One Soldier's Story: A Memoir Book

Bob's Story of Grit and Determination

An interesting work to say the least. Mr. Dole does an excellent job in describing how his difficult journey of recover started when severely wounded by shrapnel on Hill 193 on April 5, 1945 in Italy. His details of the event aren't sugar coated or dramatized. I felt empathy for him as he lay on the cold hard Italian soil bleeding out (for six hours) waiting on the medics to transport him to an aid station. Why so long? The first two medics dispatched to help the wounded were killed rendering aide to other fallen comrades. Imagine laying on the ground paralyzed not knowing if you were going to live or die. That pretty well sums up the book. It is a story of hope and healing.

There are two main themes running through this work: FAMILY and GOD and COUNTRY. He grew up in Russell, Kansas (of which I'm very familiar with since I had a bad accident up there in 1992(?). Bob talks about how humble and helpful the people in this part of the country are, even to strangers. I can attest to the fact; it's true.

No matter how difficult he believed his situation was, his faith never wavered when he looked around at the other 11,000 wounded soldiers in Mercy Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan.
Very stimulating!

I enjoyed his comparisons to the generation of his day and how resilient they were compared to our current generations. Money was always a concern but it didn't drive their lives. It was required to help provide for a family, but it wasn't what they lived for. Love, hope, faith and family were the reasons for living. Tell me that message has been diluted for the following generations.

This is very evident when President Clinton appoints him to the chair of the WWII Memorial in Washington D.C. Many of his fellow veterans retired from their prominent corporate positions, replaced by younger men and women who didn't see the value in the project. Yes, he was a bit flabbergasted as he recalls why he and his fellow soldiers fought for the freedoms these new corporate magnets shunned. They reply, "It was old history." That statement really hits home!

At times I thought I was reading the memoirs of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Lucian Truscott. Both of these men grew up in the heartland of America and went on to serve their country during and after WWII. They, like Bob, they didn't grow up with riches. Their riches were: God, family, country and hard work.

The only drawback is the editing. I'm very disappointed with Harper Collins. At times I felt they had assigned a minimum number of pages for the book and kept repeating information and used way too many filler words. The most glaring was 'had.' Best I could tell they used it so the copy editing was easier. Very sad. I level no fault on Mr. Dole.

Who will enjoy this? Those who truly appreciate the sacrifices this country's "Greatest Generation" performed, so millions of people could enjoy the pursuits of: life, liberty and freedom.