Here are two more books about some of the lesser known events of WWII.

Much like those who worked at Bletchley Place (May 10, 2015), or were the Ghost Soldiers (August 1, 2015), the Navajo Code Talkers were not to ever speak of what they did, either. At least not until 1968. Although given a 'white' name, and punished for speaking his native language, Chester Nez (and many other Navajo) signed up to serve in WWII. Needing a code the Japanese couldn't break, they are given the task of coming up with something in Navajo. Part biography, part memoir, Code Talker: the First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII, by Chester Nez with Judith Schiess Avila tells how that was done. Then, since they were so few, and the code worked so well, the Code Talkers went from battle to battle with little or no R&R in between. This is one of those non-fiction books that read likes fiction and I was up reading far into the night.

After serving in WWI a young man went to then colonial Burma to work for the British teak company. He was fascinated by elephants and seemed to have a special connection with them, and one in particular. This is an amazing story ... heroic and tragic and truly epic. Elephant Company: the Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II, by Vicki Constantine Croke starts with the harvest of teak trees and continues on to the use of the elephants behind enemy lines (after the Japanese invade Burma), and the delivery of refugees to a safe location. Across a steep mountain. Wow!

Reading Hermit With Dog