What makes 2nd Lieutenant Phil Larimore's story special is what
happened in World War II's closing days and the people--and horses--he
interacted with in this Forrest Gump-like tale that is emotional,
heartbreaking, and inspiring.
Growing up in the 1930s in Memphis, Tennessee, Phil Larimore is the
ultimate Boy Scout--able to read maps, put a compass to good use, and
traverse wild swamps and desolate canyons. His other great skill is
riding horses.
Phil does poorly in school, however, leading his parents send to him to
a military academy. After Pearl Harbor, Phil realizes he is destined for
war. Three weeks before his eighteenth birthday, he becomes the youngest
candidate to ever graduate from Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Fort
Benning, Georgia.
Landing on the Anzio beachhead in February 1944, Phil is put in charge
of an Ammunition Pioneer Platoon in the 3rd Infantry Division. Their
job: deliver ammunition to the frontline foxholes--a dangerous
assignment involving regular forays into No Man's Land.
As Phil fights his way up the Italian boot, into Southern France and
across the Rhine River into Germany, he is caught up in some of the most
intense combat ever. But it's what happens in the final stages of the
war and his homecoming that makes Phil's story incredibly special and
heartwarming.
An emotional tale of courage, daring, and heroism, At First Light will
remind you of the indomitable human spirit that lives in all of us.
