War is murder in self-defense, the harsh lesson that James Jedidiah "Jed" Martin learns as he is reluctantly drafted into the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in World War One. He and his best friend, Mike O'Kean, a semi-pro boxer, gambler, and adventure seeker, depart to basic training and service in the American Army in France in 1918. Jed must carry on as his harsh, authoritarian uncle, who has raised the orphan Jed, is replaced by the alcoholic, degenerate section sergeant, Leo Brock, who challenges Jed's courage. Eventually, there must be a show down between Jed and Brock. The travails of war leave Jed an empty vessel he tries to fill with alcohol. In all of that, there is a family secret that Jed suspects and seeks to uncover.
Advance praise for The Last Man To Die.
The Last Man to Die is a riveting novel that could only be written by a veteran. It's a trip through a world both familiar and unfamiliar, with richly drawn characters, and a story that would be familiar to warriors throughout the ages. Bob Colvin is a real talent, and I am looking forward to more from his pen.
-Kurt Schlichter, Colonel US Army (ret.) Author of the People's Republic novel series.
"Bob Colvin has written a very authentic-feeling story of a young rural American who becomes a soldier amidst the horrors of the Western Front in late 1918. Compelling period details and colourful characters bring this tale of endurance, courage, and sacrifice to life."
-Darrell Duthie, author of the Malcolm MacPhail WW1 novels, including My Hundred Days of War, an Open Letters Review Best Book of 2018
A gripping novel of the American combat experience in World War I. Colvin has mastered the details of combat-the fear, the smells, the effects of shells and bullets on minds and bodies. He gets inside the psyches of his characters to excellent effect as he follows their lives and their conflicts both military and personal. The book is a convincing account of how ordinary men experience war. I highly recommend it.
-Gene Fax, author of With Their Bare Hands: General Pershing, the 79th Division, and the Battle for Montfaucon, winner of a U.S. Military History Group 2017 Memorial Book Award.
Bob is a retired, decorated, United States Air Force officer, aviator, veteran of Operations Just Cause and Desert Storm, and is a graduate of the United States Air Force Air Command and Staff College, The Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and The Air War College. He is a legacy member of the 37th Division Veterans Association.
He lives in Mesa, Arizona.
