Cranking Up a Fine War: A Louisiana Soldier from Boot Camp to General's Aide (Hardcover)

~ USAR Ret. Col. Van R. Mayhall (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Mayhall is a natural storyteller. ... This book [is] an enlightening look back at a seminal period in American history." -- Greg Langley, the Baton Rouge Advocate, 9/12/99

"The author's writing is just right. The story is enthralling. ... The book is a genuinely interesting and valuable memoir." -- Renowned WWII scholar and historian Stephen Ambrose, author of Citizen Soldier and Band of Brothers, 12/10/99

"This wonderful book vividly brings to life a time and a patriotic past slowly vanishing from our cultural memory." -- Janice A. Farringer, January Magazine, May 2000

Product Description

In 1936, Van Mayhall joined the National Guard. He was only seventeen years old and he was just beginning to court the girl who would become the love of his life. He had a lot to lose--but Hitler was "cranking up a fine war" in Europe, and Van Mayhall thought he needed to learn something about fighting.

He did learn. He trained in the swamps of south Louisiana, the coastal plains of the Carolinas, and the rural farm country of central Texas. He had attained the rank of captain in the U.S. Army by the time he went overseas in 1942.

The only route home lay through England, France, and ultimately Germany on the path of victory. Along the way Capt. Mayhall dined at Buckingham Palace and escorted Marlene Dietrich at the front lines; he served as aide to General William Weaver during the crossings of the Moselle and Roer rivers and as a company commander in assaults against the Maginot Line as a member of the 90th Division "Tough 'Ombres." It would be three years before he returned home with a Silver Star and a lifetime's worth of experience with war, to see whether the "girl back home" had waited for him.

Cranking Up A Fine War is a highly personal account of a young soldier's journey from boot camp to general's aide. Van Mayhall has a gift for capturing people and events in a genuine and often humorous way. His stories are truly a part of history, a living history woven into the fabric of all that makes our nation special.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 243 pages
• Publisher: ByrenLee Press; 1st edition (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892958015
• ISBN-13: 978-1892958013
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,661,407 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Captivating, Enchanting Story, May 13, 1999

By A Customer

"Cranking Up A Fine War" is a strong, intimate story centered around one man's World War II experience that is both captivating and enchanting. As an author, I find Mayhall's unique storytelling ability refreshing and enchanting. This book follows the author through his days in basic training, his arrival in France on D+66, his experiences during the war -- both good and bad -- and his return home to a waiting family. It is an honest and straight-forward look at the life of both a soldier, and a man, during the early part of this century. I highly recommend it, both for those who lived through the same experience, and for those who have only seen it through the lens of a Hollywood camera.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superbly written autobiography, October 7, 2006

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

"Cranking Up A Fine War: A Louisiana Soldier From Boot Camp To General's Aide" is the story of Van Mayhall's military career which began when he joined the National Guard in 1936 at the age of seventeen. When World War II broke out, Mayhall was as an ordinary soldier among hundreds of others with the 90th Infantry Division, and advanced to the position of Captain, becoming the aide-de-camp to General William Weaver taking part in numerous battles including the crossing of the Moselle and Roer Rivers, and fighting as the company commander in assausts aginst the Maginot Line. Mayhall was awarded the Silver Star. Enhanced with black-and-white historical and personal photographs, "Cranking Up A Fine War" is a superbly written autobiography and a welcome, highly recommended addition to the growing library of World War II military biographies, memoirs, and autobiographies.

5.0 out of 5 stars A moving, sometimes funny, very personal story, April 11, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is not your typical "war story." While it does describe some major battles, such as the Battle of the Bulge, that the author fought in, it is concerned more with the day to day life of "growing up" as a soldier in WWII. The author joined the army when he was only 17, got married while in the army, had to leave his wife for three and a half years, and then had to come back with very little knowledge of how to succeed in a civilian world. The book is riveting, funny in parts, and full of great stories like how the author met Marlene Dietrich and the Queen of England. If you are interested in World War II, I would highly recommend this book.