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Tanks For The Memories: An Oral History of the 712th Tank Battalion from World War 2

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One can feel the genuine emotion in the words of these soldiers.Their fear,determination, and their humor come to life in anecdotes that are told in the veterans` own words. Their stories portray the war as it was in the front lines, without lofty discussions of strategy or politics. These are the stories of our fathers and our grandfathers. Mr. Elson`s handling of the material is itself a show of respect for these men.Individuals` stories are well organized into chapters that follow the units` actions in chronological order. The grammer and vernacular are unchanged,and reflective of each man`s personality.Photographs ( both during the war and present-day) allow the reader to match the storytellers` names with their likenesses, and maps illustrate some of the operations described in the text. Tanks For The Memories is the finest tribute to these veterans that anyone could make. In telling their stories Mr. Elson gives them something permanent to leave to the rest of us. This is their legacy. To all of these men, who have as fathers and grandfathers told us,their children, that they were proud of us: It is we, who are proud of you.

As a military historian in 2001 it's far too easy to look at machines, battles and campaigns. World War 2 was actually fought by large numbers of young men, most of whom really didn't want to be there. This book is based around the memories of the men in a tank battalion in Europe. The stories are not about the technical development of the Sherman tank, but rather of the men who drove them in the heat and snow, fixed them in the mud or under fire and of a group of men that changed history just by doing their jobs to the best of their ability. I usually get excited reading about the technical details of the tanks, but this book has fascinating stories of the men who used them. Lots of good stories about living in the field. Only a small amount of a soldier's time is actually spend under fire. The rest involves living in a foreign country, often in bad weather, with the constant moving about to someone else's grand plan. These veteran's stories are well told and placed in a chronological order. Good reading to get a feel for armored combat in Europe. Reasonably priced, too!