A Walk in the Sun

Without a doubt the most realistic novel to come from war, any war. If you ever served in combat then you will recognize each and every one of Brown's characters. The uninitiated may find that death and danger is taken very matter of factly, however this IS the reality of men constantly in harms way. It's a short book, takes place only over a few hours, but it is tense and true to the common foot soldier. Brown writes as though he's sitting in your den telling you how it was. This is great stuff.

This short WWII combat novel is very simple in concept -- a story of an Army combat company which hits the beach in Italy (a small part of a much larger landing force) and is tasked with occupying a farm house and destroying a bridge some six miles away. The atmosphere of the book, written around 1950, has that fiftys-ish naivete', but otherwise rings unusally true as a story of men in the military and men in combat. Not much glory -- just boredom, confusion, reflection, fear, and fearlessness. Some of them are killed, a few get "lucky" wounds, a couple are forced into leadership. There are loose acquaintances and close friendships. Great insights on indivdidual soldier's thoughts in various situations. Even how one goes about dealing with a "suicide mission". Thoughts concerning food, home, death, boredom, discomfort . . . all the things one had time to think about during a six mile walk in the hot sun (punctuated by being strafed and a taking out a German armored car). There was much humor, even a bit in the style of Catch-22. Very witty, but nothing that would really make one laugh out loud. This felt very real and there was a continual uneasy feeling of pending doom. In addition to the realistic banter among soldiers, and (as I mentioned) a peek into their thoughts, I was struck by the realistic "grayness" of the whole waging war process. Communication was tenuous at best and even the accuracy/legitimacy of the Company's combat objective was in question. So true. A bittersweet story, and a quick rewarding read. As usual . . . I don't give away endings so you'll have to read it yourself. A worthy use of the time.

The story begins in the middle. The landing barge was over a mile off shore when Lieutenant Rand was killed by a shell splinter. Sergeant Halverson is in command again. The book gives the men's words and thoughts. Their task is to destroy a bridge by a farm about six miles from the beach. They land and move to a spot 100 yards from the beach. The events of war were confused and incoherent. Nothing happened as expected. More supplies and troops came ashore and enemy planes arrived to drop bombs. Later three ME-110s strafed the beach and then the woods where the men were hiding. One dead, a few wounded. Sergeant Porter took command, divided the men into three squads, and began to move down the road towards the farmhouse (Chapter 4). A double-tailed Focke-Wulf came out of the sun and strafed them. One dead and one wounded. Two escaping Italian soldiers are found, but know little about the area. The book records the small talk of the soldiers, cleaned for publication. It describes the countryside as they walk to their destination. A scout on a motorcycle stops, then drives down the road to check on that farmhouse. They wait for his return. But a German armored car is heading in their direction. Sergeant Porter has a breakdown: combat fatigue. When the armored car returns they attack and destroy it (Chapter 8). They find the farmhouse occupied by the enemy. Some of the troops crawl alongside the wall until they reach the pontoon bridge and destroy it with grenades. The others arise from the long grass and charge the farmhouse. "It is so easy." The author describes a single day of combat, a small victory in a larger war. [It seems to be a part of what could have been a longer novel.]

This is one of, if not the best WWII book I have ever read. I loved the characterizations, the crisp dialog, and the gripping portrayal of the pschycological effects of combat. Having seen the movie a number of times made it easier to visualize the characters, but my wife loved this book too, and she hasn't seen the film and is not a fan of military novels.