cover image The Men of Company K: The Autobiography of a World War II Rifle Company

The Men of Company K: The Autobiography of a World War II Rifle Company

Harold P. Leinbaugh. William Morrow & Company, $18.45 (318pp) ISBN 978-0-688-04421-3

Company K of the 84th Division reached Europe in early November 1944, five months after D-Day, and was quickly ordered to Germany, where the Allied armies were advancing against furious resistance. Two members of the company present a vivid picture of the fierceness of front-line fighting in WW II as they follow the unit from Geilenkirchen through the battle for Wurm, back to Geilenkirchen and through the Battle of the Bulge to occupation duty. The authors avoid sentimental cliches in their depiction of a group of triumphant citizen-soldiers. Readers who are not veterans of Company K, however, may find the final chapters, about the post-war lives of these ex-GIs, anticlimactic. Photos not seen by PW. 35,000 first printing; $35,000 ad/promo. November 11