Richard Bell's book of extraordinary photographs of some elderly veterans from World War II is a must for anyone interested in the war. Some may complain about the black-and-white photographs of the older veterans, but the style works because of our collective associations of the war with very famous B&W photographs, such as the attack on Pearl Harbor, the D-Day landings, and the flag-raising at Iwo Jima. There once were some 16 million American veterans of the war, and according to VA statistics, there are fewer than half a million living today. These were the men and women that helped save the world from tyranny over seven decades ago, when they were young. A short paragaph on their memories of the events of that time accompany their picture, making Bell's book both visually-stunning and incredibly touching. While looking at the photographs and reading their memories, you realize these men and women beat incredible odds and had the good fortune of growing old while so many of their friends and contemporaries did not. Bell's 'The Last Veterans of World War II' is a well-done tribute to the Americans of the "Greatest Generation."

Beautiful Photographs with Memories of World War II. Each Portrait is accompanied by a short paragraph showing the personal side of the War. It also show how important it is to capture these memories before they disappear. This is the history not often found in books. Anyone with an interest in history will enjoy this book.

This book made me cry! The photography was just beautiful. This hit kinda hard because my paternal grandfather served during WW II, and he passed recently. Makes me wish I'd asked him more about his time during WW II and the Korean War.

A amazing book with beautiful photographs and stories. I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from Netgalley.

This book is super powerful. You will be looking into the eyes and the heart of the last remaining men and women who fought for our freedom in World War 2. You will learn their name, current age, branch of service, as well as their thoughts, feelings, and memories from their days during WW2.

There are also black and white photos of each of these hero's as their are now, as well a pictures of them in the days of the war. In the photo's of their younger days each persons hands are represented holding those pictures. These pictures are like an emotional gut punch. The pictures alone are enough to tell part of their story, paired with their words makes this one of the best books I have ever read.

Whether you agree with war or not this is a part of our history. The 44 men and women featured in this book are some of the few remaining members of our military from that time period. Most are in their 90's. Their lives may end soon but with this book there stories never will.

Thank you netgalley.com for giving me a copy of this book.

This is a great historical book that covers so many different people's stories that probably would be forgotten. The photography is very well done.

This is one of the most powerful books you will ever have the privilege of holding in your hands. I would recommend The Last Veterans of World War II to absolutely everyone, regardless of your personal views on war, life experience or the genre you usually read. This book is simply too important for you to miss out on.

Richard Bell's photography is beyond stunning. The black and white portraits of the American veterans as they are today are some of the most extraordinary portraits I've ever seen. The lighting is just gorgeous and unlike the forced poses and toothy grins you see so often with this type of photography, the expressions captured are natural, as if taken during conversation. There's an honesty and depth to these images that captures the joy, sorrow, wisdom, grace, heartache, humour and character of the veterans. I don't know enough adjectives to adequately describe the way they made me feel.

On the opposite page of each full page portrait you'll find text accompanied by a smaller image of the veteran's hand/s holding a photograph of themselves taken around the time of their service, most times in uniform. There's something about the juxtaposition between the young man or woman in the photo and the elderly hand holding it that made me really emotional. It's such a simple yet beautiful way of connecting each person through time.

If this book had been filled with photographs alone, the quality and evocative nature of them would have been enough for this to be a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ book. However, there's more to this book. Each entry tells you the veteran's name, current age, details about the branch they served in and where, along with a portion of the veteran's story told to the author while he interviewed them.

It feels so wrong to be giving a star rating to peoples' wartime experiences so my rating will be based solely on the photography in this remarkable book. While I won't tell you anything about the experiences shared in this book as my words can't do them justice, I will tell you that I was consistently moved by the integrity, humility and bravery of those interviewed. I learned about so many aspects of the war that I was previously unaware of. One of the quotes that I know will linger with me is by Ben Skardon, who served in the Army and is a Bataan Death March survivor:

"Nothing else is on my conscience that I know about, except why I'm the only one of my friends that made it back."

The Last Veterans of World War II is one of those books that part of you doesn't want to read because gut wrenching is not an adequate descriptor for the horrors these veterans have experienced. Yet you must read books like this because being an ostrich does not work in this situation. We must never forget and we need to continue to honour the heroism and sacrifice of these men and women.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley (thank you so much to NetGalley and Schiffer Publishing Ltd. for the opportunity) in exchange for honest feedback.

