...read this book mainly for the perspective of the GIs who fought and
bled to give the Old hickory Division its well earned reputation. In the
words of former infantryman Jim Nolan "The 30th was topnotch". -- The
Journal of America's Military Past
In World War I, the 30th Infantry Division earned more Medals of Honor
than any other American division. In World War II, it spent more
consecutive days in combat than almost any other outfit. Recruited
mainly from the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee, they were one of the
hardest-fighting units the U.S. ever fielded in Europe. What was it
about these men that made them so indomitable? They were tough and
resilient for a start, but this division had something else. They
possessed intrinsic zeal to engage the enemy that often left their
adversaries in awe. Their U.S. Army nickname was the "Old Hickory"
Division. But after encountering them on the battlefield, the Germans
themselves came to call them "Roosevelt's SS."
This book is a combat chronicle of this illustrious division that takes
the reader right to the heart of the fighting through the eyes of those
who were actually there. It goes from the hedgerows of Normandy to the
30th's gallant stand against panzers at Mortain, to the brutal slugs
around Aachen and the Westwall, and then to the Battle of the Bulge.
Each chapter is meticulously researched and assembled with accurate
timelines and after-action reports. The last remaining veterans of the
30th Division and attached units who saw the action firsthand relate
their remarkable experiences here for the first, and probably the last
time. This is precisely what military historians mean when they write
about "fighting spirit."
There have been only a few books written about the 30th Division and
none contained direct interviews with the veterans. This work follows
their story from Normandy to the final victory in Germany, packed with
previously untold accounts from the survivors. These are the men whose
incredible stories epitomize what it was to be a GI in one of the
toughest divisions in WWII.
