Book Description 

This heartfelt tribute to World War II veterans is history that reads like fiction.

Follow a soldier who fought in Patton’s Third Army and who landed on Omaha Beach at 9 a.m. on D-Day; a female Army Air Forces nurse who made helping veterans her life’s work; a fighter pilot who flew with the African-American unit known as the Tuskegee Airmen and who was on one of the teams that won the first Top Gun meet after the war; a guard in a top-secret intelligence base outside of Washington, D.C. where top German weapons scientists were interrogated; a female aircraft mechanic who served in the Navy and is still active in veterans affairs seventy years later; a gunner on a B-17 heavy bomber who was shot down and spent fourteen months in German prison camps; an airman in General Curtis LeMay’s 20th Air Force, the unit that dropped the atomic bombs, and more.

Get to know some of the patriots who served in World War II.

 

Buy the book: Amazon.

My Review

I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.

I’ve always enjoyed historical fiction but I haven’t read a lot of history. When I think about reading history, I think about the boring history books we had in high school. I have found, though, that there are some really good history books out there and this is one of those. We Had a Job To Do kept my interest throughout and I learned a lot about World War II.

I like how Theresa Anzaldua set this book up. It is chronological and starts with The Great Depression and the beginning of the war. The stories of the different people she interviewed are broken up so that they fit into the book chronologically but, at the end of each section about a particular person, it tells where their story continues. I thought that was ingenious because a reader can choose to read someone’s complete story without having to search for where the next section is. My favorite chapter was the last one, “Going Home – The Rest of the Story,” that told what happened to the people in the book.

I found the sections about how the war affected different ethnicities enlightening. I knew that the Japanese in America were treated poorly but I didn’t realize that over half of those in internment camps were American citizens. And when the Japanese American soldiers came home to visit their families, they had to visit them in the camps. How crazy is that?

There are quite a few old photos, many at the beginning of chapters, that are intriguing. I don’t usually comment on covers, but this one is exceptional. 

I definitely think anyone who wants to learn more about World War II would find this a great book to start with. It’s easy to read and keeps your interest.

 

Author’s Bio

The author is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, B.A. (English Literature and Philosophy) and M.A. (Philosophy) and Harvard Law School, J.D. Her mother served in World War II in the U.S. Army, her father served in the U.S. Navy, her maternal uncle served in the war in the British Marines Commandos and fought in Normandy on D-Day, and another maternal uncle was killed in a training accident in Texas while serving in the U.S. Army. Her grandfather was wounded fighting for Britain in World War I.

 

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Giveaway

Win 1 of 9 gift sets including a copy of “We Had a Job to Do,”

one (3’x5’ American flag) and one gently used Glen Miller CD

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