Introduction -- Hollywood, history, and the historian -- Tough 'ombres and battleground -- Carriers and kamikazes: wing and a prayer -- Stormy weather: Memphis Belle and Twelve o'clock high -- Guadalcanal diary, Back to Bataan, and The sands of Iwo Jima: a veteran's review -- Stalag Luft III: tales of the great escape -- Code talkers, windtalkers and true whisperers -- The Rosies: Lucy, Goldie, Ginger, and Marge -- Conclusion.