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The Journal of Military History 71.1 (2006) 268-269

Reviewed by
Steven S. Minniear
Dublin, California
From Omaha Beach to Dawson's Ridge: The Combat Journal of Captain Joe Dawson. Edited by Cole C. Kingseed. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2005. ISBN 1-59114-439-6. Photographs. Notes. Selected bibliography. Index. Pp. xxviii, 272 pages. $29.94.

This book should be read for what it does not say in the title. Cole C. Kingseed edited the letters written by a young volunteer in the U.S. Army [End Page 268] through enlistment, training, initial assignment, Officer Candidate School, initial deployment, combat command, and then to his final days before demobilization. Although famous for his, and his command's, service on Omaha Beach and at Dawson's Ridge outside Aachen, Germany, this is more than the story of what Captain Joe Dawson did at those places. It contains the poignant revelations of a son, brother, and friend to those on the home front. It is a study in leadership and motivation set in World War II.

Contrary to the title, this book covers the author's experiences throughout his service in World War II, moving from Dawson's basic training to Officer Candidate School, joining the Big Red One (First Infantry Division), deployment overseas, and service in North Africa and Sicily. Next described are preparations for D-Day, the invasion in Normandy, the Breakout and Pursuit through France and Belgium, combat at Aachen, Germany, relief, and return to the U.S. Dawson then describes his reassignment to the Office of Strategic Services and a return to Europe, including trenchant reactions to his visits to concentration camps.

The editor has done an exceptional job of interweaving his commentary with the letters. Dawson, as a person, a soldier, and a leader grows, changes, hardens, and almost breaks during the course of the war. It is a stirring and disturbing journey, as any war story is. The peeved enlistee complaining at the officious and wasteful Army life is transformed through training and experience into a divisional staff officer who sees the war across North Africa and Sicily. The young staff officer then becomes a seasoned commander who through his own force of character, and through the heroism of his troops, leads them off Omaha Beach, through the hedgerows and fields of France, and has his defining moment as a company commander beating off thirty-nine days worth of repeated, vicious counterattacks outside Aachen.

This is a fine study of an individual's progress through World War II. It is a valuable addition to the collection of anyone interested in leadership, company command, and a personal look at war.

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