Utah Beach: The Amphibious Landing And Airborne Operations On D-Day, June 6, 1944 by Joseph Balkoski

Joseph Balkoski chronicles the events of the day almost minute by minute. "Utah Beach" reads like a great documentary. It is not a memoir. Readers who love first person hubris may find it lacking action.

Balkoski relies mainly on primary sources such as after action reports, unit journals, and citations to create his blow by blow narrative. Sprinkled throughout the battle account are the accounts of those in the battle. It is a must addition for any D-day library or World War II library.

A valuable resource in the book are the appendixes. They include "Allied Causalities on Utah Beach and in Cotentin Peninsula, June 6, 1944", "Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Cross Awards for Valor on Utah Beach and in Cotentin Peninsula, June 6, 1944", "First-Wave Units on Utah Beach","Initial Parachute and Glider Assault, Cotentin Peninsula, 12:20 - 4:15 A.M., June 6, 1944","Ninth Air Force, IX Troop Carrier Command, June 6, 1944", "Ninth Air Force, IX Bomber Command, Utah Beach Bombing Mission, 6:09 - 6:27 A.M., June 6, 1944", "U.S. Navy Force U Bambardment Group", "Captain Frank Lillyman's Pathfinder Stick, June 6, 1944", and "Uniform and Equipment of U.S. Army Paratroopers, 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, June 6, 1944". Read and reviewed by Jimmie A. Kepler.

Utah Beach: The Amphibious Landing And Airborne Operations On D-Day, June 6, 1944 by Joseph Balkoski

Joseph Balkoski chronicles the events of the day almost minute by minute. "Utah Beach" reads like a great documentary. It is not a memoir. Readers who love first person hubris may find it lacking action.

Balkoski relies mainly on primary sources such as after action reports, unit journals, and citations to create his blow by blow narrative. Sprinkled throughout the battle account are the accounts of those in the battle. It is a must addition for any D-day library or World War II library.

A valuable resource in the book are the appendixes. They include "Allied Causalities on Utah Beach and in Cotentin Peninsula, June 6, 1944", "Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Cross Awards for Valor on Utah Beach and in Cotentin Peninsula, June 6, 1944", "First-Wave Units on Utah Beach","Initial Parachute and Glider Assault, Cotentin Peninsula, 12:20 - 4:15 A.M., June 6, 1944","Ninth Air Force, IX Troop Carrier Command, June 6, 1944", "Ninth Air Force, IX Bomber Command, Utah Beach Bombing Mission, 6:09 - 6:27 A.M., June 6, 1944", "U.S. Navy Force U Bambardment Group", "Captain Frank Lillyman's Pathfinder Stick, June 6, 1944", and "Uniform and Equipment of U.S. Army Paratroopers, 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, June 6, 1944". Read and reviewed by Jimmie A. Kepler.

Embedded: A Marine Corps Adviser Inside the Iraqi Army

Have you wondered what it would be like to be in Iraq working with the Iraqi Army? Have you thought what it would like to get to know, work with the people in Iraq, and live with them? United States Marine Corps First Lieutenant Wesley Gray paints an insightful and sobering picture that answers these questions.

In 2006, 1st Lt. Wesley Gray was deployed as an U.S. Marine Corps military adviser to an Iraqi Army battalion in the Haditha Triad. For 210 days, he lived and fought beside Iraqi soldiers in the most dangerous and ruthless province of western Iraq. The province of Al-Anbar was filled with an insurgent population upset by a recent massacre of twenty-four men, women, and children shot at close range by U.S. Marines. They had been shot in retaliation for the death of one of their comrades in a roadside bombing.

In spite of the high tensions created by the shootings, Gray was able to form a bond with the Iraqis because he had an edge that very few U.S. service members possess - the ability to communicate in Iraqi Arabic. His language skills and his understanding of the culture led the Iraqi soldiers to call him a brother and fondly name him Jamal.

Gray draws on the brutally honest and detailed record he kept during his tour, including extensive interviews with Iraqi soldiers and citizens. He offers an all-inclusive portrait of the struggles of the Iraqi people to make their country a nation once again and includes a compelling report on the status and prospects of the U.S. government's strategy for success in Iraq.

1st Lt. Gray’s stories range from hilarious to tear inducing. I have two favorites. First, the story about getting information on who plants improvised explosive devices (IED) is chilling. Here the Iraqis tell Gray we are going about getting information in the wrong way. We should give them 24 hours to tell us who planted the IED. He is told we should demolish a house if we fail to get info. If that doesn’t work we should then demolish a block of houses. Then we will have the information. Second is the story of Major Gaines using the bathroom outdoors with a “toilet kit” at night and his getting upset as the spotlights are turned on him.

Gray also outlines Iraqi history, attitudes about leadership, and the outlook for the future of a unified State in the absence of American troops. Most of his forecast is grim.

