In “Men of War” author Alexander Roe undertakes to produce an American version of John Keegan’s “The Face of Battle”.  This book examines the experience of the American combat soldier at three iconic battles: Bunker Hill, Gettysburg and Iwo Jima. 

War History Network members will be surprised by some facts, such as that Americans were better armed and experienced than the British at Bunker Hill, the mid-nineteenth century criteria for amputation, that officers had higher casualty rates at Gettysburg and that flamethrowers kill more by oxygen deprivation than heat.

Rose has produced a masterful work relates the experiences of the soldiers without becoming bogged down in minutiae.  In each section he outlines the battle, the contending forces, the nature of attack and the defense and the distinctive actions: the rail fence at Bunker Hill, the Charge at Gettysburg and the cave-by-cave defense on Iwo Jima.  For each battle he explores the strengths and weaknesses of the armies and evolution of strategy as the officers came to understand each other’s battle plans and adapted their own actions in the field.  Appropriate attention is paid to supply and medical care.

The author employs the skill of weaving the words of the veterans into the story of the battle experience while not unraveling the battle into disconnected personal reminiscences.  By the end I had a greater appreciation of the sights and smells, the carnage and hardships, the inspirations and “get the job done” attitude, and the mental shocks and emotional disconnects with which and by which our defenders contended and coped.  I understand his endorsement of John Keegan’s observation that professional military historians tend to be more pacific, if not pacifist, than the population at large because they keenly understand the cost, price and tolls of war.

I think the greatest value of a book like this is that it helps put the reader in the place of the warriors of each era.  I have often thought of what my great-grand-father went through.  He was at Vicksburg, not Gettysburg, but much of his experience must have been like that depicted in this book.  He told stories to his grandchildren.  Now I can imagine what they must have been.  Maybe his memories played a role in his leaving the family home, but we will never know.  He now seems more real, and I am more grateful for what he endured.  Maybe you will find your someone among the experiences related here.  If you do it may change you image of him.  A book that can do that is not to be missed.