A Doughboy with the Fighting 69th: A Remembrance of World War I

I enjoyed this account of Al Ettinger's travels with the 69th infantry during WWI. It's interesting to find that he held so much detail in his mind so many years after the events, and after many years of not talking about it- finally opens up and recounts everything in such great specificity. I also appreciated that the accounts were checked out by his son in such detail to verify specifics before publishing- after all, no one's memory is perfect. The book is interleaved with historical maps and summaries of allied strategy, giving the reader a yardstick as to where the events fit in history. I really got a good feel for the deep sense of camaraderie that Ettinger developed with the people there in the ranks, and his heroes, especially concerning Father Patrick Duffy, a guy anyone would want to know in whatever place in history that he or she was born in. The only shortcoming of the book (and it is slight) is that it leaves out the outcome of Lt. Quirt (a pseudonym) in the epilogue. Great reading.

Private Ettinger, in his brief military career, managed to experience the battle of the Argonne Forest, survive four close shell bursts, a personal strafing by a German pilot, and some spectacular crashes on his dispatch-rider motorcycle, to provide us with one of the most engaging memoirs of the American Expiditionary Forces. His very readable and entertaining reminiscences, augmented by some first-rate research by his son, are enhanced by rare photos, interesting appendices, and details of organization of a unit with some of the most colorful characters in American military history, such as "Wild Bill" Donovan, Father Duffy, Joyce Kilmer, and Douglas Macarthur (who personally delivered the author from incarceration). Ettinger's story is highly recommended as a vivid window into the world of the doughboy, and a fine unit history as well. (The "score" rating is an unfortunately ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)

"It is enthralling and difficult to put down before completion." --Military Images "A vivid portrait if a colorful outfit, DOUGHBOY places its emphasis on the human factor ... an invaluable and entertaining firsthand portrait of leadership, loyalty and morale -- the soul of any U.S. Army regiment." --Military History Magazine "This well organized book becomes one of those rare war memoirs that has been back-checked for facts, that has such meticulous evidence of accuracy, it transcends the normal colorful remembrance to become a true work of history." --Gannett News Service "Don't let 'A Doughboy With the Fighting 69th' escape you. It is destined to be a classic." --Irish Edition, Phila. "An eye- witness account of World War I doughboy experience from a less than model soldier...a lively, personal account of both courage and realistic Army life." --The Bookwatch "Although I have read many autobiographical accounts of famous generals and their bloody campaigns, few have touched me with the same effect as this story of one of America's true doughboy heros." --Ronnie Shimron, Curator, Jewish War Veterans

"It is enthralling and difficult to put down before completion. Afterward it is to be savored." --Military Images/ "A vivid portrait of a colorful outfit...an invaluable and entertaining firsthand portrait of leadership, loyalty and morale ... --Military History/ "This well organized book becomes one of those rare war memoirs that has been back-checked for facts, that has such meticulous evidence of accuracy, it transcends the normal colorful remembrance to become a true work of history." --Gannett News Service (John Hanchette)/ "Don't let [Doughboy] escape you. It is destined to be a classic." --Irish Edition (Philadelphia)/ "... a lively, personal account of both courage and and realistic Army life." --The Bookwatch