Grunts

by John C. McManus

  To them, war is personal, animal, disturbing, and affecting beyond description. For them, war cannot possibly be seen as clinical, calculating, or material. They view it only through the prism of “the blood-soaked bandages, the smell of gunpowders, the horrendous din of the weaponry, the pain and numbness of a wound and the medic’s syrette, all never to be forgotten, but to play forever within the memory of a ‘Grunt,’” in the estimation of one Dak To veteran. As one Marine grunt put it, “Until you have physically experienced looking an enemy soldier in the face and pulling the trigger, the sensation in your hand as the k-bar [knife] cuts [through] the windpipe, the actual smell of burning flesh, or the human rage, and competition for life that allows a soldier to kill another soldier, you will never fully be able to feel or describe, or convey the emotions” of modern war.

  They know, firsthand, the unhappy reality of war’s viciousness—the anger, the desperation of small, frightened groups of men trying to kill one another, the survivor’s guilt, the lust for revenge and destruction, the intensity of living with fear, boredom, physical discomfort, and danger for days, weeks, years on end. “Men get blown to bits, or shot, men that you know, men who are your friends,” a World War II rifle platoon leader wrote. At the same time, the grunts experience “near shell hits, so close that you hear the fragments screaming, while you wonder . . . why you weren’t hit; closing so near to the enemy that you can see his body jar under small, precise blows as somebody empties a BAR magazine into him; disappointment, maybe, at the difference between what Hollywood has taught you a battle should look like and the seemingly disjointed series of action that the thing really is; and somewhere in the middle of it, the desire to lie down in sheer disgust . . . and forget the whole business.” Through it all, they come to know firsthand the strange nobility that sometimes grows, like a beautiful flower in the wild, out of the desperate, horrible world of combat. They see that, amid the worst of circumstances, human beings are capable of decency, honor, and amazing selflessness. They understand to their very core that all grunts fight primarily for one another, nothing more, nothing less. This brotherhood marks them forever. For many, it is the most powerful phenomenon they will experience in their lives.2

  Some say that humanity is divided into three groups—sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. The majority are sheep. They are peaceful, compliant, with small capacity for violence and not much ability to defend themselves. The minority are wolves or sheepdogs. Wolves will always prowl, plunder, and defile the sheep. They thrive on destruction, domination, and bloodshed. Only the sheepdogs can protect the flock from these preying wolves, men like Hitler, Zarqawi, and their ilk. The sheepdogs’ job is to protect the sheep. To do so, they will use violence if necessary. They must maintain constant vigilance. Robots and machines cannot stand in for the sheepdogs. Technology can only assist them. They are a special breed. Theirs is a self-sacrificial struggle to the death to keep the wolves at bay. If necessary, they will lay down their lives so that the sheep might live. Without the sheepdogs, the wolves would rule. The grunts are America’s sheepdogs. May they never go away. May there be peace on earth . . . but don’t count on it.3

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  This book was a monumental undertaking. It is the product of much travel, research, study, and quite a bit of plain old-fashioned listening. I could not possibly have written it without the considerable assistance of a great many people. For every individual I mention here, there are probably several others I am omitting, so I apologize in advance for those omissions. I also would like to make clear that any mistakes or errors of judgment are mine alone.

