Fighting With the Filthy Thirteen: The World War II Story of Jack Womer - Ranger and Paratrooper by Jack Womer and Stephen C. Devito

Travel with Jack Womer from the steel mills of Dundalk, Maryland through his being drafted (which he resented) and assigned to the 29th Infantry Division to his deployment to England. Experience with him his selection to and the nearly yearlong training with the British commandos as a member of the 29th’s elite Provisional Ranger battalion. You will learn how he joined the 101st Airborne Division after the disbanding of 29th Ranger Battalion.

You will meet the group of demolitionist he joined in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment’s demolition platoon as they fight in Normandy, Holland, the Ardennes and Germany.  The detail of the combat jump into Normandy gives you the sensation of being there as well as showing the confusion on the group. Wormer shares examples how his Ranger training helped him survive in combat. Unfortunately, he does not share the same level of detail in the campaigns following Normandy.

Co-author Stephen Devito did a great job of interviewing Wormer and putting his stories into a first person narrative. The book gives the feel of a veteran telling the actions of his youth.

Wormer shares how he and other soldiers had girlfriends when in England, but his heart yearned to return to the United States and his fiancée Theresa. A side note I enjoyed was the story of how he asked Theresa for a new picture and she refused. He told the story of his desire for a replacement picture. The press picked up the story. The Baltimore newspaper carried the story. We see his fiancée Theresa’s response/reactions.

The book’s title “The Filthy Thirteen” is the nick-name of the section in the 506th's demolition platoon that Wormer was assigned. It operated/used special equipment like flame-throwers and explosives to attack and clear German positions. These men were infamous for hard living, tough fighting, and poor personal hygiene that earned them their name. The claim is made that The Filthy was an inspiration for the film the Dirty Dozen.

I recommend this well-written and interesting book. 

Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944 by Joseph Balkoski

Joseph Balkoski's book on Omaha Beach is a great historical resource like his book Utah Beach. Omaha Beach tells the story of when largely untested American troops assaulted the German army's Atlantic wall. This is a great read covering the events of the day almost minute by minute. It reads like a great documentary. This is not written in the format of a memoir. Balkoski relies mainly on primary sources such as after action reports, unit journals, and citations to create his blow by blow narrative. He includes the invasion's diplomatic and strategic context. Omaha Beach is the closest the modern reader can get to experiencing the Normandy landings firsthand.

Sprinkled throughout the battle account are the accounts of those in the battle. It is a classic. It is a must for any D-day library. It also included comprehensive lists of all Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Cross winners at Omaha Beach. It has: the Order of Battle, unit casualty list for the first twenty-four hours, unit organization of a 30man assault boat unit weapons, and equipment carried in the assault by a typical soldier, and a series of detailed maps allowing the reader unparalleled insight into the minute-by-minute combat on Omaha Beach. This book included several appendixes with great information about the battle at Omaha Beach.

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."