Never Call Me a Hero audiobook

“If all of what we were told was true, that the Japanese intended to send four carriers to invade Midway, then Nimitz had taken an incredible risk. He had decided to throw the Navy’s only operational carriers (2) and their escorts ---the last best hope for victory---against the pride of the Japanese fleet. Strange as it is to say, the fortunes of the Pacific War appeared to rest on our shoulders. We all understood how the upcoming battle had the potential to become the defining naval engagement of the Pacific War…”“Dusty” Kleiss is a Naval Academy trained officer who finds himself young enough to become a dive bomber in the new Navy air corps and old enough to have served for several years on antiquated ships that had been “mothballed” after World War I. Kleiss is correct about how important the Battle of Midway was to the war. What is more important, I don’t believe that he was writing this simply out of hindsight. I am impressed with both the material Kleiss kept and his memory of designations of air groups, planes, equipment, etc. He also draws on correspondence with his “girl,” later his wife during those years.As far as I can tell, Kleiss was never a guy who enjoyed telling stories about his war experiences while others bought him a round of drinks. It was only after he became, in 2011, the last surviving dive bomber pilot in the Battle of Midway, that he was persuaded to put his experiences together in writing. This is one of the most personal accounts of the naval war in the Pacific that has been written. The book certainly emphasizes the World War II time of his naval career but it gives the reader plenty of his personal life from growing up in Kansas to his work in the Navy and private industry after the Korean War. I believe the narrative benefits from co-authors Timothy and Laura Orr’s attention to detail. The former is a professor of military history and the latter is deputy education director at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. With their help we learn many previously untold details about these battles and the brave souls that fought and shaped history.

This is an excellent book by a USN veteran detailing his life with the central focus on his experiences in WWII and his love for his wife of 50+ years. His honesty, integrity and devotion to the memory of friends lost in combat make this a compelling read. When you add the fact that he was asked to write this well into his 90's you realize what an amazing person he was and what a wonderful job his co-authors have done in bringing this story to print. In full disclosure - I know the co-authors (Tim and Laura Orr) and found myself thinking of their experience in getting to know CAPT Kleiss as I read this book. How fortunate they are to have been a part of his life - I am proud of their work on his behalf.

If you want a first-hand account of the Battle of Midway, read Never Call Me a Hero by “Dusty” Kleiss. Ride with this aviator on June 4, 1942, as he noses his Dauntless SBD-3 dive bomber down almost vertically from 19,000 feet, reaching over 275 mph. Racing downward through fierce enemy fire, he uses the Rising Sun emblem on the Japanese carrier’s flight deck to sight his bombs. At 1,000 feet, he jerks the bomb release lever and pulls back on the stick. Sea spray speckles his windshield . . . You can’t get any more first-hand!Kleiss opens with his childhood upbringing and background, leading to his assignments as a navy pilot. This background helps explain Kleiss’s influences, behaviors, and values.The book is written in incredible detail, using data taken from Kleiss’s original flight logs and other retained records. In addition to describing events, Kleiss expresses his thoughts and feelings, reflecting the values of the period and hinting how things may have changed.Kleiss’s detail reveals the extent of the Midway battle. While many accounts emphasize the quick demise of four Japanese carriers, the Midway battle persisted for three days, with the US also confronting Japanese battleships, destroyers, cruisers, and support ships.Kleiss’s detail brings to mind the combat risks of the time. Technology was limited. In the war’s early stages, the US needed to use what it already had. Some designs were obsolete or flawed -- things broke -- people made mistakes. And, good men were lost. Almost half from Kleiss’s squadron never came home. But still, they prevailed. Kleiss attributed this to the Dauntless SBD-3 aircraft, dedicated individuals, and superior training.Kleiss writes about Jean, the love of his life. He regretted not marrying her before he shipped out, but they kept in touch and she became his inspiration.Kleiss takes the reader through his naval career and his life until the book’s completion at age 99. Although reluctant to come forward, as the last surviving dive-bomber pilot to fight at Midway, he felt a responsibility to produce this account. Kleiss died the following year.

Outstanding look at military service during wartime, and the emotional challenges of balancing that Service and family life. “Dear reader, please be generous to me, but never call me a hero. During the Pacific War, I did my job and that’s it.” Norman Jack Kleiss, Introduction, Never Call Me A Hero, pg.xvii. That summarizes military service in a nutshell, we just did our duty. An outstanding book!

“Dusty” Kleiss said "never call me a hero" for his part in the Pacific War and while I understand his wish to shine the light of history on his fellow valiant friends - I do, in fact, recognize the "hero" in this simple man, who trained with thousands of others, to become champions for American freedom. In Dusty's case he learned how to hurl himself downward thousands of feet through the screaming wind, racing toward an enemy bent on taking his life. Flying a machine to the edge of its capabilities using gut feelings, instinct and skill honed by countless hours of practice, his intent was to deliver a crushing blow to the enemy - fire and destruction. These endeavors are not undertaken lightly. Whether done to protect family, friends and country or to live long enough to return to a “love” waiting at home, Kleiss exemplifies what Japanese Admiral Yamamoto understood about what America is and always will be: Yamamoto said "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve". Norman Jack “Dusty” Kleiss and all the other brave warriors, having served this country, are indeed our greatest heroes – simple men and women perhaps, but having become our awakened, resolute giants – delivered freedom to this greatest nation of all.