  At the World War II Museum in New Orleans, Marty Morgan and Tommy Lofton were kind enough to guide me through the museum’s extensive collection of firsthand accounts from World War II veterans. The 99th Infantry Division memoirs were especially useful. The staff at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, was persistently patient and professional during my many visits. Rich Boylan went above and beyond the call of duty to access some excellent Masher/White Wing and Dak To material for me. Mark Reardon at the U.S. Army Center of Military History parceled out much good advice and guidance, for which I am very thankful. At the Cantigny First Division Foundation library in Chicago, Eric Gillespie and Andrew Woods went out of their way to make me feel comfortable. Thanks to Andrew, I was able to find a rich vein of excellent material on the 26th Infantry at Aachen, plus some first-rate photographs. The redoubtable Cynthia Tinker was her usual dedicated, insightful self during my visit to the Center for the Study of War and Society at the University of Tennessee. The same was true of Bill Eigelesbach and the staff at Special Collections down the hall. During my extended visit to the United States Army Military Institute at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, David Keough and the research staff did everything they possibly could to help me. David’s knowledge of the modern U.S. Army and the archival collection at Carlisle is a potent combination. He was kind enough to share both realms of expertise with me. At the Library of Congress Veteran’s History Project, Alexa Potter did a fine job of accessing a treasure trove of memoirs, oral histories, and diaries for me. This material was especially useful for the World War II chapters.

  I hold a special place in my heart for the staff at the Infantry School library, Fort Benning, Georgia. Ericka Loze and Genoa Stanford do the jobs of a staff three or four times their number, and they do it with courtesy and kindness. They never treated me like the pest I probably was. Genoa invested much of her own time to make sure I accessed the library’s wonderful collection of infantry small-unit leader experience monographs. Dave Stiegan, the infantry branch historian, was nice enough to meet with me, explain the breadth of the library’s historical collection, and impart his considerable wisdom on infantry history. I would like to extend a special word of thanks to Lieutenant Colonels Todd Wood and Dave Funk, who both welcomed me into the world of the 7th Infantry Regiment and facilitated many interviews. They also provided me unlimited access to their soldiers, something they did not necessarily have to do. I especially appreciate the willingness of the soldiers to share their experiences with such candor, humor, and sagacity. Thank you!

  In my opinion, the Marines appreciate and preserve their history better than any other service. At Quantico, Virginia, the United States Marine Corps History and Museums Division, and its first-rate staff, certainly reflect that emphasis on the value of the past. Lieutenant Colonel Kurt Wheeler, an embedded historian, and Captain Cam Wilson of the reference branch provided me with a nice entrée to the division as a whole. Jim Ginther at the division’s Gray Research Center patiently helped me mine the center’s considerable archive, which is chock-full of the personal papers of famous and not so famous Marines. These sources greatly enriched the Guam, Peleliu, and combined action platoon chapters. Rob Taglianetti of the oral history branch worked closely with me to make sure I made use of every possible firsthand account at his disposal. Through his personal intercession, I was able to access the branch’s extensive collection of Fallujah oral histories, a first for a non-Marine historian. Thank you, Rob. I will always be grateful. Annette Amerman is the soul of the division’s reference branch. She is as knowledgeable on Corps history as anyone I have ever met. Through her cheerful professionalism, she helped me in more ways than I can count. Most notably, she took the time to go through the branch’s relevant files with me, one by one. She also went out of her way to give me a tremendous amount of excellent information on the Marine combined action platoons in Vietnam. That chapter is better because of her efforts, and I cannot think of any greater compliment. Thanks, Annette!

  Veterans’ associations were especially important in the preparation of this book. I was consistently amazed at how welcoming and accommodating most of them were to me. The associations were my entrée to countless veterans, whose stories were so crucial to my depiction of the world of combat. By dredging up painful memories, these veterans were trusting me, as a historian, to portray their stories accurately, objectively, and
honestly. I hope I have kept the faith.

  A few, in particular, stand out. At the 3rd Marine Division Association, Don Gee was kind enough to place my ad in CALTRAPS, the association newsletter. Much to my surprise, I found a large number of Guam veterans in this fashion. Frank “Blackie” Hall also assisted me greatly in finding fellow veterans of that battle and, in particular, survivors of the Japanese banzai attack on the evening of July 25-26, 1944. Colonel Rudy Eggersdorfer of the 26th Infantry Regiment Association sent me several dozen back copies of their newsletter, and it was a source of excellent information for the Aachen chapter. Dave Garcia of the 5th Cavalry Regiment Association put me in touch with several other Vietnam veterans from the unit. Colonel Jim Brigham did the same for the 7th Cavalry Regiment. Larry Gwin, the author of one of the great Vietnam combat memoirs, sent me a specially signed copy of his excellent book and shared some forthright observations in his personal correspondence with me. Another Vietnam veteran, Paul Clifford, worked hard to keep me up-to-date on anything he thought might be relevant to this book. Bob Babcock, the 4th Infantry Division’s historian, shared much of his expertise with me, including a signed copy of his fine book. Roger Hill, another 4th Division veteran, generously forwarded me much valuable information on the unit’s role in the Battle of Dak To. Speaking of Dak To, Al Undiemi, Rocky Stone, and Dave Watson all sent me compelling, and useful, recollections. Watson put me in touch with more of his 173rd Airborne brothers than I could ever count, and I appreciate his efforts. My fellow military historian Pat O’Donnell lent me much insight into the Battle of Fallujah by relating his experiences to me. Ed Laughlin, a dear friend and distinguished World War II veteran of the 82nd Airborne, expended much effort to send me large amounts of useful research material on modern combat and military affairs in general.

  I appreciate the assistance of my own place of employment, Missouri University of Science and Technology, for financial support that covered many of my considerable research costs. My colleagues in the Department of History and Political Science are a constant source of support and inspiration: Diana Ahmad, Mike Bruening, Petra DeWitt, Shannon Fogg, Pat Huber, Tseggai Isaac, Michael Meagher, and Jeff Schramm. A special word of thanks goes to Russ Buhite for being such a good friend and mentor, and department chair Larry Gragg for being a daily example of hard work, good fellowship, fine scholarship, and outstanding leadership. Robin Collier also deserves appreciation for being a great secretary and a great person. Garrett Martin, my student research assistant (and a newly commissioned Air Force officer), did a tremendous job of tracking down public domain maps and photographs for this book. In particular, his efforts yielded a treasure trove of combined action platoon pictures. Thank you, Garrett!

  For the original maps in this book, I was fortunate once again to draw on the considerable talents of my friend Rick Britton, a master cartographer. In my opinion, Rick’s maps create a new and powerful dimension for my prose. He is a true artist and his work has strengthened Grunts.

  I owe Brent Howard, outstanding editor at NAL, special recognition. From the start, he believed in Grunts and the story we both knew we had to tell. He was a great sounding board and he dispensed so much good advice from his considerable reservoir of military expertise. Thank you to my literary agent Ted Chichak, a man of total integrity who has never steered me wrong. I am very grateful for his wise counsel and his hard work on my behalf.

  I would like to express a special word of thanks to my good friend, comrade, and fellow military historian Kevin Hymel. Kevin shared his home with me during my numerous visits to Washington. He helped with the photo research for the book. He also provided much-needed comic relief and was a constant source of considerable expertise on the modern U.S. Army.

  I am blessed with so many other good friends who helped me in some way, shape, or form, whether they realize it or not: Chris Anderson, Sean Roarty, Mike Chopp, Thad O’Donnell, Bob Kaemmerlen, John Villier, Steve Kutheis, Joe Carcagno, Ron Kurtz, Beth Fites, Tim Combs, Steve Vincent, Roland Merson, Tom Fleming, Chuck Hemann, Steve Loher, and Big Davey Cohen.

  Family is my greatest blessing. Nelson and Ruth Woody are the best in-laws anyone could ever hope for. They are a constant source of love and affirmation. The same is true for Doug, Tonya, and the boys, David, Angee, and the girls, plus Nancy, and Charlie, too. Thank you! I would like to express my gratitude to my brother Mike and my sister Nancy not just for their willingness to tolerate their baby brother’s workaholic tendencies but for their friendship, too. The same goes for John, my brother-in-law, who may have been raised in Cub country but was smart enough to become a Cardinal fan. My nephew Michael and my nieces Kelly and Erin are a source of joy and plenty of good laughs, too. My parents, Mike and Mary Jane, have no peer. They sacrificed so much for me that I cannot repay them in any meaningful way. The word “thanks” is too small but appropriate nonetheless. My wife, Nancy, is the foundation of everything for me. I do not know why I am so lucky as to be her husband. I just know that I appreciate her more each day. As usual, she assisted me in the photo research for Grunts and provided enough moral support to fill the Grand Canyon. Writing this book required total dedication. It was an emotional and sometimes gut-wrenching experience. Nancy understood this just as she understands so many other things about me. The only way I can repay her is with my enduring love.

