'44 Foxholes in France is a factual day-to-day account of the author's personal experiences in 1944 as a WW-II infantryman in the American Third Army. Starting as a draftee private, he debarked at Utah Beach, was promoted several times in combat, finally to platoon sergeant before being wounded in the battle for Metz. Much of the story has to do with the need to face the realities of ground combat, the differing abilities of the men, and the challenges of leadership in extreme situations. Though not a "hawk" or a "professional veteran," the author found that in certain difficult situations, stepping up to responsibility is the only acceptable option. The book contains 12 maps, 8 of which show details of individual engagements. S-3 Operations Reports typed during combat are included as an appendix. Also: extensive chapter notes, photos of weapons, a glossary of GI and foreign terms, pencil sketches, poetic impressions, an index, and web-links to related material. 386 pages. Errata: Map 1 - Juno Beach was Canadian; Sword was British.
About the Author: In 1943 while attending Oberlin College, the author was drafted and assigned to the Infantry. In April 1944, after 13 weeks of basic training at Ft. McClellan, Alabama he shipped out to England, then crossed the English Channel to Normandy with a group of replacements for casualties in the first days of the invasion. He fought in a rifle company in the 90th Division, Third Army, until he was wounded near Metz, France. While recuperating in the States, the atomic bombs ended the war. After earning a BA in Psychology and an MS in Broadcast Media, both on the GI BIll, he became a TV writer/producer and in 1952 shared a Peabody Award for The Johns Hopkins Science Review, the first science series shown on American network TV. He later was production manager and art director at a Rochester, NY TV station, then administrator for the Rochester City Schools' televised instruction department. He also wrote a regular science and nature column for Rochester's City Newspaper, and book reviews for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. He recently has written the book and lyrics for a Broadway style musical featuring computers and virtual reality, and is working on the four remaining books in An Almost Perfect War, the series title for '44 Foxholes in France.