OPINION: Stories to honor our history

This Monday, the world celebrated veterans: The U.S. with Veterans Day and Canada and the U.K. with Remembrance Day. While there are many ways in which people celebrate and honor veterans on this day, I wanted to share some ways to better educate oneself about the experiences veterans have gone through.

Whether fiction or nonfiction, books provide a window into worlds many have not experienced. While many people think the only way to learn about history and American military action is through nonfiction, there are a number of fictional stories that accurately explain the situations and events many veterans have gone through.

I’d like to share books I’ve read or that have been recommended to me about this topic. Hopefully you’ll learn something new.

At the moment, historical fiction about World War II is very popular. While many focus on Holocaust victims or those living in France, I’d like to share a couple WWII books that focus on other points of view.

“Our Darkest Night” by Jennifer Robson focuses on Italian Jew Antonina Mazin, who flees to the Italian countryside, posing as the new bride of Christian farmer Nico Gerardi. This book gave an interesting insight into what small-town Italy looked like during WWII.

Moving to an Allied country, “Winter Garden” by Kristin Hannah offers flashbacks throughout the book of a young family’s struggle to survive the war-torn Leningrad. Though the Allies eventually won, “Winter Garden” shows the cost to the winners’ own people.

Back on American soil, “The Ways We Hide” by Kristina McMorris follows a young Midwestern woman who’s love of magic and escape artistry led to her joining the British intelligence group MI9. This book is especially interesting to me, as there’s a connection to my Wisconsin hometown!

Moving to the Korean War, while I haven’t read this book, it comes highly suggested. The Island of the Sea Women by Lisa See covers 80 years of Korean history, from Japanese colonialism in the 1930s through to modern day. However, it provides a much greater context into why the Korean War happened and what it meant for the people living there.

Soon after comes the Vietnam War. At the top of everyone’s lists this year is “The Women” by Kristin Hannah. Following a young nurse as she joins the Army Nurse Corps and serves in Vietnam, readers experience the everyday trauma of Vietnam. The second half is even more telling, sharing the experiences of Vietnam vets after they came home.

For the record, yes, Kristin Hannah has a lot of great historical fiction. We’re not done with her yet.

Another book is “Twilight Territory” by Andrew X. Pham, which follows a young Vietnamese family during the post-WWII challenges in French Indochina. “Twilight Territory” is a good book to see what life was like for those that experienced the struggles of the Vietnam War on their homeland.

Continuing to more recent history, we again have Kristin Hannah. In her novel “Home Front,” a family is torn apart when mother Jolene Zarkades is deployed to Iraq. “Home Front” explores the issues deployment brings upon a family, the struggle of being a woman at war and building yourself back after tragedy.

While the next two books don’t focus completely on the wars America has been involved in, there are numerous chapters devoted to these times. “Spare” by Prince Harry and “A Promised Land” by former President Barack Obama both share interesting new perspectives on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

There are many other stories I have not mentioned that are fantastic and deserve reads. No matter who’s perspective you’re reading from, learning more about our country’s history is an important part of honoring those that lived and fought through it.

These stories also serve as a wonderful reminder right now: We’ve got through it before, we can get through it again.