Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.

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.

AWESOME!! I received my order today and was totally surprised with how well my book was packaged. I am extremely ecstatic with this seller!! If there's ever a book they have again that I want, I will definitely purchase from this company before anyone else, even if I have to pay more. Thank you!!! Because of this book, I was able to give my husband and his children a part of their history, because the first chapter is my husband's grandfather's story. Thank you once again!!!