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UNLESS VICTORY COMES: Combat With a Machine Gunner in Patton's Third Army
Gene Garrison spent a terrifying nineteenth birthday crammed into a muddy foxhole near the German border in the Saar. He listened helplessly to cries of wounded comrades as exploding artillery shells sent deadly shrapnel raining down on them. The date was December 16, 1944, he was a member of a .30-caliber machine-gun crew with the 87th Infantry Division and this was his first day in combat.
Less than a year earlier, he had taken the first steps in charting his future, entering college as a fresh-faced kid from the farmlands of Ohio. Now, as the night closed around Garrison, slices of light pierced the darkness with frightening brilliance. Battle-hardened German SS troopers using flashlights infiltrated the line of the young, untested American soldiers. Someone screamed "Counterattack!" In the maelstrom of gun fire that followed the teenaged Garrison struggled to comprehend the horrors of the present, his entire future reduced to a prayer that he would be alive at daybreak.
From those first frightening, confusing days in combat until the end of the war five months later, Gene Garrison saw many of his buddies killed or wounded, each loss reducing his own odds of survival. Convinced before one attack that his luck had deserted him, he wrote a final letter to his family, telling them goodbye. Garrison gave the letter to a buddy with instructions to mail it if he died.
From the bitter fighting west of Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge to the end of the war on the Czechoslovakian border, Garrison describes the degradation of war with pathos and humor.
Gene Garrison's story is told through the eyes of the common soldier, a man who might not know the name of the town or the location of the next hill that he and his comrades must grimly wrestle from the enemy but who is willing to die in order to carry the war forward to the hated enemy. He writes of the simple pleasure derived from finding a water-filled puddle deep enough to fill his canteen; a momentary respite in a half-destroyed barn that shields him from the bitter cold and penetrating wind of an Ardennes winter; the solace of friendship with a core of veterans whose lives hang upon his actions and whose actions might help him survive the bitter, impersonal death they all face.
The rich dialogue and a hard-hitting narrative style bring the reader to battlefield manhood alongside Garrison, to each moment of terror and triumph faced by a young soldier far from home in the company of strangers.
Less than a year earlier, he had taken the first steps in charting his future, entering college as a fresh-faced kid from the farmlands of Ohio. Now, as the night closed around Garrison, slices of light pierced the darkness with frightening brilliance. Battle-hardened German SS troopers using flashlights infiltrated the line of the young, untested American soldiers. Someone screamed "Counterattack!" In the maelstrom of gun fire that followed the teenaged Garrison struggled to comprehend the horrors of the present, his entire future reduced to a prayer that he would be alive at daybreak.
From those first frightening, confusing days in combat until the end of the war five months later, Gene Garrison saw many of his buddies killed or wounded, each loss reducing his own odds of survival. Convinced before one attack that his luck had deserted him, he wrote a final letter to his family, telling them goodbye. Garrison gave the letter to a buddy with instructions to mail it if he died.
From the bitter fighting west of Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge to the end of the war on the Czechoslovakian border, Garrison describes the degradation of war with pathos and humor.
Gene Garrison's story is told through the eyes of the common soldier, a man who might not know the name of the town or the location of the next hill that he and his comrades must grimly wrestle from the enemy but who is willing to die in order to carry the war forward to the hated enemy. He writes of the simple pleasure derived from finding a water-filled puddle deep enough to fill his canteen; a momentary respite in a half-destroyed barn that shields him from the bitter cold and penetrating wind of an Ardennes winter; the solace of friendship with a core of veterans whose lives hang upon his actions and whose actions might help him survive the bitter, impersonal death they all face.
The rich dialogue and a hard-hitting narrative style bring the reader to battlefield manhood alongside Garrison, to each moment of terror and triumph faced by a young soldier far from home in the company of strangers.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published June 30, 2004
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51 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 9, 2020
It was ok. I have better and I have read worse
May 26, 2020
Unless Victory Comes is a dissatisfying read. Written in a dispassionate and impersonal tone, it not only fails to engage the reader, but fails to reveal anything about author Gene Garrison's personal war experience or that of his comrades-in-arms. There is no insight into his/their thoughts and feelings. It is more like a checklist than a narrative---this happened, then this happened, then this happened. Unless Victory Comes doesn't enlighten, doesn't captivate, doesn't excite, charm, or delight, doesn't trouble or horrify. It's a whole lot of blah.
There are lots of stellar memoirs of war worth your time. This is not one of them.
There are lots of stellar memoirs of war worth your time. This is not one of them.
August 24, 2018
You are there
A memoir of the last 6 months of WW II written from the perspective of a fighting infantry soldier. One actually feels like one is in the midst of the squad. No hyperbole or bravado; rather a tale well told. A great read for those interested in the reality of an ordinary soldier on the front lines.
A memoir of the last 6 months of WW II written from the perspective of a fighting infantry soldier. One actually feels like one is in the midst of the squad. No hyperbole or bravado; rather a tale well told. A great read for those interested in the reality of an ordinary soldier on the front lines.
January 9, 2020
Overall a good read.
The author gives us a more in depth insight to the daily discomforts and fears of a GI during the Battle of the Bulge into the final days of the US involvement in the European Theater of World War II.
The author gives us a more in depth insight to the daily discomforts and fears of a GI during the Battle of the Bulge into the final days of the US involvement in the European Theater of World War II.
July 5, 2011
This is a fairly easy read. This book is a first hand account of an American soldier serving in Europe at the end of World War II. It was written fairly recently so the author is trying to reconstruct the events that occurred through his own memory and discussions with other former soldiers with whom he served. This kind of reduces the impact of the events that occurred and left me wanting to understand the magnitude of the various events described. But, overall it did provide insight into the miserable experiences of soldiers and the hardships they endured.
July 22, 2014
I was pleasantly surprised at the writing in this book. I have experienced war autobiographies that tend to drag in points, but Mr. Garrison does an amazing job with his writing style and ability to engage and retain the reader's attention. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the European theater during WWII.
August 27, 2012
I enjoyed reading this book. It gave me insight on what it was like to be a machine gunner in world war II. I found it hard to stop reading the book because I wanted to know what was going to come next. If I were to recommend it to someone I would!
October 1, 2008
Did not go into as much detail regarding The Bulge as I would have liked.
May 14, 2009
An average, first person account of WWII.
January 28, 2015
Good account of the daily life of a WWII GI. A bit disjointed in the narrative, but Ok overall.
Want to read
February 19, 2008Thanks www.armchairgeneral.com
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews