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A COLONEL IN THE ARMORED DIVISIONS: A MEMOIR, 1941-1945

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"A Colonel in the Armored Divisions" by William S. Triplet, Edited by Robert H. Ferrell, sub-titled, "A Memoir, 1941-1945". University of Missouri Press, 2001.

Robert H. Ferrill, Professor Emeritus, Indiana University, has again taken the writings of William S. Triplet, of Sedalia, Missouri, edited the writings and produced an excellent first person history of an Army colonel's experiences in the Second World War. William Triplet had served as a sergeant in the First World War, began West Point in 1920 and graduated with the class of 1924. This book is really a professional diary of the years from December 1940 up to the cessation of hostiles in Europe, May 1945.

The front half of the book is devoted to Triplet's experiences in weapons testing and in developing amphibious craft for the many beach invasions by General MacArthur. At the command for testing the effectiveness of various weapons and devices, Triplet recorded his efforts in examining the effects of the Molotov Cocktail, (ineffective against armor), the prototype for the Jeep and various forms of sleeping bags. With the amphibious craft, Triplet discovers that many (most) Navy personnel do not understand the effects of ocean waves and tells us, quite a few times, that the Navy makes strong coffee. "I sipped the black brew and got it down without wincing. ... tough people these navy types". P. 64. Again, no love is lost between Col. Triplet and "Admiral Buships", who questioned the veracity of Triplet's reports on the seaworthiness of the M8 howitzer-turret on the LVT(A-1) hulls. P. 84. The Admiral even "Declined my offer of a cup of coffee, which is the lifeblood of the navy". P. 84.

Perhaps of greater interest to World War II buffs is the last half of the book, recording the Colonel's combat experiences. Triplet appears to be one of the few higher-grade officers to actual go up to the front line during combat. For example, he recounts his surprising an Army sentry who calls back that there is a chicken colonel up here. Unexpected! Triplet mildly disguises his impatience with privates, or generals!, who are reluctant to advance or who appear to be bordering on incompetence. In many cases, he does not record the names of the offending parties. He received one excuse so often that it is used for the title of a chapter: "They've Got a lot of Stuff in There". At the very end of the book, Triplet recounts, in a matter of fact fashion, the gunfight he had with two German soldiers. After being blown out of his jeep, Triplet draws his .45 Automatic Pistol and shots at two Germans who thought they had finished everybody. Triplet is wounded in the thigh, but escapes and limps back to his command.

Professor Ferrell's editing is so unobtrusive that you are only aware, once in awhile, that you are reading the corrected and revised words almost fifty years or so after Triplet had been written down. For example, Prof. Ferrell will italicize the word "illegible" to denote that he could not decipher what Col. Triplet wanted. An excellent job of editing.

Tripp, as I am told he was called, wrote a wonderful triology of his military life from WW2 through the post ww2 period. He paints a wonderful picture of life in the army, and my regret is that it looks like some of the mid-war material may have been left out. (Oh yeah, and there are some errors in the footnotes - oh well.) other than that just a wonderful set of books. I am told by men that served with him, "Yup, he was like that, a great guy!"

After reading (and enjoying) "A Youth in the Argonne," I decided to pick this one up. I like Triplet's writing style. He has a self-effacing sense of humor and is pretty witty. Besides that, he was a good soldier and a respected troop commander. This book provides an interesting look into his experiences as a field-grade commander in both training and combat. I noticed a few minor mistakes in the footnotes and picture captions (as one of the previous reviewers commented), but overall, I enjoyed the book.