Goodreads Reviews: Easy Company Soldier

 

Easy Company Soldier: The Legendary Battles of a Sergeant from World War II's "Band of Brothers" by Don Malarkey

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

 Donald Malarkey's life as a young boy from Astoria, Oregon was oftentimes marked with hardship. His alcoholic father abandoned his family, leaving Don responsible to help his mother and siblings. This had a profound effect on him, but Don's lively imagination of adventures and danger saw him through. In spite of his father's absence, Donald took great pride in his two uncles who died as war heroes in World War I and were inspirations for him to join the paratroopers. Marlarkeys never quit was the family motto and Don lived by that everyday.

In 1942, Don was drafted, even though he previously failed a Marine physical. After some persuasion from a friend, Don agreed to volunteer for the new army experiment, the paratroopers. As a child Don dreamt of adventure, a life far away from his quiet one in Oregon. When he arrived in Toccoa, Georgia, adventure into the unknown is exactly what he got.

Don Malarkey chronicles his military service through candid stories of the friendships he forged, the demanding physical training he endured and the horrors he witnessed. Donald was well liked and respected by all of the men in Easy Company and he had a wide circle of friends. Slowly, Don sees them killed, wounded and descend into madness. As the Battle of Bulge raged on, Don's own sanity begins to waver, but he always remains steadfast and devoted to his duty.

Of all the men in Easy Company, Donald saw more combat than anyone else. He was the definitive Taccoa veteran. Training under Sobel and running Currahee, Malarkey parachuted into Normandy and the Netherlands; staying for the duration of their liberations (about 40 days each). He fought in Bastogne, Foy and Hagganau. By the time the men were on their way to Germany to capture Hitler's Eagle's Nest, Don was almost mentally and emotionally unstable and was told to stay behind. All the fighting and suffering he endured and he never got to reap the rewards. However, Don was ready to go home.

Transitioning wasn't easy for Malarkey, but as always, he fought through the hard times, the painful memories and the PTSD. He married a wonderful woman he met in college and had a happy family life. Don's writing is so personal and by the end of the book I felt like I had gained a friend in him. He didn't shirk away from the mental pain he had experienced, but he had held it inside for many years as well. Easy Company Soldier is possibly the most personal and emotionally driven. Very few books have ever made me cry. This one did. If you only ever read one book about Easy Company, then this one should be it.