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Taught to Kill: An American Boy's War from the Ardennes to Berlin

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Reading "Taught to Kill" brings back vivid and chilling memories of those days with you in L company, 310th Regiment, 78th Division,in the cold winter of 1944-45. I was 18 going on 19 and at that point would have been pathetically grateful to see twenty. My memory of those days and nights is of bitter cold, empty villages, echoing streets and a sense of deadly imminence. In fact, I think the enemy had pretty well evacuated ahead of us except for some isolated snipers who shot at us as they were retreating. As we moved toward the front we would sometimes walk past frozen corpses. I still remember a day when a medic with his Red Cross insignia clearly visible was dropped by a single shot from a sniper on the far side.

I think you have done a great job of capturing the feeling of those days, which you might call the reality of the unreality of it all. That whole transition of innocent country boys into at least semi-professional killers is a real phenomenon of our time, and I think we should all be grateful that those days did not mark us worse than they did. You have done a terrific job of understanding and recreating the past without glorifying it beyond reason or common sense. Congratulations!

"Taught To Kill" by John B. Babcock. Subtitled: "An American Boy's War From The Ardennes To Berlin". Potomac Books, Inc. Dulles, Virginia, 2005.

The writing in this book is excellent. Throughout the book, the author, John Babcock, WWII Veteran, uses alliteration, the rhyming of the first syllables of words, as little jewels which makes his writing sparkle. Despite the serious subject of the book, the author has made it easy and pleasing to read. And, the subject of the book is serious.

Using a fifty-year old manuscript, which he had typed at the end of hostilities in Europe, he put together a genuine accounting of a "...small-town American college kid, transformed ... by government edict, into a foreign-soil combat soldier". Unlike so many other personal memoir books, Babcock has expended a great deal of energy on introspection, where his recorded observations are combined with an examination of exactly what his pains and his unit's hard work did for the war effort, in particular, and for mankind, in general.

His description of the death of his "...first KIA (killed in action): Sergeant Coleman..." was particularly poignant. Sergeant Coleman's professionalism had convinced Babcock that Coleman was possibly the most invulnerable soldier in the company, and there was the sergeant with a "...chunk of his forehead ...shot away". On the other hand, the author's description of the collapse of Technical Sergeant Oaks during an artillery barrage was particularly chilling. Sergeant Oaks had been bold, brash and brave in basic training, but, after the first miss by an 88mm round, there was the sergeant "... huddled under his wet overcoat by the shelter entrance." The sergeant's improper behavior had all "... but disabled me." On the same page, Babcock includes an interesting fact: most German Artillery fire during World War II was, in fact, 105mm, not the famous (infamous) 88mm. (Page 31). And, for those who served in the Army specialized Training Program (ASTP), page 154 presents the reason that the ASTP program was reduced dramatically: "... (t)hat almost all (replacements) went into the infantry was a given. Forty thousand replacements coming into our ranks translated to ten thousand men per week leaving the front lines for hospitals or for Dutch or Belgian cemeteries". I have never read such a succinct summary of the horrendous ETO casualty rate that caused General George Marshall to downsize ASTP and to move so many Air Corps candidates into the infantry. Excellent writing; excellent story telling.

I honestly believe that this is the best narrative of combat that I've ever read. John Babcock was a college student before the war. In the Army he was put into the Army Specialized Training Program. This program took smart guys and trained them for various professional jobs, usually giving them officer rank as well.

Then after D-Day when combat really got started the Army began to realize that their carefully planned formations of men had everything in it from truck drivers, to supply clerks, to artillerymen (canon cockers), to everything else. But at the pointy end of the stick was the front line rifleman. And guess where the majority of the casualties were occurring.

The author was pulled out of training one day, along with many thousand other young men, and all of a sudden was a rifleman. He got to Europe just in time for the Battle of the Bulge. Freezing in the European winter (In the infantry it is always too cold, or too hot, or too wet, or too dusty.) he learned the hard way what combat was like. His story, first written just after the war but bundled up for a half century has the ring of truth, and better yet, the ring of understanding.

I particularily liked his story of getting promoted to Private First Class (PFC) after being in the Army for about a year and a half. I was finally promoted to PFC thirteen days before they would have had to write a letter explaining why not.

The book, like war itself, is not for the faint of heart. John Babcock has given us a detailed account of what war is really like from the point of view of the ground troops in a rifle company. He has dispelled the Hollywood myth of the glories of war. Told in the first person in the rough language of those in the military, this narrative will hold the attention of its readers and leave them with a clear understanding of life and death on the front lines.

