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Summary:

"Joe Olexa enlisted in the US Army in December 1940, figuring that if he was going to be in a war, he might as well start training. Assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, nicknamed "The Big Red One," he served in Company L of its 26th Infantry Regiment for the next four years. Along the way he trained with the division in maneuvers in the United States; shipped to England in 1942; landed at Oran, Algeria, in the Operation Torch landings of November 1942; and fought in Tunisia, Sicily, Normandy, Belgium, and Germany. Olexa was one of the first group of enlistees that brought the division up to full strength in the buildup prior to Pearl Harbor, and was a sergeant by the time he went overseas. He served as a squad leader, platoon sergeant, and acting platoon leader, outlasting nearly all the men in his company. His memoir features accounts of unusual adventures in Tunisia when his battalion was detached from the rest of the division, and presents a detailed and intense account of his platoon's experiences at El Guettar. Later, Olexa became a "Sea Scout," going ashore on Sicily the night before the invasion to provide signals to guide landing craft onto the beach at Gela. After landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day, Olexa was selected by his battalion commander to hunt snipers and lead patrols in addition to his usual duties, and he fought in Normandy until wounded in late June. He rejoined his company in mid-September 1944 and was heavily involved in the capture of Aachen in October. His memoir, originally composed in the late 1970s and expertly edited and annotated by James Smither, offers remarkable insights into the experiences of an ordinary soldier who found himself in truly extraordinary situations"-- [Provided by publisher]

Table of Contents:

• Preparing for war
• Oran
• Into Tunisia
• Feeling out the enemy
• Kasserine and El Guettar
• Last battles in Tunisia
• Sea scout
• Sicily
• England again
• D-Day to Ste. Anne
• Caumont
• Recovery
• To the German frontier
• Aachen
• A very long day
• The long road home.

Author/Creator:

Olexa, Joseph P., 1918-2000 , author

Contributors:

Smither, James R. , editor, writer of introduction

University of North Texas Press , publisher, http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/pbl

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

Item content: English

Main Work:

Death and life in the Big Red One: a soldier's World War II journey from North Africa to Germany [by Olexa, J.P.]

Other Related Resources:

Online version: Death and life in the Big Red One [by Olexa, J.P.] (Denton, Texas : University of North Texas Press, 2023 — ISBN 9781574419054; LCCN 2022057315)

Related Series:

North Texas military biography and memoir series; no. 22

Subjects:

Olexa, Joseph P., 1918-2000

United States Army — Infantry Regiment, 26th (1901-1957) — Biography

United States Army — Infantry Division, 1st — History

Soldiers — United States — Biography

World War, 1939-1945 — Personal narratives, American

World War, 1939-1945 — Campaigns — Africa, North

World War, 1939-1945 — Campaigns — Western Front

Aachen, Battle of, Aachen, Germany, 1944

United States Army — Infantry Division, 1st

United States Army — Infantry Regiment, 26th (1901-1957)

Military campaigns

Soldiers

Germany — Aachen

North Africa

United States

Western Front (World War (1939-1945))

Battle of Aachen (Aachen, Germany : 1944)

World War (1939-1945)

1939-1945

United States Army

1901-1957

Germany

Genres:

Autobiographies

Biographies

History

Personal narratives

Personal narratives — American

General Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.
(Copy 1) Bound in publisher's red paper-covered boards; Retains original illustrated dust jacket.

Physical Description:

xx, 330 pages, 18 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Physical Characteristics:

map; plate; illustration

Call Numbers:

D769.31 26th .O44 2023

ISBNs:

9781574418989 (cloth)
157441898X (cloth)
9781574419054 (ebook) [Invalid]

Library of Congress Control Numbers:

2022057314

OCLC Numbers:

1352474496