Book excerpt: LIFE brings you the illustrated history of the U.S. Military with a stirring introduction by the heroic war veteran Senator Bob Dole. Here is the story of the American Military in pictures, from George Washington's Continental Army to the ground troops in Afghanistan, from John Paul Jones and the Bonhomme Richard to the deck of the USS Eisenhower stationed in the Gulf. The action photography is here -+ Robert Capa's famous images from the Normandy beaches, June 6, 1944 -+ and some surprises as well (Alfred Eisenstaedt's marvelous photo essay on West Point from LIFE's second-ever issue, re-run here on the occasion of the Academy's 200th birthday). The histories of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines are detailed, and the heroes are profiled. The spirit is stirred in this LIFE book.