CANNON FODDER - From Basic to Purple Heart, Letters to Home by Hildebrand, James E

Yucca Tree, 1999, US first edition, hard bound w./dj,. 6x9, Fine/Fine condition, xv, 352 pages, a few illus and maps, bibliog, index. ----------------------------Chow time and Mail Call are the two most important events in the daily life of a soldier. This wartime saga of James E. Hildebrand is unique. From his induction at Ft. Dix, New Jersey, through his basic training at Camp Fannin, Texas, posting to Fort Meade, Maryland (including a bout with Scarlet Fever), to ship overseas to Italy and finally being assigned to the 45th Infantry Division and seeing action in France, incl the Vosges campaign, where he was wounded-- and his return to Naples, Italy, he continually wrote home. All of this is documented in possibly the most complete collection of wartime letters (perhaps 800) from a soldier to his family. His father had served during World War I and the letters he wrote home had been saved. James spent many pleasant hours during his childhood sitting in the attic and reading those letters which fueled his imagination. He asked his family to save these letters as possibly his children might find them interesting.