Finally, but most importantly, to the ladies and gentlemen featured in this book along with other past and present service members, I am honoured to have read some of your stories and I thank you for your service.

What an amazing and awe inspiring book. The stories make you see different parts of the war through their own eyes. I was reminded each time I turned the page that this photo is of a person who I owe thanks to for his or her service. Humbling and touching. I am glad to have had a chance to read and be thankful for their service to our country.
Funny stories, sad stories, moving stories and most of all-real stories about the real people who sacrificed for our country.

This is an amazing book honoring a few of our heroes from World War ll. The diversity inside these pages speaks volumes as we hear from men and women who fought for America in a variety of positions such as officers, nurses, pilots, engineers, technicians, shipfitters and serviceman (just to name a few). I enjoyed how the novel was laid out. Beginning each veteran’s story is a head-shot photograph which is then followed by a short story about that individual and his experience in the war. On the second page is another photograph, a simple and important photo of the veteran’s hand holding his service photograph from the war. I loved looking at these photographs, what a beautiful way to display the element of time and history. As I examined these photographs, their eyes glaring back at me, I thought about the stories those eyes held inside them. For what these individuals experienced and lived, their eyes knew it all.

I could tell you about many of the stories that I read but I will just highlight a few that caught my attention. I read about Harlan whose secret mission was to deliver atomic bomb components. After their successful delivery, his unit was hit by torpedo’s and their ship was going down. For four days, Harlan and over three hundred of his men floated in the water, waiting for assistance. Fighting off sharks and staying together to stay alive, they waited. Not everyone made it back safely. Then, there was the story of George who faced his fears in 2000 when he revisited Germany. Battling PTSD, George revisited the places where he had once stood, fighting in the war. George was looking for closure. The story of Ben hit home with me. Ben had been captured and had been forced to march with other prisoners, abuse and death occurring on their way. The Japanese fighters told their prisoners that they were not Prisoners of War but that they were captives. Treated worse than an animal, Ben was a sole survivor when he returned home. Ben also told the story of “The Hell Ships” which was something I hadn’t read about before. There are a few individuals in the novel who didn’t have much to say about their experience. I appreciate their privacy as this war was an emotional and troubling experience to live through.

My father-in-law was a POW during WWII and I have listened to many of his stories about this time in his life. He was there in the Battle of the Bulge, he walked many miles to some undetermined destination only to have to turn around and walk back, he ate out of many frozen gardens and the many incidents of what he saw, smelled and heard, I cannot fathom. He was a survivor just like the individuals in this fantastic novel and I thank each one of them for their service. This novel tells the stories of individuals that should be heard and their stories appreciated. I highly recommend this novel and I can’t wait to obtain my own copy.

I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley and Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. in exchange for an honest review. Thank you both for sharing this novel with me and thank you to Richard Bell for bringing these veterans stories to others.

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A beautiful book that honours the remaining World War II veterans. It tells their story of service & sacrifice, along with historical and current photographs. An amazing book on Canadian history published in time for Canada 150. Thank you for sharing their stories. Lest we forget.

Tom Brokaw popularised the phrase ‘the Greatest Generation’ to describe those Americans who grew up during the Great Depression and served in the Second World War. Richard Bell’s ‘The Last Veterans of World War II’ is a worthy commemoration, in striking black and white photographs, of forty-four of these men and women.

Each individual is shown as they are now and also holding a photograph of how they looked (mostly in uniform) back then, and these portraits are accompanied by brief recollections of their wartime service. Bell includes some famous faces (such as Senator Bob Dole; Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens; and Olympic gold medallist Harrison Dillard) but most of those commemorated are nominally ‘ordinary’ men and women.

He has also made a determined effort to “explore diversity in the World War II effort, including service arm, gender, and ethnic origins”, so there is, for example, a Navajo code talker, a member of an all-Nisei regiment, an African American infantryman and a female Army nurse.

This is a relatively short but successful book. The stories it records are told with humility. Reading them and looking upon their authors, both in the past and the present, is a humbling experience.