Heroes All by D. M. Hanson

From Amazon:

Heroes All is a story of a single amphibious ship and her crew amongst the thousands of ships that took part in the war. The sailors that served on the Landing Ship, Tank, or LST, were truly unsung heroes in WWII and they remain so today. However, the young sailors that served on these ships were the critical enabler in the bloody battles that followed on land. With incredible fortitude, these young men did their duty and delivered men and supplies ashore again and again. 

Heroes All is a wonderful tribute to a tiny slice of America’s Greatest Generation. As I read the book, I could sense Donna’s mission was to tell the story to honor her father. She succeeded." Andrew L. Lewis, Vice Admiral, USN (retired) 

My Take:

This is not the normal kind of book that I’d pick up, but I fell easily into the story of these men of all ages (but mostly young) as they headed off to war. They’re just your average Joes from all walks of life. You think you know them, but they all hold surprises in their personalities just like we all do. The kid off the streets can be found reading philosophy books in his bunk during off-hours. Two guys who hate each other purely out of habit find they have more in common than they thought, even a similar heritage, and learn to see each other with respect. Strangers become family and boys become men as they face war. 

 

Hanson uses a light hand with honesty as she takes us into their lives, giving a taste of what life was like on an LST. 

 

The narrator did a wonderful job bringing the story to life. He was easy to listen to, more like enjoying a radio program than listening to someone read a book. 

I give the story a 4.5 (only because I do like a little romance *wink*) and the narrator a 5) with a PG-13 rating for military language. 

1-5 scale and what it means:

1: I couldn’t even finish it / just plain bad

2: I hope I didn’t pay for this / disappointing

3: I didn’t hate it, but it was still missing something / forgettable but inoffensive

3.5: On the line between good and ok / like, not love

4: Solid mind candy / worth reading

4.5: So very close to perfection! / must read

5: I could not put it down and I’m still thinking about it! / a true treasure

Movie Ratings in relation to my review:

Clean--Hallmark movies, some kissing, no nudity, no intimacy on or off "screen"

PG--Some innuendo but nothing kids don't hear every day, intimacy is all closed door

PG-13--some language (swear words not related to intimacy), more talk about intimacy, heavy petting, removal of clothing on screen, but intimacy is closed door.

PG-14—somewhere between PG-13 and R. Not erotica, but at least a paragraph of on-screen intimacy

R--swearing (F-bomb, on “screen” intimacy, sometimes feels like the whole story is about the intimacy and not the relationship or some other plot, but not always