What Are You Reading?

I took a short hiatus and read books on other subjects for a little while, but now I am back to WWII.

I just started


The 291st was those "Damned Engineers" that vexed Peiper successfully the third week of December, 1944.

 

Next on my list The Allies Strike Back by James Holland. Haven't started it, but having read other Holland books, I'm anxious to read it

 

I finished this a few weeks ago.


The GI Journal of Sergeant Giles, Henry Giles, Compiled and Edited by Janice Hold Giles, 1965 Houghton Mifflin Co, 383pp, with photos and appendices.

Gleaned from his personal journal and letter sent to home, this book documents the campaigns in NW Europe experienced by the 291st Engineer Combat Battalion, specifically A Company.
The 291st was "those damned engineers" that figured heavily in delaying and stopping Joachim Peiper. Giles was actually in a Repple Depple, trying to get back to the unit when Wacht am Rhein erupted, so he missed a good bit of the fighting in December. He spent that part of the book showing the huge inadequacies of the replacement system during the war. He was able to use first hand accounts from his comrades to tell the story of the defense of the Ambleve and other rivers,

Giles was evacuated with a badly infected ear in October and was released to return to his unit a week or two later. It was not until late December that he was able to get back to his unit, and this was only after he was able to locate the 291st and they sent someone to retrieve him.

This was good book, well edited. Worth the read and I wished I had been able to read it prior to visiting the north shoulder of the Bulge in 2014.

9/10 Highly recommend

 

I finished this last week:



Arn's War, Edward C. Arn, edited by Jerome Mushkat, 2006 The University of Akron Press, 225pp, photos, maps and endnotes.

Arn joined Fox Co, 119th IR 30 ID as a replacement in late June, 1944 as replacement platoon leader. He stayed with the company until the end of combat operations at Magdeburg. Due to attrition and good leadership qualities, he eventually became the company commander and later was promoted to captain. He was wounded just prior to the Roer River crossing in mid february and was hospitalized until late April.

The book is excerpts from his journal and letters sent home, plus his pre-war and post war memories, to include training. Arm was well into his 30s when he joined the Volunteer Officer Candidate (VOC) program. He could have stayed stateside, training new officers, due to his age, but he persisted in getting an overseas transfer.

The book is well written and engaging. I went through it quickly as I kept me interested. Like the above book by Henry Giles, I would have like to have read it before visiting Belgium in 2014, as closely described the area around Stavelot, Trois Pont, Werbermont, Malmedy, and Staumont. He also had lengthy descriptions of the fighting in Normandy and around Aachen.

10/10 Needs to be in your library.

 

Currently I am reading


by Sterling Mace

 

I read this one a while ago. I found it engaging and worthwhile. Since Mr. Mace was on this site, I was doubly interested in his reminicences. All in all, a good read and an interesting take on his training and role in the war.

 

I remember talking to him and he was a FB friend. I had bought the book and then neglected to read it. I guess I put in the bookshelf and forgot about it. :-/

 

I finished this a couple of nights ago:



Battleground Pacific, Sterling Mace and Nick Allen, 2012 St. Martin's Griffin, 330 pp with maps and photos.
I am still kicking myself, wondering how I bought this book a while back and then never read it. I was friends with him and talked to him on social media in years past as I was buying the book.

Anyway.

I enjoyed reading this autobiography by Sterling Mace and it held my interest well, keeping me looking forward to the next page.
Mace gives some insight into his pre-war life and talks a bit about training, time on Pavavu, etc, but most of the book is devoted to the fighting on Peleliu and to lesser degree, Okinawa. His memory must have been strong, as he could recall names well and location, but that could have been prompted somewhat by reading Morning Reports. Regardless, the book was a well-told tell of his experiences in combat in the Pacific.

My only complaints was with some of the writing style, as the author would jump around in time without alerting the reader. It wasn't a big issue and did not detract terribly from the book.

9/10 on par with Helmet For My Pillow and With The Old Breed.

I am currently reading:



@LRusso216 Lou, I think you might enjoy this one.

 

Thanks for the info, Jeff. Just ordered it.