The Men of Company K

The number of books about the U.S. involvement in World War II is so large as to almost defy one to count them, let alone read more than a small fraction. They fall into several categories. Among those are are broad-scope third-person historical accounts, many written by professional historians, some of whom were recruited by the Army and Navy specifically to chronicle the war; some are first person autobiographical accounts by senior officers, such as General Eisenhower's "Crusade in Europe;" some are sweeping accounts by key civilian leaders, such as the set of volumes by Churchill which, sadly, is getting hard to find now (It is too bad that FDR died before getting to write a book, although several biographers have written terrific accounts of his leadership during the war, and his relationships and interaction with Churchill and Stalin.); some are biographical; others are in-depth studies of specific events, such as the many books written about the Battle of Midway, the Normandy Invasion, and the Battle of the Bulge; there are third-person works chronicling the combat experience of ordinary soldiers, which are based on many interviews (Obviously Steven Ambrose was a major figure in writing these, even if his originality was questioned at least once. The late Walter Lord was another.); and finally there are first-person accounts by men with extensive combat combat experience, and some women who were "there" but not combatants. The well-written books of each type all have value for those who enjoy history, and those who see read as studies of human nature, and performance under great stress. As a history hobbyist and a college history major many years ago, I have read a good sampling of the books in each category, from the Battle of Agincourt to the First Gulf War. This is one of the best of the first person combat soldier accounts. As junior officers in one company, the authors saw extensive combat and lost many comrades, as their company suffered a terrible number of casualties. Company K reached Europe five months after the Normandy Invasion, and was rushed into combat. Its experiences, including the Battle of the Bulge and fighting across Germany, appear to have been representative of those of units experienced some of the toughest combat in Europe in 1944-45. One factor which sets this book apart from many of the same type is the quality of the writing. No matter how interesting the subject matter, poor writing in a book can be a continuing distraction. Whether it was the original manuscript, good editing, or both, this book is very well written. Regrettably, this book (first published over twenty years ago) is out of print, but used copies of the trade paperback version are available. Those interested in reading it this book should acquire a copy before they disappear. The number of people who survived combat in World War II and are still living is no longer large, and decreases daily. Most are now in their late eighties

My father was a member of Co K. Unfortunately, the writers could find him at the time the book was published because he passed away in 1970. For anyone who no longer has their loved one with them (from Co K), this is a great book to discover what they experienced as a Rifleman in the Army. I had only my father's discharge papers to tell me what he did and his job was listed as simply "Rifleman". Since the records from this time period are lost (in a fire, I believe) there are only personal accounts of what happened. Thank you to the authors for bringing my father's experiences to life. Dedicated to Ernest W. Bowers.

It is almost tragic that this excellent, personal, detailed and brutally honest, heroic and even quietly poetic memoir has fallen out of print. This, perhaps one of the finest histories ever written about WWII, tells the story of the front line soldier from the first person.Long before Saving Private Ryan inspired Tom Brokaw and the rest to capitalize on the rightfully named "Greatest Generation", Cambell and Leinbaugh's book captured the harrowing narrative of combat that so many men of that era are sadly taking to the grave with them. This book personlizes the story in a voice that appears to have been culled from a combat veteran reunion. The Men of Company K willingly recountsthe horror of battle as a permanent record. A warning really as to what freedom ultimately costs. May we be damned should we ever forget.As a historical document, it boils in as much action and tension as any Clancy novel.Ambrose frequently has used The Men of Company K as a carefully cited reference in his longer works. This alone may be a testament to its greatest. Please search this fine work out.

I can not begin to express to you how much this book means to me. My grandfather was Clarence Jarvis. He was one of the men in Company K. We really never knew anything about his death. He died when my father was only an infant. To the writers of this book I say Thank You !! The personnal touches brought my grandfather into our lives some 50 years later. I only wish more history books were written this way.

This is a moving account of the combat experience of one rifle company as told by the commanders. What makes this book so special is all the personal recollections that are compiled. The men of company K get their first battle after D Day in Holland. They continue east through the battle of the bulge, the crossing of the Rhine, and occupation duty in the conquered Germany. The little personal touches are on every page. One man defines REMFS as "any sob behind my foxhole." A future mathematics professor uses geometry and a map to plot a German rocket launching site. The description of their Christmas Eve 1944 battle in the bulge, and how a Belgium village renamed their main street to honor this battle brings goosebumps to my arms as I recall it. One man blinded in this battle by tank gun fire was happy to know that his dreadful wound was his Christmas gift of survival and evacuation to the rear. Others recall the blinded soldier crawling over them to the rear without a guide and wishing them all "Merry Christmas" as he groped his way to the medics miles behind the battle. It was a battle in which company K fixed and held a numerically superior armored force with only rifles and grenades. In one captured German city with still working phones, a German speaking GI got a call through to German Army HQ in Berlin to tell them to "expect company K in about two weeks." This book is full of personal accounts of horror and humor, terror and triumph. This book evokes visualization by the reader like no other account of infantry combat in Europe. I only wish that the publisher would put it back in print! It should be required reading for high school U.S. History classes. Not because it is a historical text, but rather for the personal context it gives to such a critical point in history.