Compassionate Soldier illuminates some of the most fascinating and yet largely unknown stories of men and women whose humanity led them to perform courageous acts of mercy and compassion amid the chaos and carnage of war. Arranged by war from the American Revolution to the Iraq War and global in perspective, it features extraordinary stories of grace under fire from valiant soldiers and noncombatants who rose above the inhumanity of lethal conflict and chose compassion, even knowing their actions could put their lives and liberty at risk.
These inspirational stories illustrate that even in the midst of unspeakable horrors of war, acts of kindness, mercy, compassion, and humanity can prevail and, in doing so, expand our conventional thinking of honor and battlefield glory.
Summary of Stories
Richard Kirkland-A Confederate soldier during the Civil War who disobeyed direct orders and brought blankets and water to the wounded from both North and South during the Battle of Fredericksburg. Oswald Boelcke-The German WWI flying ace was one of the most influential tacticians of early air combat, but was known for making sure the airmen he shot down made it to the ground alive. Kim Phuc-As a nine-year-old child, she was the focus of a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo taken during the Vietnam War. After her village had been napalmed, her life was saved by a photographer who not only captured the image, but went out of his way to take the badly burned girl to a hospital hundreds of miles away. Patrick Ferguson-A British solider during the American Revolution, he had the chance to kill a high-ranking American soldier, but refused to shoot a man in the back. That American soldier turned out to be George Washington. Edith Cavell-A British nurse who helped more than two hundred Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during WWI but was unable to escape herself when the Germans raided her hospital. Mr. Pape-German SS guard who stepped between an angry SS recruiter and a POW, saving the prisoner's life at great risk to his own. Major General Dietrich von Choltitz-A career German military officer and the last commander of Nazi-occupied Paris, who disobeyed Hitler's order to destroy the city and instead surrendered to French Free forces. Alex Lurye-A Jewish-American solider during WWI who was befriended by a Jewish family in Germany and, even though he was an enemy combatant, was invited to their home for a Sabbath meal. During WWII, Lurye saved the same family by helping them escape to America during the rise of Hitler's Nazi party. Colonel Bernard F. Fisher-The Air Force Medal of Honor, the military's highest decoration for valor, was awarded for the first time during the Vietnam War to Colonel Fisher, who risked his own life, fully aware of the extreme danger and high likelihood of failure, in order to save a downed airman who was under heavy fire and trapped behind enemy lines. Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany-During WWI, on nothing more than a promise, he allowed a captured British soldier to briefly return home to see his mother before she died. Robert Skeeks-Raised in Asia and schoole
Jerry Borrowman is an award-winning author of historical fiction and nonfiction. He has written about the World Wars, the Great Depression, and the Vietnam War. He is the recipient of the George Washington National Medal of Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge. He and his wife, Marcella, raised four children and live in the Rocky Mountains."
