Normally I don’t review a book, let alone mention it, until I have read it cover to cover. My current book is an exception. The book is called To The Last Man. I am addicted to Shaara books but normally it’s been a civil war type addiction. This is Jeff Shaara’s WWI book. I, like many Americans, are not familiar with WWI. We are trained to think Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWII. Self admittedly I do not know much about the first world war.
I am about half way through this book and am enjoying every minute of it. Only reason I am writing a blog about it is based on one quote. This is an historical fiction novel so I can’t claim that this statement was actually made by John Pershing. I have written the quote below:
“The speakers had come and gone, the words of the American ambassador to Belgium now drifting out over the crowd. Pershing could see his soldiers still fumbling with the flowers, some of them discreetly slipping a blossom into their shirt, something to carry to a place……not nearly so pleasant. The thought shocked him, and he focused on the men, could see faces now, men in glasses, some with moustaches, some with freckles, most of them very young. He felt embarrassed at himself, so much concern about their appearance, thought. What does it matter? If anyone doubts our resolve, and dares to judge us by our martial experience, to hell with them. I have had enough of the parades and luncheons, and petty arguments about which of our allies we prefer. In a little while, these men must be prepared for anything that awaits them. It has been so in every war that we have fought, and it will be no different now. They will learn discipline and they will learn mechanics, they will shoot and march and become proficient with the bayonet. But more, each man will know in his own heart why he is here, and what he must do. He had thought of it often, what it was that made a man fight, what propelled a man to step into the line of fire. We have had it in us since the beginning, he thought, since Boston and Chapultepepc and Gettysburg. It is something in being an American, perhaps, an anger bred into us, defiance, rebelliousness, a kind of strength we draw upon when the cause is just, when the challenge is set before us. Some would say it is the worst part of man, and anyone who lived through our Civil War would understand. We don’t always require an enemy beyond our borders to call out to fire. The inspiration comes from the heart, and the cause might divide us, or even destroy us. In the Civil War, we suffered a cost that was beyond any horror we could imagine, because we poured that fire into each other. That fire is still in us, in every one of these men. If I did not believe that, I could not lead these men into this fight. Out there we will face an enemy who knows what it is to win. We will stand up to the soldiers who have become accustomed to the face of death. And when this Army marches out onto that ground, there will not be a man among us who is not prepared. If the French doubt us, if the English doubt us, it will not matter. The enemy will discover what these men can bring to this war. Every one of these men, and every man still to come, will come here to fight.”
Something about this quote really brought me to life. It’s a typical American quote that is enjoyable to read. But in the context of the war and the context of John Pershing, the quote is priceless and a great moment of history. I hope that folks reading this can take the initiative to really understand the impact that WWI placed on our country and our history.