The book is a good read and would be a valuable addition to all community libraries. It gives a realistic insight into what the USA is still confronting. The book gives answers about Iraqi culture, military culture, and is filled with a war stories and some exciting activity.

Embedded: A Marine Corps Adviser Inside the Iraqi Army

Have you wondered what it would be like to be in Iraq working with the Iraqi Army? Have you thought what it would like to get to know, work with the people in Iraq, and live with them? United States Marine Corps First Lieutenant Wesley Gray paints an insightful and sobering picture that answers these questions.

In 2006, 1st Lt. Wesley Gray was deployed as an U.S. Marine Corps military adviser to an Iraqi Army battalion in the Haditha Triad. For 210 days, he lived and fought beside Iraqi soldiers in the most dangerous and ruthless province of western Iraq. The province of Al-Anbar was filled with an insurgent population upset by a recent massacre of twenty-four men, women, and children shot at close range by U.S. Marines. They had been shot in retaliation for the death of one of their comrades in a roadside bombing.

In spite of the high tensions created by the shootings, Gray was able to form a bond with the Iraqis because he had an edge that very few U.S. service members possess - the ability to communicate in Iraqi Arabic. His language skills and his understanding of the culture led the Iraqi soldiers to call him a brother and fondly name him Jamal.

Gray draws on the brutally honest and detailed record he kept during his tour, including extensive interviews with Iraqi soldiers and citizens. He offers an all-inclusive portrait of the struggles of the Iraqi people to make their country a nation once again and includes a compelling report on the status and prospects of the U.S. government's strategy for success in Iraq.

1st Lt. Gray’s stories range from hilarious to tear inducing. I have two favorites. First, the story about getting information on who plants improvised explosive devices (IED) is chilling. Here the Iraqis tell Gray we are going about getting information in the wrong way. We should give them 24 hours to tell us who planted the IED. He is told we should demolish a house if we fail to get info. If that doesn’t work we should then demolish a block of houses. Then we will have the information. Second is the story of Major Gaines using the bathroom outdoors with a “toilet kit” at night and his getting upset as the spotlights are turned on him.

Gray also outlines Iraqi history, attitudes about leadership, and the outlook for the future of a unified State in the absence of American troops. Most of his forecast is grim.

The book is a good read and would be a valuable addition to all community libraries. It gives a realistic insight into what the USA is still confronting. The book gives answers about Iraqi culture, military culture, and is filled with a war stories and some exciting activity.

Beyond The Beachhead: The 29th Infantry Division in Normandy by Joseph Balkoski

In Beyond The Beachhead: The 29th Infantry Division in Normandy, Joseph Balkoski tells the story of the 29th Infantry, a National Guard Division. As Mr. Balkoski shares the story of the “Blue and Gray Division” we start with them in their training camps in Maryland and Virginia. We travel with them across the Atlantic Ocean for their deployment to England. We go with them during their training in England. We feel their loss on bloody Omaha Beach. We experience the stupidity of the continual frontal assaults and prodding of their divisional commander in their efforts to get to the city of St. Lo. We share in the triumphant entry into St. Lo.

We meet and see some interesting personalities along the way. People like General Gehrhardt, General Cota, Major Tom Howie, Glover Johns and Charles Cawthon. We share with them as they endure the training, D-Day and the hedgerow slaughter.

Mr. Balkoski doesn't just go over old facts and statistics. He gives a graphic description of the initial assaults onto the Omaha landing zone. It is sobering, entire land craft wiped out, whole companies annihilated.

He does a very interesting compare and contrast of the 29th to its German counterpart, the 352nd Infanterie Division. He shows German methods and compares the weapons used by both sides. He explains why the fighting in Normandy was an attacker's nightmare and a defender's dream. The maps and photos included are good and provide help in understanding both the terrain and the troop movements.

Joseph Balkoski also has woven a story within the story. It is also the story of the prejudice of the regular army toward the National Guard. We see Guard officers passed over for higher rank. We see a refusal to elevate Guardsmen to higher command when company and battalion commanders are killed or wounded, and the attitude of the division's regular army commander.

There is still another story told if one reads between the lines. We see American military leadership at the Divisional level willing to permit heavy casualties without any appreciable gains. General Gerhardt is often quoted angrily screaming "Let's keep pushing", "We're going to get to that objective or else", "Keep pushing them", "The best defense I know of is to attack", and "Expend the whole battalion if necessary, but it's got to get there" even after units take as high as 60% casualties. He points out that the 29th Infantry Division spent 8 weeks in Normandy, and took in 15,000 replacements to maintain the fighting strength of the 14,000 soldier Division. With so many replacements being required the book contains an excellent explanation of the American replacement system.

After reading this book, one is left with a deep respect for the young Americans in the rifle squads who went forward each day, killing and being killed, knowing their chances of survival were low. That the American army performed as well as it did in WWII is a tribute to the courage and tenacity of the guys at the "sharp end of the stick."

