He did learn. He trained in the swamps of south Louisiana, the coastal plains of the Carolinas, and the rural farm country of central Texas. He had attained the rank of captain in the U.S. Army by the time he went overseas in 1942.
The only route home lay through England, France, and ultimately Germany on the path of victory. Along the way Capt. Mayhall dined at Buckingham Palace and escorted Marlene Dietrich at the front lines; he served as aide to General William Weaver during the crossings of the Moselle and Roer rivers and as a company commander in assaults against the Maginot Line as a member of the 90th Division "Tough 'Ombres." It would be three years before he returned home with a Silver Star and a lifetime's worth of experience with war, to see whether the "girl back home" had waited for him.
Cranking Up A Fine War is a highly personal account of a young soldier's journey from boot camp to general's aide. Van Mayhall has a gift for capturing people and events in a genuine and often humorous way. His stories are truly a part of history, a living history woven into the fabric of all that makes our nation special.
