Dig or die a novel of Americans in France in World War I
Written during the dark days of the Great Depression, Dig or Die lay hidden in the author's closet until after his death in 1970. His youngest daughter read it for the first time in the 1990s and realized that its authenticity alone made it far more than a family keepsake. She edited it to bring it...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Books Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Mesa, AZ :
Fox Hollow Press,
[2016]
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Written during the dark days of the Great Depression, Dig or Die lay hidden in the author's closet until after his death in 1970. His youngest daughter read it for the first time in the 1990s and realized that its authenticity alone made it far more than a family keepsake. She edited it to bring it into keeping with current literary practices, but left the story in tact. Now in commemoration of the centennial of American involvement in World War I, Dig or Die is released to the reading public. Sgt. Emmet (Judy) Redding and his comrades-in-arms start out as green troops, untested and unproven, and emerge as seasoned veterans capable of unfathomable feats of courage and devotion to duty and one another. Judy and his buddies endure the adversity, grow as men and as soldiers, and experience the stark realities of modern warfare, destined to carry with them the scars, both physical and psychological, for the rest of their lives. Here is trench warfare with all of its hardships - mud, rats, lice, freezing temperatures and lack of food, to say nothing of the hazards of constant shelling, machine gun fire, hand grenades, flame throwers, mustard gas and automatic rifles, all developed during the industrial revolution to make killing more efficient and living more hazardous. Judy and his troop, the First Regiment U.S. Engineers attached to the First Infantry Division (the Big Red 1) begin the war as trainees under French officers in the Gondrecourt Sector of eastern France. From there they emerge as one of the most effective units in the war, fighting their way, battle by battle, from Cantigny to the Meuse-Argonne and the armistice. A chance interlude in Paris introduces Judy to the French culture he is fighting for in the person of a mysterious young French woman of high social and political status whose curious attraction to a common American soldier is perplexing at best. Their destinies clumsily entwined, they move through the war hoping only to survive to live once more in peace. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Autobiographical fiction. Originally written in the 1920s and published posthumously in 2016 by the author's daughter in commemoration of the centennial of American involvement in World War I. |
| Physical Description: | 345 pages : map ; 23 cm |
| ISBN: | 9780997935103 0997935103 |
