★ Celebrate Veterans Day in their own words ★
In their own words. Every theater of the war.

This Veterans Day,don't just wave a flag.

A flag and a parade are a fine start, and they are over by noon. These are the men themselves, telling the war in their own words, recorded over thirty years. Give him that, and the day lasts for months.

The Complete Library, all eleven books
11 books3,600+ pagesBookmark

Who are you honoring?

My husband or my dad A friend who served Myself. I served. A father who never talked about it My kids and grandkids Me. I want to know their stories.
Matthew Rozell with the veterans he interviewed
Matthew Rozell with the veterans he interviewed
Veterans Day is for the living.

It belongs to the men who came home and carried it quietly.

Almost all of them are gone now.

For thirty years, Matthew Rozell and his students sat with them while there was still time to ask.

Their words are still here.

They wrote down what the veterans said. Eleven books of it. Let their own words do the honoring.

Who it's for

Him. His buddy. You.

Three ways to mark Veterans Day with more than a flag.

For him

For the veteran who has everything.

A thank you that lasts longer than a day

He has every tool, every shirt, every gadget, most of them twice. The thing missing from that shelf is the men he served beside, telling it the way it happened.

  • All ten volumes plus A Train Near Magdeburg
  • Collector's bookmark listing every title
  • Bookplate signed by hand, if you choose
  • No prices on the packing slip
Choose his edition
For his buddy

For the friend who still remembers his buddies.

The men who stood beside him

He still talks about them. He does not talk about the war. Give him the men who did, from every theater he might have served in.

  • The Pacific, Europe, Italy, the air war
  • China, Burma, India and the homefront
  • Firsthand, in the men's own words
Give him the set
For you

For anyone who wants Veterans Day to mean more.

Start with the men who were there

Maybe you want to celebrate with more than a post and a parade. Maybe nobody ever told you what your grandfather's generation went through. By next Veterans Day you will know their names, their units, and what they carried home.

  • Every theater, from Pearl Harbor to the camps
  • Recorded over thirty years
  • Each book stands on its own
See what's inside
If you served

You were there.

Now hear it from the men who stood beside you. You know what the history books leave out. You served. Now hear your brothers.

Wherever you served, it's in here.

The PacificThe air warItalyD-DayThe BulgeThe RhineTokyoChina · Burma · IndiaThe homefront

Thirty years of interviews, in their own words.

Jimmy Butterfield, WWII Marine veteran. Blinded on Okinawa at nineteen. Volume I, Voices of the Pacific Theater.
Jimmy Butterfield, WWII Marine veteran. Blinded on Okinawa at nineteen. Volume I, Voices of the Pacific Theater.

So I had a hard two months, I guess. I kept mostly to myself. I wouldn't talk to people. I tried to figure out what the hell I was going to do when I got home. How was I going to tell my mother this? You know what I mean?

For the son or daughter

Your dad never talked about it. These men did.

His silence is the most common story readers tell us. These men talked to students who asked, and what they said can open the door his silence kept closed. Some of what he never said is in here, in the words of the men who stood where he stood.

My Dad served in the 3rd armored Division Normandy to Germany. He did not talk about it, it is nice to sit down and read about it.Michael H. · review of the complete library
Both of my parents served during the war and other than talking about how they met in Key West, never really discussed what they saw or felt. So glad that you picked up the mantle and recorded what our fathers and mothers went through.Maury T. · review of the complete library
For the parent and grandparent

Give your children the men themselves.

Your children will never meet his generation. They can still hear them, in the words those men chose, without anyone retelling it for them.

Just ordered the first half of the series. I tell my children about their great grandfather's who fought in WWII. One of my grandfathers never spoke about his time in service. The endurance of that generation was just incredible, and something today's could not even fathom, but desperately needs to hear and learn about.Reader comment · December 2023
Something to do on Veterans Day

The best way to celebrate? Ask him.

  • Who was the friend you still think about?
  • What did you carry that nobody issued you?
  • What was the coldest you have ever been?
  • Who wrote you letters, and did you keep them?
  • What do you wish people understood about it?
  • What would you want us to remember?
Matthew Rozell addresses students, with Pacific Marines at the ready to tell their stories, 1990s.
Matthew Rozell addresses students, with Pacific Marines at the ready to tell their stories, 1990s.

And when he is ready to listen further, the men themselves are in here.

What readers wrote to us

Honor him with his own generation's words.

My father was a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division, Screaming Eagles Company 504 and jumped on DDay. Fought in the Bulge. He passed at age 96 and never really understood his place in history. I found out after he died that he told my cousin that he was the only one who survived from his plane on DDay.Reader comment · November 2022
My father was in the first wave to hit Omaha beach. He almost never spoke about it. It was EVERYTHING my father had told me about... and it almost brought me to tears knowing my father lived through that.Reader comment · May 2023
4.9
★★★★★

From 146 reader reviews of the complete library.

Eleven books. Firsthand accounts of the Second World War. In their own words.

The Complete Library: All Eleven Books with Collector's Bookmark

The Complete Library: All Eleven Books with Collector's Bookmark

★★★★★ 4.9 from 146 reviews

From $179.95

1. Choose the edition

Gift note: prices never appear on the packing slip.

Prefer to listen? The complete audiobook library is a separate set. See the audiobook library

A percentage of book proceeds goes to veterans outreach and Holocaust education every month. Matthew calls it Heal the World.

Before you order for him

What exactly is in the box?

All ten volumes of The Things Our Fathers Saw and A Train Near Magdeburg, eleven books and over 3,600 pages, with a collector's bookmark listing the titles.

Will it arrive in time for Veterans Day?

Orders are usually packed and mailed within 3 business days, and the shipping policy estimates 5 to 8 business days in transit after that. Delivery dates are not guaranteed, so order early if the day matters. If it will arrive after Veterans Day, there is a printable "A gift for you" card you can hand him on the day. Read the shipping policy.

Is the signature real?

Yes. Matthew signs each bookplate by hand, never autopen, and the shipping partner places it inside the front cover.

It's a gift. Will he see the price?

No. Prices are never included on the packing slip.

Which edition should I choose?

Paperback is the most popular. The hardcovers are the collector's edition. Large print is the same eleven books in bigger type. If he prefers listening, the audiobook library is a separate set linked above.

Can I return it?

Within 14 days of delivery, in resalable condition, after emailing for a return authorization. Refunds are less shipping, a 3 percent bank fee, and up to a 10 percent restocking charge. We ship within the US only. Read the refund policy.

After the parade

And after Veterans Day?

On Veterans Day, everybody remembers. The flags come out, the band plays, and for one morning the men who fought are honored the way they deserve.

The next morning the flags are put away. He is still here, with the same stories. We are very good at remembering once a year. These books are for the other 364 days.