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Once Upon a Time in War: The 99th Division in World War II. By Robert E. Humphrey. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8061-3946-3. Maps. Photographs. Appendix. Notes. Selected bibliography. Index. Pp. xvii, 366. $24.95.
The 99th Infantry Division traveled a long and bloody road in World War II. Comprised of an interesting mix of men from hard scrabble and well educated backgrounds, the unit entered the front line in the Ardennes a month before the Battle of the Bulge. Nicknamed "Battle Babies" by their division commander, the soldiers of this unit held the northern shoulder of the Bulge at Elsenborn Ridge. Later in the war, they were among the first American soldiers across the Remagen Bridge. They played a significant part in closing the Ruhr Pocket and they subsequently advanced deep into Germany, finishing up their war on the Danube River.
In this elegantly written, perceptive volume, Robert Humphrey does a superb job of telling the 99th's story from the average soldier's perspective. Based on a diverse array of personal interviews, unpublished memoirs, letters, diaries and personal correspondence, the book traces the experiences of the "Battle Babies" from induction and training, through the Battle of the Bulge, the Remagen battle, and the end of the war. Humphrey also sandwiches chapters about life on the front line and the prisoner of war experience into the chronological narrative of the division's war in Europe. He deftly intersperses moving quotes from veterans' first hand accounts with his scholarly analysis. He conveys the exhaustion, fear, and sheer misery that were such a standard part of the infantryman's world. Indeed, he never shrinks from describing the awful realities of the war and its toll on the men who fought it. Moreover, he does a nice job of illustrating the soldiers' attitudes about their officers, the war in general, race, and their reasons for fighting. What emerges is a rich portrait of the American citizen soldier in the war - well trained, sardonic in his outlook, determined to do his job, motivated...