Steel Helmet and Mortarboard: An Academic in Uncle Sam's Army [Hardcover]

Francis Heller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2009

As a young officer candidate in the Austrian army in 1938, Francis Heller refused to swear an oath of allegiance to Hitler. Had he stayed in Vienna, he would have been arrested by the Gestapo. He subsequently made his way to America and earned a law degree but was drafted into the U.S. Army. Heller opted for service as an enlisted man in a combat unit and so distinguished himself in combat in the Pacific theater that he received a battlefield commission and served in the occupation of Japan. Escorting German nationals home from the Far East, he witnessed evidence of the horrors at Dachau that he had barely escaped.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Francis H. Heller is Professor Emeritus of Law at the University of Kansas and author or editor of numerous books, including Economics and the Truman Administration and The Kansas State Constitution: A Reference Guide. He also helped President Truman with the preparation of his memoirs and served as vice president of the Harry S. Truman Library Institute for over 30 years.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: University of Missouri Press; First edition (April 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826218385
• ISBN-13: 978-0826218384
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,564,412 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very articulate account of the US army and combat in the Pacific, October 4, 2011

By 

John E. Larsen "Larso" (Brisbane, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Steel Helmet and Mortarboard: An Academic in Uncle Sam's Army (Hardcover)

Francis Heller was a young Austrian who was forced to flee the Nazi takeover of his country. He went to America and studied law but when the war came to the United States he stepped forward to fight for his adopted land. He did this with the 24th Infantry Division in New Guinea and the Philippines.

Apart from being a very strong student, Heller had served as an Officer cadet in the Austrian artillery and appropriately, it was this arm that he ended up in the American army. Commendably he refused placement in non-combat units (based on his astonishing IQ level), insisting that he serve in a front line capacity. Even so, his assignment to divisional artillery HQ didn't promise much in the way of a rollicking combat story. It was a major surprise then to see him go from using trigonometry at his HQ desk to a bayonet duel to the death on a narrow New Guinea track! There followed a dramatic landing under fire on Leyte and intense artillery observation duties later in that campaign. So while the combat phase concludes about page 85, Heller fits in some incredible stories. Another of these is the posting of an insane commanding officer (a favourite of MacArthur) to his unit. It just boggles the mind that such a thing could happen! Following the war he continues in the Reserve and again, there are some great stories about preparing a unit for war (Korea) and re-invigorating another that was failing.

After a slightly stolid beginning (lots of commas and brackets, many names) this story blossomed into a truly remarkable read. Heller shows the benefit of an extensive education. He has a lot to say and he says it in a very fluent manner. Aside from WW2 he has a lot of insightful things to say about the Japanese, during the Occupation, and the US army across several decades. The connections that can come from army service are amazing. There is also very interesting material on Pre-war Austria and frankly, much else. His perspective as a new American and an academic make this memoir stand out in many ways. Yes, it is a touch indulgent but Heller is entitled to that. I am just grateful that he has published his amazing story.

PS : Note on rating - This is a 5 star book in every way, however on the more narrow basis of my focus on combat, I give it 4. While Heller's revelations are incredible, they are of a different level to those of Eugene Sledge and others on my list and I want to rank it accordingly.