Beyond The Beachhead: The 29th Infantry Division in Normandy by Joseph Balkoski

In Beyond The Beachhead: The 29th Infantry Division in Normandy, Joseph Balkoski tells the story of the 29th Infantry, a National Guard Division. As Mr. Balkoski shares the story of the “Blue and Gray Division” we start with them in their training camps in Maryland and Virginia. We travel with them across the Atlantic Ocean for their deployment to England. We go with them during their training in England. We feel their loss on bloody Omaha Beach. We experience the stupidity of the continual frontal assaults and prodding of their divisional commander in their efforts to get to the city of St. Lo. We share in the triumphant entry into St. Lo.

We meet and see some interesting personalities along the way. People like General Gehrhardt, General Cota, Major Tom Howie, Glover Johns and Charles Cawthon. We share with them as they endure the training, D-Day and the hedgerow slaughter.

Mr. Balkoski doesn't just go over old facts and statistics. He gives a graphic description of the initial assaults onto the Omaha landing zone. It is sobering, entire land craft wiped out, whole companies annihilated.

He does a very interesting compare and contrast of the 29th to its German counterpart, the 352nd Infanterie Division. He shows German methods and compares the weapons used by both sides. He explains why the fighting in Normandy was an attacker's nightmare and a defender's dream. The maps and photos included are good and provide help in understanding both the terrain and the troop movements.

Joseph Balkoski also has woven a story within the story. It is also the story of the prejudice of the regular army toward the National Guard. We see Guard officers passed over for higher rank. We see a refusal to elevate Guardsmen to higher command when company and battalion commanders are killed or wounded, and the attitude of the division's regular army commander.

There is still another story told if one reads between the lines. We see American military leadership at the Divisional level willing to permit heavy casualties without any appreciable gains. General Gerhardt is often quoted angrily screaming "Let's keep pushing", "We're going to get to that objective or else", "Keep pushing them", "The best defense I know of is to attack", and "Expend the whole battalion if necessary, but it's got to get there" even after units take as high as 60% casualties. He points out that the 29th Infantry Division spent 8 weeks in Normandy, and took in 15,000 replacements to maintain the fighting strength of the 14,000 soldier Division. With so many replacements being required the book contains an excellent explanation of the American replacement system.

After reading this book, one is left with a deep respect for the young Americans in the rifle squads who went forward each day, killing and being killed, knowing their chances of survival were low. That the American army performed as well as it did in WWII is a tribute to the courage and tenacity of the guys at the "sharp end of the stick."

In the Hands of Providence: Joshua L. Chamberlain and the American Civil War by Alice Rains Trulock

“In the Hands of Providence: Joshua L. Chamberlain and the American Civil War” is a masterful biography of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. Chamberlain was one of the great Americans of the nineteenth century. He was one of the most heroic and hardest fighting U.S. Army officers of all time.

The author, the late Alice Rains Trulock, presents a well researched, thoroughly documented, and in depth portrait of this intelligent and courageous man. She traces Chamberlain's early life and career. She begins looking at him as a student, and later as Professor of Rhetoric at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Chamberlain's military career is covered in detail. We see his rise from command of the 20th Maine to general officer rank in the Union army. We learn of his outstanding leadership and valor during some of the fiercest and bloodiest battles of the Civil War, including Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and Petersburg. His experience at Five Forks, Virginia is chronicled with some of Trulock's liveliest and most exciting prose.

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain is best known for his actions as Colonel of the 20th Maine Volunteers at the Battle of Gettysburg. Here Trulock describes in detail the events of July 2, 1863. On that date he led his 380-man regiment in its successful defense of Little Round Top. This is arguably the most critical engagement in the most critical battle of the war. His leadership and actions saved the Union army from a crushing defeat, and ensuring his own place in the pantheon of American military heroes.

Trulock also details Chamberlain's post-Civil War career as Governor of Maine (1867-1871), President of Bowdoin College (1871-1883), and as a semi-successful businessman.

The book gives well researched and beautifully written descriptions of Chamberlain's military, political and business accomplishments. "In the Hands of Providence" also gives the reader a balanced and objective look at Chamberlain's personal life. Particularly enjoyable and enlightening are the descriptions of his relationships with his wife Fannie, his daughter Grace and son Harold Wyllys (yes, the spelling is correct – it is pronounced like Willis), and his brother Tom. The author does a brilliant job of allowing the reader to get to know Chamberlain the patriot, scholar, college professor and president, military hero, and Governor of Maine as well as the warm hearted and loving family man.

Published in 1992 by the University of North Carolina Press, “In the Hands of Providence: Joshua L. Chamberlain and the American Civil War” is the best modern biography of one of the most extraordinary and gifted Americans of the nineteenth century. I highly recommended these 592 pages of information and entertainment. Reviewed by Jimmie A. Kepler