Sign-In
Cart
Dear Captain, et al.: The Agonies and the Ecstasies of War and Memory; A Memoir from World War II
Hardcover
Biographies GeneralMilitary BiographiesWorld War II
ISBN13: 9780738818542
Publisher: Xlibris Us
Published: Nov 20 2000
Pages: 526
Weight: 1.94
Height: 1.47 Width: 6.06 Depth: 8.84
Language: English
Dear Captain, et al. tells the story of Company K, 335th Infantry, 84th Division during the last six months of combat in Europe during World War II and the author's struggle for survival. As a rifleman, messenger, and communications sergeant, he was one of a handful of men who made it from the Siegfried Line, through the Battle of Bulge, and across the Roer, Rhine, and Weser rivers to finish at the Elbe near Berlin without becoming a casualty.
Written from notes made just after hostilities ceased and melded with official military records, visits to battlefields and cemeteries, contemporary news stories, letters, and testimonials of company veterans, it is one of the most thorough accounts ever written about a combat unit. There are scores of interesting characters, eyewitness accounts of every battle, documentation of every casualty, and powerful descriptions of warfare. A poignant love story, woven through the story, adds a tender ecstasy. We read the author's love letters to and from a girl called Mary and share their anxieties amid circumstances that neither can control. Dear Captain, et al. is beautifully written with a passion that reminds of James Jones and the nostalgic longing of F. Scott Fitzgerald. While writing it the author was often brought to tears. Memory is a bitch, he notes.
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING . . .
The memoir is moving, filled with sadness, anger, humor, and joy . . . You do not hint at what is called the glory of battle, yet your account is full of human courage and determination. And love. VINCE RYAN, Army Security Agency.
This is a great effort . . . I bought the hardcover (will buy four or six more) and the ebook. All of my memories of (my father) were seeing him in the hospital. MIKE MATUSKA, son of Steve Matuska, severely wounded, Battle of the Bulge.
I can t say enough about how much I enjoyed your book, laughing and crying in parts, and to think you lived it makes everything you wrote much more interesting. MARILYN FLAHERTY, daughter of a Pacific, WW II veteran.
I feel privileged to have met Captain Carpenter, and Lt. Prewitt, and the others, too many to mention. I have never read a book before that brought tears to my eyes. The names (in the division roster) are now men. ANDY BRADLEY, North Yorkshire, UK.
It is a powerful story . . . easily the best book I have read about the infantry in World War II. I laughed when I heard you mimic (the Camp Claiborne first sergeant s) language, color, and accent . . . was touched by the fantasy of the young Railsplitters who rest in peace together at Margraten close enough that they could visit back and forth . . . perhaps it is not a fantasy. The book was deja vu all over again. ROY OGLE, Hq-333, 84th Division, Clemson University Professor.
Outstanding. Particularly impressed by incorporation of so much research detail without interfering with the flow of the narrative. Should be read by anyone who was touched in any way by World War II. TED JOHNSON, Public Relations Professional.
I was delighted to find that Dear Captain, et al. is not just a book about war. It is also a beautiful love story. KATHY GILES, Alexandria, Virginia. Wife of a former Naval Officer.
Dear Captain, et al. is a bit of a personal memoir, a company history and a war novel. For those of us removed from foxhole fighting it paints a detailed picture of what it was like to be a dogface hoping each day wouldn t be your last. JOHN LUCAS Evansville (Indiana) Courier and Press.
Powerful Stuff! Chris Sladen, Public History Group, Ruskin College, Oxford, UK.
Order online above or via toll-free telephone at 1-888-795-4274
1 different editions
Also available
Dear Captain, et al.: The Agonies and the Ecstasies of War and Memory, a Memoir from World War II
Howerton, Allan Wilford
Paperback
Also in
Military Biographies
One Man in: The Explosive Firsthand Account of the Lone Special-Ops Commando Who Fought Off a Major Terrorist Attack in Kenya
Craighead, Christian
Hardcover
The Phantom: The Untold Story of the American Marine the Nazis Could Not Kill
Clavin, Tom
Drury, Bob
Hardcover
Bird Men: The Rise of American Airpower and the Machine That Ended World War II
Baime, A. J.