John Babcock's memoir of combat in Europe is unlike most of its kind in that it delves much deeper than a simple recanting of events. The average World War II memoir tends to echo familiar events made personal only by specifically naming individuals. For the most part, the collective accounts tend to be repetitious and somewhat tempered in that most of them refrain from describing vivid details of the carnage, as well as cleaning up the language. "Taught to Kill" sheds the kid gloves as Babcock simply and bluntly tell us what it was really like living in a foxhole, seeing death and having to kill.

An experience hunting geese in winter some fifty years after the war is what compels Babcock to write about the "impact and effect" the war had on "kids" like him. Drawing from a journal he typed over five decades earlier, he takes us back to a time after D-Day when the US Army was in desperate need to replenish its casualty-ridden ranks with fresh teenage bodies to continue the press toward Germany. Babcock starts by giving us a taste of what life was like for millions of American boys, the abrupt transition from being in school (in his case, college) to a grunt destined for front-line service. He colorfully illustrates the melting pot that is the US Army as a morass of brains, brawn, idiots, slackers, weaklings and egomaniacs all trained to be nothing more than fodder for the war effort. Clearly described is the overwhelming presence of "chickens---" (the inane triviality that makes military life worse than it needs to be) and how some thrived on it while most simply found ways to cope. There is even a brief chapter dedicated to the universal language of US military (even to this day) ... the "f-word".

Babcock's description of his shift from Army recruit to combat soldier reveals even sharper recollections of events. We envisage a green soldier seeing dead bodies for the first time and how the initial shock of seeing such violent death is quickly replaced by the use of the dead as ignoble and morbid landmarks for giving directions to fellow soldiers. One rarely has a question about life on the front line, whether it be the taste of the food, Army equipment, the lack of hygiene, how soldiers relieved themselves, views of the enemy and colorful conversation topics ... Babcock provides the answers and every topic imaginable is covered. He shares the variety of personalities that he served with, whether up close or at a distance, and we read about acts of cowardice, unrewarded heroics, revenge and outright stupidity ... from officers as well as enlisted men. His rank as a NCO provides balance between the enlisted men and officers and presents an unbiased viewpoint from the middle. Not to be ignored is the author's participation in notable combat operations toward the end of the war, most notably the Battle of the Bulge, the press into Germany and being one of the last to cross the Remagen Bridge. The combat is not glorified; it is presented as chaotic, brief and tiresome, fought with dogged determination by hungry and frightened men. "Taught to Kill" does not gloss over the carnage by simply rattling off casualty numbers, Babcock assigns names and detailed accounts of the dead ... a clear indication that the losses were personal and indelibly burned into his memory.

"Taught to Kill" is brutally honest, highly appealing and very addictive mainly due to Babcock's writing ability as even seemingly mundane topics capture the reader's attention. It is evident that the memories of events so long ago still come to view with much clarity and the impact of World War II is still profoundly present in the author's mind. "Taught to Kill" is yet another excellent voice representing the millions of anonymous men who dutifully marched into the firestorm of World War II over 60 years ago only to come home and forge simple, quiet and humble futures as ordinary citizens. When you think about it, every town in America probably has a John Babcock or two: ordinary grandfatherly-types with extraordinary and painful tales they refuse to share ... "Taught to Kill" likely speaks on behalf of those men.

A very quick and easy read but one of the deepest that I've read from the view of the man on the ground without being highly political, sentimental, psychological, or maudlin. There's hardly a sense of bitterness or regret for the failings of the government and commanders during WWII, the slackers and sociopaths who avoided harm's way, the cowards and psychopaths who were in the attacking ranks,and the johnny-come-lately "heroes" at the end. It's almost as if the author was a detached objective reporter on the scene which caused me to think that perhaps that is how he was able to survive somewhat physically and mentally intact after enduring the last two years of the "Good War". Also, even though it was his story he did not attempt to make himself a hero in any way, although I did sense that he was probably part of some things that happened either by acts of commission or omission that he would never tell anyone.

The author should be commended for conveying his personal story in a way that informs, entertains, and thrills, but at times can create empathy, anger, and disgust when he enables the reader to understand the "melting pot" of backgrounds and psyches that was stirred into survival situations. This is done simply by descriptive narrative without invoking emotional diatribes.

