R. V. Burgin (1922–2019)

This review will serve as a review for two WW2 memoirs that unrelated by distance and disparate cultures are inexorably bound by the profound similarities of their wartime experiences. One was a heavy machine gunner for the German Wehrmacht and the second was a mortar gunner for the US Marine Corp. Both started as replacements but were very soon the veterans. Both served in hellishly brutal campaigns; one started at Stalingrad and fought all the way back to Germany during the retreat from Russia, the other was part of four island landings, Peleliu and Okinawa, two notable for their US casualties, as part of the "Old Breed" in the Pacific. Their experiences clearly demonstrate that "War is Hell"
Not authors but storytellers as they describe the wounding and deaths of their comrades some of whom, they never knew their names. Neither side was taking prisoners and it seemed appropriate given the circumstances. Heroism abounded and ineptitude at the command level was a frequent cause of casualties. Hitler's and Tojo's ambitions sent them to a war that became a fight to the bitter end. That both survived and lived long lives enabled them to write these fitting memorials to their comrades.… (more)