Hardcover
Tidal Wave: The Pilots, the Princess, and the Enemy Ace - A True Story of Courage and Survival in WWII
Makos, Adam
Hardcover
Band on the Run: Xenophon and the First Great Mercenary Army's Epic Escape from Persia
O'Connell, Robert L.
Hardcover
Ortiz's War: The Allies' Secret Weapon Against the Nazis in France
Reynolds, Nicholas
Sanders, Katie
Hardcover
Never Call Me a Hero: A Legendary American Dive-Bomber Pilot Remembers the Battle of Midway
Orr, Laura
Kleiss, N. Jack Dusty
Orr, Timothy
Paperback
Not Our Problem: The True Story of an Afghan Refugee, an American Promise, and the World Between Them
Sullivan, Spencer
Sodais, Abdulhaq
Paperback
George Washington's One-Man Army: The Life, Legend, and Battles of Peter Francisco
Palmer, John T.
Hardcover
Own Your Resilience: An Army Leader and War Widow Shares Tools to Live with Courage and Joy
Sileo, Tom
Ballou, Jennifer
Hardcover
The Road to Unafraid: How the Army's Top Ranger Faced Fear and Found Courage Through
Struecker, Jeff
Paperback
Courage Under Fire: Testing Epictetus's Doctrines in a Laboratory of Human Behavior
Stockdale, James B.
Paperback
The Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu: The Commander of the Entebbe Rescue Force
Netanyahu, Jonathan
Paperback
Every Man a Hero: A Memoir of D-Day, the First Wave at Omaha Beach, and a World at War
Lambert, Ray
DeFelice, Jim
Paperback
The Lazy SEAL: How a slacker made it through the toughest military training on earth and how you can too!
Khol, Nathan
Paperback
Retribution: A Us Marine's Fight for Justice, from the Russian Gulag to Ukraine's Front Lines
DeFelice, Jim
Reed, Trevor
Hardcover
Touching the Dragon: And Other Techniques for Surviving Life's Wars
D'Andrea, Christian
Hatch, James
Paperback
The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein: My Six Months Inside the Mind of a Tyrant
Piro, George
Hardcover
Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant Volume 1/2: Large Print Edition (Large Print Edition)
Grant, Ulysses S.
Hardcover
American Spartan: The Promise, the Mission, and the Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim Gant
Tyson, Ann Scott
Paperback
Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars: The Story of the First American Woman to Command a Space Mission
Ward, Jonathan H.
Collins, Eileen M., USAF (Retired)
Hardcover
Brotherhood of the Brave: From Boots to Brass, the Soldiers Who Have Shaped the US Army
Kingseed, Cole C.
Paperback
Those Who Face Death: The Untold Story of Special Forces and the Iraqi Kurdish Resistance
Grdovic, Mark
Paperback
The War They Won: The Story of World War II, as told by Those Who Were There
K. Kistler, Lt Hobart
Hardcover
One is a Warrior: The Relentless Fight of an Army National Guard Sniper Team in Ramadi
Martinez, Harry R.
Hardcover
As the Pentagon Burned: Leadership and Human Excellence in the Face of the 9/11 Attack
Klimow, Ambassador (Ret) Matthew S.
Paperback
Raising Athena: A Mother and Daughter Attend West Point Thirty Years Apart
Shattan, Mylinh Brewster
Hardcover
The Last Hill: The Epic Story of a Ranger Battalion and the Battle That Defined WWII
Clavin, Tom
Drury, Bob
Paperback
Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown
Blehm, Eric
Paperback
Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America's Empire
Katz, Jonathan M.
Paperback
The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty, and War
Donohue, John Chick
Molloy, J. T.
Paperback
Pentagon 9-11: Scars You Can't See A Chief Master Sergeant's Reckoning with Truth, Trust, and Coming Home
Woody, Roger A.
