No Greater Love - The Story of Michael Crescenz Philadelphia's Only Medal of Honor Recipient of the Vietnam War

Kevin Ferris, John A. Siegfried

Summary

The story of Philadelphia's only Medal of Honor recipient from the Vietnam War told here for the first timeMichael Crescenz grew up in one of Philadelphia’s booming post-war Catholic neighborhoods, distinguishing himself early on as a leader, brother and friend who fearlessly rose to the defense of others in need. The second of six sons born to a World War II veteran, Michael was known for his big smile, athletic abilities, toughness and fierce competitive spirit. Growing up, Michael’s world revolved around his family, parish, local playgrounds, and the bustling Catholic schools he attended from first grade through high school graduation. All these influences shaped the man he would become – the one who felt a sense of duty to serve his country and enlisted in the U.S. Army to do his part during the Vietnam War. He was in Vietnam barely two months when his unit, the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry, was sent into battle against deeply entrenched enemy forces on Nui Chom Mountain, the fortress in the clouds tucked away in the far northwest corner of South Vietnam near the borders with North Vietnam and Laos. Commanders knew they were in for a fight, but didn’t know the enemy had more than 250 machine gun bunkers deployed along the mountain’s slopes. On November 20, 1968, Alpha Company was ambushed on the wet jungle mountainside, the NVA taking down the two men up front and pinning down the rest with relentless fire. Thinking first of the danger to those around him, Private First Class Michael J. Crescenz picked up an M60 machine gun and charged the enemy bunkers. He did not survive but his actions saved the lives of his fellow soldiers and allowed them to advance and ultimately prevail. For his valor and sacrifice, Michael was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. No Greater Love tells this story from the perspective of those who loved Michael Crescenz most, close friends, family, Michael’s commanding officer in Vietnam, retired Lieutenant General Sam Wetzel, and medic William “Doc” Stafford, the soldier closest to Michael when he was cut down by enemy fire and who believes to this day that he survived Nui Chom only because of the selfless actions of Private First Class Crescenz.

Available since: 09/30/2022.

Print length: 208 pages.

Other books that might interest you

Hearts Entwined - A Historical...

Melissa Jagears, Karen...

Four top historical romance novelists team up in this new collection to offer stories of love and romance with a twist of humor. In Karen Witemeyer's "The Love Knot," Claire Nevin gets the surprise of her life awaiting her sister's arrival by train. Mary Connealy's "The Tangled Ties That Bind" offers the story of two former best friends who are reunited while escaping a stampede. Regina Jennings offers "Bound and Determined," where a most unusual trip across barren Oklahoma plains is filled with adventure, romance, and . . . camels? And Melissa Jagears' "Tied and True" entertains with a tale of two hearts from different social classes who become entwined at a cotton thread factory.  
 
Each tale is a fun blend of history and romance that will delight readers.

Show book

Body Dump - Kendall Francois the...

Fred Rosen

The inside story of an upstate New York serial killer who abducted, raped, and murdered women and hid their bodies in his home.  In the late 1990s in Poughkeepsie, New York, prostitutes began to go missing off the streets of the old Hudson River town. Due to the women’s nomadic lifestyles, which many people condemned, few in the town noticed they were gone besides their families and Lieutenant Bill Siegrist, who suspected that a serial killer was behind the disappearances. Local prostitutes described a strange man lurking around, leading Siegrist to Kendall Francois, an overweight, slovenly middle school hall monitor nicknamed Stinky. Police brought in Francois for a lie detector test, which he passed, and they were forced to release him. Area women continued to disappear.   In a shocking twist of fate, Francois was finally arrested when a woman he had raped managed to escape from his house and ran into a roadblock set up by Siegrist. She led the police back to Francois’s home, and the hall monitor soon gave a full confession and cut a deal with the prosecution. By then, cops in Tyvek suits had already found eight bodies concealed in the attic and crawl space of Francois’s house of horrors. To this day, one victim is still missing. From the author of numerous true crime books, including Lobster Boy and Deacon of Death, this is the frightening story of a brutal murderer whose neighbors never suspected what was going on behind his front door.

Show book

The Man Who Kept The Red Flag...

Wayne Barton

“Telling them what Jimmy did... it’s the most important thing you can tell a young player who is representing Manchester United,” - Sir Alex Ferguson

This updated, family authorised biography of Manchester United hero Jimmy Murphy celebrates the career of the man who managed the club after the Munich air disaster and took charge of Wales at the 1958 World Cup.

Alongside Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson, nobody in the long history of Manchester United is as important as Jimmy Murphy.