An understanding of the macro picture of WW II would put this book into its right perspective. I doubt that it would have been printed 50 years ago but in view of the conflicts that we have entered into since 1950 and are now in at the beginning of the 21st century, every young man who wants to be in the infantry should be required to read this book before making his final decision to do so. It would also benefit any veteran who served during any time of our history and who had to carry a weapon as part of his duties.

Having just finished "Taught to Kill" by John Babcock, I found the book to be one of the finest presentations of actual feelings and truthful happenings without any heroic enhansements. Many veterans of World War II will relive their experiences when reading, plus much younger readers will finally learn how the ground war was fought during that period.

This is one of the best memoirs written about frontline combat in WW2. Some veterans are able to put into words what actually is near impossible to put in words, and John Babcock does it extremely well. You will be moved by the misery these young soldiers suffered.

This guy can write! At times I felt he matched William Manchester (`Goodbye Darkness' and various Kennedy and MacArthur books) for his ability to convey the awfulness of the soldier's experience. Babcock seems to have hit on the perfect balance of gravitas and profanity and as for detail, I don't think the harsher realities of wounds and death have ever been revealed as confrontingly as they are here. Somewhat jarringly, this Armageddon follows some of the funniest, laugh out loud material I have ever read about training and army life. The humour is brash and in the chapter where Babcock considers the place of the `F' word in the army, extremely blue! Sadly but appropriately, given what is to come, this hilarity is all too brief. I suppose my point here is, that whatever subject or mood Babcock covers, it is exceedingly well written.

Babcock goes to France with the 78th Infantry Division, just in time for the Battle of the Bulge. Throughout his account he only refers to his unit as A company, to avoid the identification of some of his fellow soldiers. To this end, he has also changed some names and as details are revealed, it is obvious why this was necessary. In addition, Babcock does not stick to the usual linear narrative. Sure, things begin with his opening battle and end with occupation duties in Berlin but between these he explores various sub-stories where it suits him. These include the usual realities of front line life (and death) but also such things as recovering bodies, sexuality and the first case of fragging that I have come across in a US WW2 memoir, among others - a few being quite `fresh' themes indeed! Even so, this style of narrative left me a little off balance at times. Also, most of the other soldiers he writes about only appear briefly, before their demise. Yet on reflection, I found the effect of these methods was to strongly reiterate the fragmentary realities of the front line.

As for combat, Babcock is in charge of mortars, first a squad and latter the platoon. He writes a lot about these, their positioning, how they work etc but only a little about actually firing them. Most of the combat he reveals is with him and his fellow soldiers on the receiving end. As said above, this is very graphic but as he is not a rifleman his combat experiences are different to those that where. While he has left some things out, what he includes has a lot of impact. There is no time wasted on inconsequential happenings away from the front line and indeed, Babcock covers things that others generally have not. For instance, the problems with integrating new replacements with veterans and their reluctance to follow orders, especially as the war winds down. He also does the best job yet of describing the state of exhaustion the soldiers operated in.

I strongly recommend this book, particularly, for those who don't care so much for places and tactics, who just want to know the raw truth. This is not a kid's book! It is very adult in content, revealing the realities of war in very graphic and sometimes profane ways. As a writer, Babcock is unquestionably top shelf. His prose is so good that frankly he makes many other writers seem dry. This is a modern book, with modern writing that almost definitively reveals the realities of combat in the ETO. Mature readers only though! Five stars - Very highly recommended!

There are far too many memoirs of WWII going into print recently. Hence, the overall quality becomes diluted. Taught to Kill is an exception. It is probably the best memoir of WWII that I have read. We go along with private Babcock from enlistment, through training, along with him to the European Theatre of Operations, into the middle of the Battle of the Bulge, and accompany him as he moves up the chain of command. You won't catch the Army using this book as a recruiting tool. Yes, General Sherman, "war is hell'. This book has little to do with infantry tactics, but focuses on the infantryman. Physical trauma caused by projectiles, bombs, and mines take a backseat to the incredible emotional trauma all infantrymen faced. Babcock, who considered suicide himself, airs out some dirty Army laundry. Going unreported by the Pentagon for many years, approximately 25% of infantry soldiers, suffered severe mental and emotional problems. It is unfortunate that we now have the tidy acronym PTSD - a convenient one-fits-all clinical term. Travel with Babcock from the Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge) to Berlin. How unworldly young men, from small town America, kept their bodies and wits intact during WWII, makes them truly deserving of the moniker "The Greatest Generation".