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 Packs
on! Memoirs of the 10th Mountain Division in WWII
Author: A. B. Feuer
Foreword by Senator Bob Dole
Publisher:
Stackpole Books
Reviewer: Bill McDonald –
President of the MWSA
A Vivid History told by those Who
Served in 10th Mountain Division
Author A. B. Feuer skillfully puts a
collection of personal combat stories together into his book “Packs
On! Memoirs of the 10th Mountain Division in WWII.” The author is
one of the more prolific chroniclers of WWII history and this book may be
his best to date. The Foreword is written by Senator Bob Dole and adds a
real touch of class to the telling of this unit.
Feuer takes us through the unit’s
campaigns after a well written introduction that gives us insights on the
way the unit was put together and how they trained. He then takes us to
Alaska and the Kiska Campaign. That campaign turned out to be a fight for an
island that the Japanese had already abandoned and left. There were
causalities and deaths due to “friendly fire” in the fog and the confusion
of the battle that had no opposing forces.
We follow the unit onward to Italy and
Europe and into the mountains and snow. The author allows us to see each
battle area through the eyes of the different veterans who wrote their
memories of the events. This enhances the story telling format and enriches
the final over-all story of the unit. The many different and diverse voices
make the book entertaining as well as educational. It feels more personal
then any straight telling of historic events would have. Feuer expertly
weaves all these individual stories together and connects them with facts,
data, maps and old photos to make this whole book a first class reading
experience.
This is book captures the essence of what
this unit was all about. The author realizes the strength of this story was
to allow the men who were there to tell it
– and he does that well!
The Military Writer’s Society of
America gives this book its highest rating of FIVE STARS!
Other titles by A. B. Feuer
 
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2005
- 2009 MWSA