1,271 Days a Soldier - by H E Gardiner (Paperback)

About the Book

1,271 Days a Soldier: The Diaries and Letters of Colonel H.E. Gardiner as an Armored Officer in World War II is one soldier's record of the Second World War.

Book Synopsis

1,271 Days a Soldier: The Diaries and Letters of Colonel H. E. Gardiner as an Armor Officer in World War II is one soldier's record of the Second World War. Henry E. Gardiner's collection recalls the first-hand experiences of an operational level ranking officer from the prelude of war to fighting in the African and European theaters, from the shock of the initial volley of violence during the December 7, 1941, Day of Infamy radio broadcast to the final days of the war while operating on the soft underbelly of Hitler's Europe. 1,271 Days a Soldier is written with all the emotion of someone who endured nearly four years of high-intensity conflict coupled with long periods of boredom and interjected with periods of frivolity.

Detailed footnotes, photographs, and maps throughout the diary provide context for each journal entry so readers and historians gain a better appreciation of the full spectrum of war that was unfolding at any given time in the work.

1,271 Days a Soldier is an official AUSA Book Program title.

Review Quotes

Dominic J. Caraccilo has captured Gardiner's disparate diary entries and personnel letters into a cohesive work. The Gardiner chronicles have been a staple for researchers and authors for the past 75 years for studies on the stateside preparation for deployment, Northern Ireland posturing, and the eventual formidable battles of Kasserine Pass, Rome, Cassino, Anzio, and the various fights across Northern Italy. Because of Caraccilo's expert editing and cross-referencing, they are now available to researchers, historians, and lay-readers as a must own and a must read.

- Lieutenant General (Retired) Robert Caslen, U.S. Army, 59^th Superintendent United States Military Academy, 29^th President University of South Carolina

Dominic J. Caraccilo's work skillfully illustrates the remarkable transformation experienced by Henry Gardiner: from horse cavalryman to armor battalion command; from the Louisiana Maneuvers to VE Day on the Italian Front; from untested civilian-soldier to decorated combat veteran. This narrative personalizes one soldier's story and illuminates why Gardiner and comrades are regarded as The Greatest Generation.

-Lieutenant General (Retired) Michael D. Barbero, U.S. Army