A Hero for All Time

Affluent lifestyle-influential family-prestigious education-Math English had none of these. Yet he was envied by those who did. How could English, orphaned as a child, raised in post-Civil War Georgia with only an eighth grade education, an army recruit at 21 working his way up through the ranks, inspire the famous George S. Patton Jr.? What led Patton to memorialize English in poetry, calling him "the noblest of the slain"? A Hero for All Time is the story of a young enlisted soldier serving for 16 years with the Coast Artillery Corps primarily in the frontier region of the Pacific Northwest. When America entered World War One, he was given a commission and sent to France where he volunteered to join the newly-created Tank Corps under the leadership of then-Colonel George Patton. During the Meuse-Argonne Campaign in the fall of 1918, Math L. English earned not one but two Distinguished Service Crosses for valor. Readers will experience early 20th century life with Sergeant English and his family on picturesque Whidbey Island, protecting the entrance to Puget Sound at Fort Casey, Washington. Then they follow Lieutenant English to northeastern France where the first tank battalions altered the tactics of warfare forever. Detailed accounts of American engagements in World War One follow the progress of Captain English during the Battle at the St. Mihiel Salient and his battlefield experience side by side with Patton during the Meuse-Argonne Forest campaign. Patton, injured that day on the battlefield, wrote his poem honoring Captain English while recuperating in a field hospital behind the lines and apparently shared it with his commanding officer. General Samuel D. Rockenbach released it to the Associated Press 27 years later at the death of Patton in Occupied Germany, 1945, claiming this was how Patton hoped one day to die. Released as the centennial year of America's entry into World War One approaches, A Hero for All Time illustrates the dedication of American soldiers throughout our nation's history.
About the Author: Anita Burdette-Dragoo is retired following a twenty-year career with the Department of Defense, teaching military dependent children on U.S. bases overseas. While assigned to Germany, she spent several hours in the same ER at Heidelberg Army Hospital, according to a bronze plaque on the Emergency Room wall, where Patton was treated following the accident that resulted in his death. Members of Burdette-Dragoo's family have served in every war of the 20th century including the Cold War, a total of 20 veterans in the Army, Navy, Marines, or Air Force, from the great-uncle who wrote poetry in France during World War I, as did Patton, until he died in a hospital in Nevers after being gassed on the battlefield to the cousin who entered Iraq with the tanks during Desert Storm. Today she lives with her husband, a retired submariner and Seabee, near Fort Casey where Math English once served on Whidbey Island, Washington. She has also published Not in Kansas Anymore: A Teaching Career that Spanned the Globe which contrasts an American's experiences with foreign cultures, military experiences with civilian, and the educational experience of military dependents with that of students who spend 12 years in the same school district.