Merriam Press World War 2 Memoir SeriesThird Edition 2012
These are the experiences of a young enlisted man in the Army from 1936 through 1945. As a former military journalist, his writing style is quite descriptive. The first half of the book covers the time period from 1936 through early 1944.
As he describes his training, assignments and perceptions of various incidents, the reader sees how he was integrated into the military culture. A number of anecdotes illustrate what the unwritten rules were at the time and the basis for some of the rhetoric then in use, e.g. terms such as "dogface" and "wolf."
The second half of the book details his experiences as a prisoner of war after his B-24 Liberator was shot down over Germany. He was the plane's radio operator.
He was a POW in four different camps from March 1944 through January 1945: Stalag Luft 8, Stalag Luft 4, Stalag Luft 17 and the POW camp at Moosberg. The book vividly depicts life at each of these sites and the transport from one to another. It includes numerous small details from these experiences such as the number of slats in the beds at the POW camps, the brands of cigarettes smoked, the fact that the time was denoted nautically, and so on.
The book ends with the liberation by Patton's forces and the trip back to the United States.
In addition to documents and news clippings there are some black and white pictures taken with a smuggled miniature camera of camp life and the camp's liberation.
Contents
Dedication
Foreword
Chapter 1: Out of the Depression
Chapter 2: The Green Mountain Boys
Chapter 3: French .75s and Colt .45s
Chapter 4: Feeding the Hungry
Chapter 5: Backyard Soldiers
Chapter 6: Angel Island: Poison Welcome
Chapter 7: Problems in the Paradise of the Pacific
Chapter 8: The Word Has It That ...
Chapter 9: Impressive Army Maneuvers
Chapter 10: The Andrew Jackson
Chapter 11: The North Atlantic
Chapter 12: With the RAF
Chapter 13: Pine Tree;
Chapter 14: The Pall Descends
Chapter 15: Calling "Darkie"
Chapter 16: All Kinds of Bugs
Chapter 17: Heidekrug Vacation
Chapter 18: The Red Cross and the Grey Wolves
Chapter 19: Night Lights and Night Lice
Chapter 20: The Battle Four
Chapter 21: Free at Last
Photographs and Documents
55 B&W photos
5 news clippings
3 documents
