The Longest Winter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Longest Winter: The Battle of the Bulge and the Epic Story of World War II's Most Decorated Platoon is a non-fiction book written by Alex Kershaw and published in 2004 by Da Capo Press. It became a New York Times bestseller.
It tells the story of the eighteen men of an intelligence platoon under the command by Lieutenant Lyle Bouck. Despite not being part of a front-line fighting unit, the soldiers fought fiercely in the Battle of the Bulge, defending a strategic hill against an entire German battalion until they ran out of ammunition and were forced to surrender.
All eighteen survived imprisonment as prisoners of war. More than thirty years later, President Carter and the U.S. Army recognized their "extraordinary heroism". In total, they were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, four Distinguished Service Crosses, five Silver Stars, and ten Bronze Stars with V devices, making the platoon America's most decorated of World War II.
[edit] References
- Kershaw, Alex (Dec 2004). The Longest Winter. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0306813041.
[edit] External links
- Interview with Alex Kershaw at the Pritzker Military Library