  John C. McManus

  St. Louis, MO

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  In researching this book, I gathered and read many thousands of pages of documents. I conducted hundreds of hours of interviews, along with the requisite transcriptions. I read several hundred books and articles, some of them multiple times. I consulted several dozen Web sites and blogs. While all of this material informed my thinking, the bibliography below only consists of material I directly used in the preparation of this book. If a book was not specifically applicable to one chapter, or if it was useful for more than one chapter, I included it in the General Works section.

  ARCHIVES AND MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS

  Carlisle, PA. United States Army Military History Institute

  College Park, MD. National Archives and Records Administration (II)

  Columbia, MO. Western Historical Manuscript Collection, University of Missouri

  Columbus, GA. Donovan Infantry Library, Fort Benning

  Knoxville, TN. University of Tennessee Special Collections Library (repository of the Center for the Study of War and Society)

  New Orleans, LA. National World War II Museum

  Quantico, VA. U.S. Marine Corps History and Museums Division, Reference, Oral History, and Gray Research Center branches

  Washington, D.C. U.S. Army Center of Military History

  Washington, D.C. Library of Congress, Veterans History Project

  Wheaton, IL. Cantigny First Division Foundation Library, McCormick Research Center

  JOURNALS, MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS, PERIODICALS

  After the Battle

  American Spectator

  Armor

  Army

  Army Times

  Associated Press

  Atlantic

  Atlantic Monthly

  Buffalo News

  The Bulge Bugle

  Checkerboard: Newsletter of the 99th Infantry Division Association

  Cottonbaler

  Eyewitness to War

  Field Artillery Journal

  Infantry Journal

  Infantry School Quarterly

  Knight-Ridder Newspapers

  Leatherneck

  London Daily Telegraph

  Marine Corps Gazette

  McLean’s

  Military Affairs

  Military and Aerospace Electronics

  Military History Quarterly

  Military Review

  Newsweek

  New York Times

  Philadelphia Inquirer

  Popular Mechanics

  Rolling Stone

  San Francisco Chronicle

  Saturday Evening Post

&nb
sp; Spectator

  Time

  United States Naval Institute Proceedings

  U.S. Navy Medicine

  U.S. News & World Report

  VFW Magazine

  Vietnam

  VVA Veteran Magazine

  Wall Street Journal

  Washington Post

  Washington Star

  Weekly Standard

  World War II

  Yank

  BOOKS

  General Works

  Bolger, Daniel. Death Ground: Today’s American Infantry in Battle. Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1999.

  DeGroot, Gerald. A Noble Cause? America and the Vietnam War. Essex, England: Longman, 2000.

  Gordon, Michael, and Bernard Trainer. Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq. New York: Vintage, 2007.

  Grossman, Dave. On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society. New York: Back Bay Books, 1995

  ———, and Loren Christensen. On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace. Portland, OR: PPCT Research Publications, 2007.

  Hough, Frank. The Island War: The United States Marine Corps in the Pacific. Philadelphia and New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1947.

  Kagan, Frederick. Finding the Target: The Transformation of American Military Policy. New York: Encounter Books, 2006.

  Karnow, Stanley. Vietnam: A History. New York: Viking, 1983.

  Keegan, John. The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme. London: Penguin Books, 1976.

  Kindsvatter, Peter. American Soldiers: Ground Combat in the World Wars, Korea and Vietnam. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2003.

  Krulak, Victor. First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1999.