author began her project by exploring the experience of female Marines at nearby Camp Lejeune as part of her master's thesis in creative writing. 20 percent of the troops in Iraq are female, 155,000 women in the military deployed in jobs ranging from fighter pilot to auto mechanic. Women are holding their own in the field - and sacrificing just as much as their male counterparts.

Image courtesy Flickr/Ethan K