A WW2 Diary of a Common Soldier

"Dear Bud, ... Thanks not only for the copy of the book, but also for putting those wartime notes into a permanent record. It is an important addition to all the "stuff" historians record. I couldn't put the book down once I got into it. It brought back a lot of memories reading about times, places, and people from 55+ years ago." ~ retired General John W. Vessey

My father-in-law Wilmer A. "Bud" Wagner (above) was the second man in Northern Minnesota to be drafted into the war. He carried a small pocket camera and kept a diary from beginning to end, from Camp Claiborne to Ireland to North Africa and the Italy Campaigns. Cook, machine gunner and company agent - Bud had the privilege of being on the first convoy to make its way across the Atlantic for the European theater. And the good fortune of having survived the duration of the war without becoming a casualty - in North Africa and Italy, which included beachheads at Anzio and Salerno. General Vessey, who went on the become head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, received notice of his first promotion in Bud's jeep.

The book Bud wrote is a remarkable document of what war is really like for the day to day soldier. If you wish to find a copy of your own or for someone you know who is a military history buff, I strongly encourage you to just do it. Here's the link:
http://www.savpress.com/Details.asp?ProductID=126