{"product_id":"pt-boat-81-book-myrl-thompson-9781648734113","title":"PT Boat 81","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003ePT Boat 81\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e describes the World War I Navy Veteran and Purple Heart recipient, Milt Rackham, chronicles the years he spent peering down the sights of a PT boat's big guns during World War I. These stories, along with others of ground action he experienced, offer a unique glimpse into a hell that those who have never known combat can scarcely imagine; moments when life and death collide, separated only by capricious fate, the trajectory of a bullet, a shard of shrapnel.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese are not easy stories to tell. It's only now, more than three-quarters of a century later, that Rackham can bring himself to talk about them at all.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhile working on the project, his co-author Myrl Thompson discovered that Rackham had applied for VA benefits several times beginning in 1972, and been repeatedly denied due to a lack of information. He had stopped trying when he discovered that his military records were lost in a fire at the National Personnel Record Center in St. Louis MO in 1973. \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs a result of writing this book, Milt found the courage to make one last request and finally ended up receiving a partial monthly benefit at the age of 86. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRackham's riveting book is a rare, open, sometimes disturbing chronicle of terror and personal triumph. It provides us with poignant insight into the ongoing impact of war on our veterans and their families. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51045307646225,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51045310431505,"sku":"NIN9781648734113","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1648734111.jpg?v=1751057865","url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/products\/pt-boat-81-book-myrl-thompson-9781648734113","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}