The Mortarmen
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| The Mortarmen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Mortarmen is an untold story of world War II. The book details the fighting history of the men of the 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion. The battalion was armed with the powerful 4.2 mortars and following its landing on Utah Beach on D-Day fought in every major engagement in France, Belgium, and Germany. The 4.2 mortar battalions were the most sought after fire support units in Europe. The 87th was in combat for 326 days and the book follows each of the four companies as they participate in the Battle for Normandy, the fight for Cherbourg, the battles of Aachen and the Hurtgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge, and finally the crossing of the Rhine and the final victory in Germany. The book contains excepts of diaries and quotations from the men who fought in the unit and from some of the German soldiers who opposed them. It is a story of heroism, tragedy, and the triumph of soldiers fighting for freedom. Veterans of the 87th Speak out about The Mortarmen: "The author has performed admirably in depicting the complete story of the 87th Mortar BN from training camps thru D-Day and the entire WWII operations in Europe. "A great contribution to WWII History, comparable to Stephen Ambrose's story of E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division in 'Band of Brothers'." 1st Lt. Sam Deal B Company 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion __________________ "I browsed your book first, and now am reading it line by line slowly. You have done the most wonderful job in the writing, You have brought back all the feelings, the fear, the wonder, the comradeship; all of those feelings and more. I thank you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Alexander Cannon Pvt. B Company 87th CMB __________________ "This is an important book because it tells, for the first time, the history of the critical role of this group of 4 mortar companies of men, of the 87th Mortar Battalion, which was positioned just behind the front lines, giving direct support to the infantry companies or battalions that had critical assignments in World War II. "This book is must reading for those interested in the full history of WW II." Ralph Gerald Jerry Portis Staff Sgt. C Company 87th CMB __________________ "What a great job you did putting all this historical data together; weaving the whole thing with personal, anecdotal recollections and whipping the whole thing into an informative and entertaining historical document." H.R. Bob Loomis Sgt. D Company 87th CMB |
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| Reader Reviews Below Sorted by Newest First | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 09-27-07 | 5 | (NA) |
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This is one of the best World War II books I have ever read. It mixes the well written history of the battles with the personal stories of the men who fought them. It does a great job of bringing the heroism of the greatest generation to life.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-05-10 07:09:08 EST)
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| 05-14-07 | 2 | 0\1 |
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This book tells an interesting story. One of my college classmates was a member of the 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion - the subject of this book - and found the information to be accurate. However, it is a self-published book and suffers from the major shortcoming of that genre: a lack of copyediting and proofreading. The very first paragraph of Chapter 1 contains a typographical error, a punctuation error, and a grammatical error. Because of errors like these, the book is sometimes difficult for a person like me -- a retired editor -- to read. Nevertheless, I found it worth the effort.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-09-27 14:58:41 EST)
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| 12-22-06 | 5 | 3\3 |
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For years I have always wanted to study the basics of World War II, but just never found the time. In reading this book, I have received such a personal, up front view of World War II - more than I think I could have gotten elsewhere, and in much less time!!! It seems to be a "magnifying glass" of that spot in history. Thanks, Michael Connelly!!!!
Wanda K. Perry (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-03 20:59:41 EST)
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| 09-07-06 | 5 | 3\3 |
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This is a fantastic book about World War II. At times I felt like I was right there with the men of the 87th who fought their way across Europe. The book is full of history, but more importantly it is full of the stories of the men who fought the war. It tells you their story and you can't help but get caught up in this great tale. Michael Connelly is a master story teller.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-03 20:59:41 EST)
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| 09-06-06 | 2 | 5\8 |
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I was looking forward to this book to arrive. Having read several other books about the Battle of the Bulge and related topics. This is a great story about very heroic men just doing their job. Unfortunately it is written so poorly that I must caution you here. If you have not reward any other WWII book, I suggest reading any of the following first - Anything by Donald R. Burgett, Especially 7 Roads to Hell - Band of Brothers (although 7 roads I felt was even better) - Black Devil Brigade The thing about these books mentioned is that they deal with the battles and they let you meet, and get to know, the men that fought. When reading Mortarmen I felt like it went like this, " Then the major ran up to the bunker and gave his orders to the leader in the bunker. Then the bunker leader fired his mortar and killed a bunch of Nazi's". I am not kidding. In the 7 Roads to Hell, there was the description of a black mortar team and how well they worked. I got more out of those 3-4 pages than I did with this book. I love this topic, to the author I offer the following: 1. Please let us know about the soldiers personally 2. Describe in depth how these mortars, and the other weapon work. People that buy these books really want to know this. I wish you all the best in the next revision (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-03 20:59:41 EST)
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| 06-11-06 | 5 | 4\4 |
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Dick Sebian, a member of the 87th, lent me his personal copy of this book. Dick is 81 years old now and remembers details and dates like they happened last week. I would imagine that if you had actually lived through this like he has, you would never forget it. He is a great guy and one would never know what he went through at such a young age.
I don't think anybody proof-read this book because there are many grammatical mistakes, but that doesn't change the content. Connelly does a nice job of chronicling the action of A, B, C, and D Companies from D-Day through the end of the war in Germany. The day by day format helps the reader follow the story without confusion. I also never realized what an effective weapon the 4.2 mortar was. The horrors these men lived through are something most people (including myself) cannot even begin to imagine. Mr. Sebian and the other members of the 87th are truly members of the Greatest Generation. I am thankful for them and the other veterans of WWII who, as Connelly states, "saved the world." This book ought to be required reading in American history classes so everyone can understand what they did. (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-03 20:59:41 EST)
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| 05-26-06 | 5 | 3\3 |
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What a fantastic book. I bought 10 copies! It is packed with information and pictures of the 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion. I wanted my kids and grandkids to know the sacrifices that our brave soldiers made to preserve the freedoms we enjoy in this great country. Thank you Michael for your extensive research to gather all this information and to write it in such an interesting manner. I highly recommend this book!!!
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-03 20:59:41 EST)
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