Death Before Dishonor: Memoirs of a WWII Ambulance Driver

When Ken Brennan was classified 4-F “the registrant is not acceptable for military service” due to a childhood leg injury, he joined the American Field Service, a group of volunteers who drove Red Cross ambulances for the British Army during World War II. Told through vivid diaries and letters Ken wrote from 1942 until 1945, he chronicles how he battled dysentery, dodged mine fields, sought safety from German bombing raids, and negotiated Italy’s snowy Apennine Mountain passes to carry wounded soldiers from field hospital tents. Ken’s unique first-hand account of an important part of WWII history reminds us of how selfless service and untold sacrifices were made by those men who performed the crucial role of rescuing soldiers and bringing them to safety during the war.