One Man’s War
Based on his father’s account of service during World War II, P.M. Kippert has written a heartrending account of “tip of the spear” conflict – a young rifleman in a frontline company. We join draftee Bob Kafak on the beach at Anzio, Italy, and follow the fighting to the south of France and into Germany.
The sufferings are horrific. But Bob, soon nicknamed “Dash” by his comrades in the trenches, learns through painful example or experience to keep his head down, his feet dry, and his gun firing.
After being hospitalized with an infection that nearly kills him, Kafak enters the more hand-to-hand combat, looking into the eyes of his enemy. Along the way he resists promotion after seeing the short lifespan of commanding officers. He earns the respect of his fellow soldiers, who are a funny and companionable band of brothers. While on leave in Italy, Kafak has a memorable meal with a Tuskegee airman when the restaurant empties of all but the two of them. He learns a new blasphemy, “motherf***er,” from the airman and adds it to the filling-in-the-spaces language of men in combat.
One Man’s War honors the memory of one soldier and, in doing so, pays tribute to them all. This visceral, intense, moving experience is a worthy addition to war literature.
