A War to Win: Company "B" 813th Tank Destroyers : Personal Stories of World War II in the Men's Own Words [Hardcover]

Harry D. Dunnagan (Author), Vicki Hamlin Warner (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This fairly good unit military history consists of 16 eyewitness accounts that follow an army outfit from the time it was created through its various training camps, combat in North Africa, redeployment in England, and final action in northern Europe. The individual memoirs range from fascinating to tedious; some are crammed with anecdotes and insights, while others consist largely of dates and unit numbers. Taken as a whole, they create a kaleidoscopic mosaic that should be of general appeal, since it gives the armchair warrior some idea of what it was like to belong to a combat unit. -- Raymond L. Puffer, U.S. Air Force History Prog., Los Angeles
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 214 pages
• Publisher: Royall Dutton Books (May 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963195913
• ISBN-13: 978-0963195913
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,863,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stories of a time remembered, August 23, 2001

By 

Eric D. Kirchhofer (Houston, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A War to Win: Company "B" 813th Tank Destroyers : Personal Stories of World War II in the Men's Own Words (Hardcover)

There have been many personal stories and unit histories published reflecting the heroic and courageous actions of men during WWII. These anecdotes attempt to bring us closer to the horror of combat by standing witness to events and people that are Americans, but are difficult to personally identify with. What Mr. Dunnagan has accomplished for me, and others with fathers and grandfathers in the 813th, is to bring a personal and sympathized account of people that we grew to know, love, and lost, an understanding of their role in the most important undertaking in the Twentieth Century. Thanks to the efforts of Mr. Dunnagan, we may grow closer and more revered to our fathers, and understand and respect their unwavering and unconditional service to our country. I am sorry to see that Mr. Dunnagan has passed, and would like to offer thanks for his wonderful account.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Father's Company, August 14, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A War to Win: Company "B" 813th Tank Destroyers : Personal Stories of World War II in the Men's Own Words (Hardcover)

My father belonged to the 813th Tank Destroyer Battalion, Company B. Since he would never talk about his war years, I felt a part of his life was closed off to us. By reading this book, I was able to follow his life through the eyes of the soldiers who recounted their tales from boot camp when the unit was formed, on the ship from NY to England, the camaraderie with his "brothers" in the unit, through every battle he ever fought in right up to the time he was captured by the Germans. I am grateful to have found this book and wish I could thank the author personally for writing it, but since he is no longer living, I will let this review suffice. This book filled in a lot of gaps in my father's life that I would never have known.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Way to General, February 27, 2007

By 

R. Courter Jr. (Long Island NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A War to Win: Company "B" 813th Tank Destroyers : Personal Stories of World War II in the Men's Own Words (Hardcover)

All of the accounts were from people that were interviewed for this book in the 90's some by phone. Every interview was way to general. " I went to this camp for training, then I went to this unit or that unit, we fought the Germans here or there." Over and over, from different people. I'm sorry but this book was not very good. If your looking for real life detailed accounts of people that were in a Tank Destroyer, this is not the book for you.