Days of Valor: World War Two

I have an interest in sketching historical events particularly events from World War Two. Recently I have been trying to fill up my sketch pad with pictures of soldiers. Currently I have been doing a study on World War Two in the Pacific. There are many fascinating books to read on the subject and several movies also. Here’s a quick list of my 10 favorite books and movies of World War Two.

TORA! TORA! TORA! By20th Century Fox DVD This is a good movie about the events leading up to the air raid on Pearl Harbor Hawaii. I really enjoy this one because it also portrays the Japanese side of the events. The aerial scenes are also very good.

BATTLE OF THE BULGE, By Warner Bros DVD This is my brother’s favorite movie it is a semi fictional story of both German and American soldiers during this crucial battle. It also highlights the battle around Bastogne and the massacre at Malmady.

FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS, By Warner Bros DVD Really good video of the battle of Iwo Jima telling the story of the 3 surviving flag raisers pictured in Joe Rosenthal‘s now famous photograph. This movie does has several violent scenes and curse words are used.

THE MEDAL OF HONOR, By Miller creek DVD Tells the story of men in World War 2 who won the Medal of Honor it also has great reenacted scenes and has a section on WW1, Korea, and Vietnam.

INCREDIBLE VICTORY By Walter lord. This book gives the complete account of the battle of Midway it also has a section of pictures illustrating the battle.

DOG FIGHT! World War 2 aviation art. By James .H. Kitchens &Bernard .C. Nalty. This is my little brother's favorite book to draw World War Two air planes from. It has over 100 paintings by world famous Military Artists such as Stan Stokes and Robert Tailor.

D-Day By Steven Ambrose An absolutely fascinating book telling the stories of the soldiers Allies and German who fought on the beaches of Normandy France on June 6^th 1944. This one is very high on my reading list, a good read for any one.

Citizen Soldier By Steven Ambrose This book takes up the story where D-day left off. After securing the Normandy beaches the Allies’ are now pushing inland fighting many hard battles on the road to ultimate victory. St Lo and the Battle of the Bulge and finally the invasion of Germany itself are all told in this account.

Guadalcanal By Dr Robert Ballard tells the unforgettable story of the battle that changed the course of World War Two. After months of fighting on the defensive the allies go on the attack striking at the small island of Guadalcanal ,in the Solomon Islands, that the Japanese were building an airfield on. Also read his Titanic and Bismarck

Victory in the Pacific By Albert Marrin. This book gives a good overview of the entire War in the Pacific from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan.

Here are some of my military sketches, plus one of the Hindenburg. My favorites are The Tarawa Marine and the Hindenburg.