Following his father's tragic death, American poet and historian Gregory Orfalea journeyed to France to attend the first reunion of his father's World War II infantry battalion, the ill-fated 551st. What he found was a compelling and unsolved mystery: why was the 551st sent to its destruction in a futile assault on Rochelinval during the Battle of the Bulge, and why has this heroic unit's memory been all but erased from military history? Orfalea explores this mystery, and the result goes beyond recovering a crucial chapter ...
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Following his father's tragic death, American poet and historian Gregory Orfalea journeyed to France to attend the first reunion of his father's World War II infantry battalion, the ill-fated 551st. What he found was a compelling and unsolved mystery: why was the 551st sent to its destruction in a futile assault on Rochelinval during the Battle of the Bulge, and why has this heroic unit's memory been all but erased from military history? Orfalea explores this mystery, and the result goes beyond recovering a crucial chapter in the annals of World War II. Through its characters, narration of dramatic and deadly action, and reconstruction of the period and its mores, this work seeks to recover a deeper moral and cultural reality - the lost legacy of that generation's understanding of manhood and heroism.
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Seller's Description:
Book is in good condition. Minimal signs of wear. It May have markings or highlights but kept to only a few pages. May not come with supplemental materials if applicable.
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Seller's Description:
Very good in very good dust jacket. Signed by author. Free Press, 408 pages, Signed, 408 pages, hardcover in a very good jacket, no owner's mark or underlining, light wear
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Size: 9x6x1; 1st hardcover printing with full number line, 1997, hardcover with unclipped dust jacket, tight, pages clear and bright, shelf and edge wear, corners bumped, packaged in cardboard box for shipment, tracking on U.S. orders.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Signed Copy First edition copy. Collectible-Very Good. Like New dust jacket. Signed by Fred Hilgardner and Jack Reames of the 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion on front endpage. In protective mylar cover.
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Seller's Description:
Very good in very good dust jacket. DJ has slight wear and soiling. xxiv, 408 p. Maps. Illustrations. Notes. Selected Bibliography. Index. From Wikipedia: "The 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion (551st PIB) was for many years a little-recognized unit of the United States Army during World War II and the Battle of the Bulge. Originally commissioned to take the French Caribbean island of Martinique during World War II, they were shipped instead to Europe. With an initial strength of 800 officers and enlisted men, the remaining 250 members of the Battalion were ordered on 7 January 1945 to attack the Belgian village of Rochelinval over open ground and without artillery support. During the successful assault the unit lost more than half its remaining men. The Battalion was inactivated on 27 January 1945 and the remaining 110 survivors were absorbed into the 82nd Airborne Division. Virtually nothing of the unit's history was known to the American public until the 1990s when renewed interest prompted its veterans to seek recognition for their costly success at Rochelinval. The battalion was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation in 2001 recognizing its accomplishment."
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Seller's Description:
Like New in Like New jacket. 1997 First Edition, w/full number line. Hardcover w/l.n. dust jacket. As new, mint condition. From The Civil War Book Shop-As close as your computer; as dependable as old Abe.