Before opening the book, I was afraid that I would be bogged down by the military details and the hardware terms, but this recounting of the Battle of Midway is told in such a way that even the battle challenged like myself can follow the action. This is a humbling story told through the voice of Dusty Kleiss, a dive bomber who helped sink 3 Japanese ships during the battle. Dusty is a hero, as well as every member of the Greatest Generation who served and helped save the world from annihilation.

An excellent first hand account of the Battle of Midway written by one of the key pilots of the battle. It was written with Kleiss was 100 years old.

I listened to the audio book which was just published in 2017 and it is amazing. I had no idea the book was so recent until I reached the end and the authors told of how they came to meet "Dusty" Kleis and write the book.This is an amazing, first-hand account, of The Battle of Midway, the turning point in the war in the Pacific and with Japan. If you like history, military history, or WWII history, or have read any other books or articles about The Battle of Midway or the War in the Pacific you will enjoy this book. Dusty is a humble member of the Greatest Generation. The book is filled with great, sometimes humorous stories of how Jack grew up and made his way to Annapolis to become a graduate of the Naval Academy and ultimately a dive bomber pilot. Given that most pilots missed the Japanese carriers and other ships it is amazing that Dusty was able to hit three carriers over two days which surely aided there trips to Davey Jones' Locker. The story about how Jack got his nick name is hilarious and I believe every reader/listener will enjoy it. I highly recommend this book and one of the best first hand accounts of WWII I have read.

“Never Call Me a Hero” by N. Jack Kleiss was a Goodreads Giveaway book I received…here is my take. While I did not like the title (seemed a bit too much like a humble brag), I did like the book very much. It is an exciting tale of an American dive bomber at the tide-turning Battle of Midway. Jack Kl

A must read for anyone interested in Midway or WW2.

Informative, nice to learn about interactions among pilots and between social groups in Navy. Also sorry of his relation with wife to be is interesting from today's point of view. Enjoyed reading.

Never Call Me a Hero by Jack “Dusty” Kleiss, the 100-year-old survivor of the Battle of Midway (he passed away in 2016), is a very matter-of-fact, non-dramatic account of his and other US naval aviators roles in the pivotal battle between the US and Imperial Japan naval forces in June 1942. Although there have been numerous accounts written on the battle in various military historical books, this first-person account, put down on paper over 60 years after the battle, provides a “you are there” account that is rarely, if ever, seen today.Jack Kleiss was a naval aviator when war broke out between the US and Imperial Japan. A graduate of the Naval Academy and the Naval Flight School, he was thrust into several early skirmishes between the two adversaries before the climactic battle at Midway.What I enjoyed most reading this engaging remembrance are the details of the attack by the US aviators on the Japanese carrier fleet and the shear bravery, determination and training that all came to bear in sinking the 4 Japanese carriers. His descriptions of dive bombing on the carriers are hair-raising, given the high risk of failure that could occur. Jack Kleiss reminds us that it was the approximately 60 US aviators who dealt the decisive blow to the Japanese Navy. What is the significance of this? In the first time in naval history, a major and decisive naval battle occurred where the adversarial ships were far away, out of sight and never directly engaged with each other. Jack Kleiss was one of those 60 aviators who made military history early June 1942.The full review can be found at: http://myshelf.com/history/14/neverca...

Never Call Me a Hero is about Jack "Dusty" Kleiss and his life with the Scouting Squadron Six in Pacific Campaign part of WWII. The book starts one during his childhood and explains what made him join the military. Being drawn to aviation he the carrier USS Enterprise and trains for a time with his friends. While training he has to decide is will marry his girl he is into or not. Once Pearl Harbor happens his whole world is thrown for a loop. Jack ends up fighting in the Marshall, Marcus Islands, Wake Atoll, and the biggest battle of the Pacific, The Battle of Midway. Jack's retelling of his heroism is filled with many close calls, the support he receives from his friends, and how hope can prevail in the darkest of times. Jack is very humble throughout the whole book and you can fell how he felt at certain times. He knew being in the military was a job and that is exactly what he did. He did his job not only for himself but for his country. Jack was the last of his squadron alive since the book was published he has passed. I am very glad and honored to read his account of the past and to see why they are still called today, "The Greatest Generation." Never Call Me a Hero is a great read and pulls at your heart strings. During the battles, you can not put it down for the fear of wondering what will happen to Jack. Please give it a read I promise you will like it. Reading it reminds me of why I love history.

This is the true story biography of Jack “Dusty” Klein’s, a WWII Navy aircraft carrier bomber pilot who was the biggest hero in the Battle of Midway in June 1942, but who also lead a very quaint and interesting life as a simple midwestern boy, with a passion for adventure, a true American hero, a sweet love affair and romance with his eventual bride, but a sensational depiction of the navy fliers role in turning the downhill slide of America’s fortunes in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor. Dusty Kleiss is common man, and would never seek notoriety (he’s one of those silent- greatest-generation types). he waited until his age-90’s to start this book, so he used expert wwII writers to take his own story ( from his letters home and his detailed diary, and all his war-buddy accounts) and it gets transformed into a very readable, highly factual, and very spellbinding tale. It’s a quick read - I finished in four nights. If you like WWII insight, if you like to read and out what makes hero’s tick, and if you like that feeling when you’ve just read about one of those really good people in life .... pick up this short bio.