Paperback
The Phantom: The Untold Story of the American Marine the Nazis Could Not Kill (Large Print Edition)
Drury, Bob
Clavin, Tom
Hardcover
No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden
Owen, Mark
Maurer, Kevin
Paperback
American Sniper: Memorial Edition (Large Print Edition)
DeFelice, Jim
Kyle, Chris
McEwen, Scott
Paperback
The Siege: A Six-Day Hostage Crisis and the Daring Special-Forces Operation That Shocked the World
MacIntyre, Ben
Paperback
Remember Us: American Sacrifice, Dutch Freedom, and a Forever Promise Forged in World War II
Edsel, Robert M.
Hardcover
Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant Volume 2/2: Large Print Edition (Large Print Edition)
Grant, Ulysses S.
Hardcover
Hunting the Jackal: A Special Forces and CIA Soldier's Fifty Years on the Frontlines of the War Against Terrorism
Keown, Tim
Waugh, Billy
Paperback
No Ordinary Dog: My Partner from the Seal Teams to the Bin Laden Raid
Chesney, Will
Layden, Joe
Paperback
American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
McEwen, Scott
DeFelice, Jim
Kyle, Chris
Paperback
Not Our Problem: The True Story of an Afghan Refugee, an American Promise, and the World Between Them
Sodais, Abdulhaq
Sullivan, Spencer
Hardcover
The Trident: The Forging and Reforging of a Navy Seal Leader (Large Print Edition)
Redman, Jason
Bruning, John
Paperback
The Naval Academy - A Parent's Ponderings from Home Port: Untying the Bowline on I-Day
Wade, Steve
Paperback
Proud to Serve: Leadership, Responsibility, and Command from 9/11 to Iraq
Walsh, Col Shawn P.
Hardcover
The Things They Cannot Say: Stories Soldiers Won't Tell You about What They've Seen, Done or Failed to Do in War
Sites, Kevin
Paperback
Alone at Dawn: Medal of Honor Recipient John Chapman and the Untold Story of the World's Deadliest Special Operations Force
Schilling, Dan
Longfritz, Lori
Paperback
Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution
Philbrick, Nathaniel
Paperback
The Fate of the Generals: Macarthur, Wainwright, and the Epic Battle for the Philippines
Horn, Jonathan
Paperback
Perfect Spy: The Incredible Double Life of Pham Xuan An, Time Magazine Reporter and Vietnamese Communist Agent
Berman, Larry
Paperback
The Drillmaster of Valley Forge: The Baron de Steuben and the Making of the American Army
Lockhart, Paul
Paperback
Forty Autumns: A Family's Story of Courage and Survival on Both Sides of the Berlin Wall
Willner, Nina
Paperback
The Wisdom of the Bullfrog: Leadership Made Simple (But Not Easy) (Large Print Edition)
McRaven, William H.
Hardcover
One is a Warrior: The Relentless Fight of an Army National Guard Sniper Team in Ramadi
Martinez, Harry R.
Paperback
The Flipside: How to Invert Your Perspective and Turn Fear Into Your Superpower
Curran, Michelle Mace
Hardcover
In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown
Philbrick, Nathaniel
Paperback
Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10
Luttrell, Marcus
Paperback
The Invisible Veteran: Rediscovering Purpose, Identity, and Connection After Service
Kidder, Kevin
Paperback
No Excuses: The Power of Hard Work and Discipline - A Journey to the U.S. Navy's Highest Enlisted Rank
Stevens, Mike
Hardcover
Rio River Rats: U.S.A.F. Pilot Training Class 71-06, The Men Who Ended the Vietnam War
McInnis, Kent
Paperback
Then All Hell Broke Loose: The Odyssey of a Marine Corps Photographer in Vietnam
Fisher, Dennis
Paperback
Wielding the Trident: Admiral Raymond A. Spruance and America's Victory in the Pacific
Blackley, Andrew K.
Hardcover
Proud to Serve: Leadership, Responsibility, and Command from 9/11 to Iraq
Walsh, Col Shawn P.
Paperback
Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper's Memoir of D-Day and the Fall of the Third Reich
Webster, David
Paperback
Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy: Ernest Hemingway's Secret Adventures, 1935-1961
Reynolds, Nicholas
Paperback