As legendary Manchester United manager Busby lay in an oxygen tent in his hospital bed, recovering from the horror of the Munich plane crash, he clutched the friend of his close friend and faithful right-hand-man Murphy. Murphy stepped into Busby’s shoes and answered United’s call in their hour of need. More than that, he provided the spark which would see a phoenix spectacularly rise from the flames.

Murphy would be at Busby’s side as the club famously conquered England and Europe, driven by a new generation of Babes. Murphy would remain United’s assistant manager up to 1971, going on to become a club scout, unearthing and recruiting famous talents like Gordon Hill and Steve Coppell. In his other role as Wales’ football manager, he would mastermind his country’s appearance in the World Cup finals – taking Wales to the brink of the semi-finals in 1958.

The Man Who Kept The Red Flag Flying has been written in full cooperation with Murphy’s family, with unique insight from sons Nick and Jimmy Junior. It features contributions and comments from Sir Alex Ferguson, George Best, Tommy Docherty and Ron Atkinson, among many, and rare excerpts from the Daily Mirror and Manchester Evening News archives. This updated title will celebrate the 60th anniversary of Manchester United’s 1965 First Division title and the unveiling of a statue dedicated to Murphy at Old Trafford in 2023 in its honour.

Show book

Prisoner of the State

Lily Arthur

At sixteen years old, Lily Arthur was caught between the women’s liberation movement of the ‘swinging sixties and the draconian ideology that young women should be punished for deviating from society's 'moral codes'.

For the 'crime' of being pregnant, Lily was forcibly taken from the man she planned to marry and incarcerated in the notorious Holy Cross Home for ‘wayward’ girls in Wooloowin, Brisbane as a ‘prisoner’ of the state. Lily spent her entire pregnancy performing unpaid labour its infamous Magdalene Laundry.

On 1 September 1967, the terrified teenager was taken to the Royal Brisbane Hospital where she gave birth shackled to a bed, and her newborn son cruelly stolen from her – one of 250,000 babies forcibly seized from vulnerable unmarried mothers under the Government’s illegal forced adoption policies of the era.

After decades of heartache and an emotional reunion with her long-lost son, Lily remains on a crusade to expose the truth behind the crimes a country tried to hide and has taken the fight to the Human Rights Commission in Geneva, demanding justice for a generation of women who were victims of one of the worst human rights violations in contemporary Australian history.

‘Only a few mothers led the fight for justice, but an army of women stood behind them. Lily Arthur represents a mother who never gave up her child willingly and fought to make sure he and many other adopted children knows.’ KAREN WILSON-BUTERBAUGH, Director of Origins International and USA

‘Deeply personal and at times very raw insight. It is compelling, powerful, intense, no holes barred narrative. It clearly shows the lifelong impact of the illegal, cruel practices of forced adoption and a mother's fight for justice." SENATOR RACHAEL SIEWERT

‘A heart-breaking view of crimes against humanity. For almost three decades, Lily Arthur details the legalised kidnapping of babies from millions of women in Australia and elsewhere who were brainwashed to comply with society's punishment. Punishment for getting pregnant. The truth of the horrors of adoption laid bare." JOE SOLL LCSW, Psychotherapist, and author of Adoption Healing

Show book

9 Cosmic LawsThe - Awakening...

Maylin OFarrill

This book is a spiritual journey that will help you tap into your godpower. The intention of this novel is to inspire and transform the reader. This is a journey of the human experience that is charged with a wide range of emotions. You will identify with the adversities that the main character faces. Yet most importantly, you will walk with her as she grows during her life path. Here you will see these universal principles explained and experienced. The author will teach you how to use these principles to manifest your goals into reality.Divine OnenessDivine PerceptionDivine ClarityDivinely DeterminedDivine ConnectionDivine SalvationDivine FearlessnessDivine GuidanceDivine Discovery

Show book

Franklin Delano Roosevelt: His...

Liam Dale

The early years of World War II saw Nazi Germany dominate Europe, but by the end of 1941, as Adolf Hitler continued to build his Empire, events in the Pacific took on their own momentum as Imperial Japan and America became locked in battle after the bombing of the US Naval Fleet at Pearl Harbor. 
 
As the smoke and flames rose from Pearl, America and its President, Franklin D Roosevelt, could no longer remain on the sidelines of the war that had been waging in Europe for over two years, and on December 7th, 1941, the hostilities were transformed into a global conflict. This would mark the beginning of a new chapter in the Second World War where the Americans joined the fight for what Roosevelt had laid out as the Four Freedoms. 
 
The first was Freedom of Speech, the second, Freedom of Religion and Expression, the third Freedom from Want, and last but by no means least, the fourth was Freedom from Fear. The story of how the nation, which so treasured its neutrality and had gone to such great lengths to avoid fighting on foreign soil, joined the war, will follow in the footsteps of Roosevelt, the man responsible for the American Dream.

Show book