4.5 Stars
For history buffs and WWII military fans, this work is an intriguing read, but may have been better split into two books: general Army Air Force group history during WWII and a biography on Ben Kuroki, an American armed services hero during a troubled and turbulent time, especially for Americans of Japanese descent. His story was unfamiliar to me, and it's definitely worth reading for the right audience (think of it as getting two books for the price of one).

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Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the copy of Most Honorable Son by Gregg Jones. I was surprised I had never heard of Ben Kuroki before, so this book interested me even though I don’t read much nonfiction. It was a tough beginning and it read more like a history of the military maneuvers but I’m glad I persevered through it because in the end we hear more about some of the men he served with. After he left the service, we finally learned more about Ben and his story, but not as much as I wanted or expected. I wish the author had talked to more people who knew him to get more insight into his personality. I loved learning about Ben Kuroki and he persevered in his quest to fight for his country. I hope this book will shine a light on his contributions. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

My curiosity was piqued by the description of Ben Kuroki as a forgotten hero of WWII as I had never come across his name before. After finishing this book, I can say that I know who he is on the surface and what he contributed, but there's not much substance beyond that. I got no sense of Kuroki as a sentient human being and descriptions of him felt oddly detached. This book also could have been far shorter. The first half is mostly composed of detailed descriptions of military events, equipment, tactic, and more. In fact, the first half of the book could be better described as general military history. The author often brought up events that didn't involve Kuroki directly and then didn't draw the connection to why this was important in understanding the supposed subject of the book. He would mention the physical appearance, town of origin, and demeanor of another person, only for them to have little to no bearing on Kuroki's story. While he did circle back to Kuroki, much of the first half of the book did not seem like a biography at all. Overall, the book seemed to approach Kuroki from a distance and never gave me the feeling of getting to know the man behind the deeds. It remained at surface level, and I'm not sure that this made Ben Kuroki any more memorable.