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Scarlet Fields

The Combat Memoir of a World War I Medal of Honor Hero

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Scarlet Fields

Written by: John Lewis Barkley
Narrated by: Bob Souer
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About this listen

A reconnaissance man and sniper, John Lewis Barkley served in Company K of the Fourth Infantry Regiment, a unit that participated in almost every major American battle. The York-like episode that earned Barkley his Congressional Medal of Honor occurred on October 7, 1918, when he climbed into an abandoned French tank and singlehandedly held off an advancing German force, killing hundreds of enemy soldiers. But Barkley's memoir abounds with other memorable moments and vignettes, all in the words of a soldier who witnessed war's dangers and degradations but was not at all fazed by them.

Unlike other writers identified with the "Lost Generation", he relished combat and made no apology for having dispatched scores of enemy soldiers; yet he was as much an innocent abroad as a killing machine, as witnessed by second thoughts over his sniper's role, or by his determination to protect a youthful German prisoner from American soldiers eager for retribution. This Missouri backwoodsman and sharpshooter was also a bit of a troublemaker who smuggled liquor into camp, avoided promotions like the plague, and had a soft heart for mademoiselles and fräuleins alike.

©2012 The University Press of Kansas (P)2017 Tantor United States Wars & Conflicts Military War Solider Sniper

What the critics say

"Barkley was one of the war's outstanding heroes and his memoir is one of the most readable and detailed accounts of an American soldier's experiences to emerge from it." (Edward M. Coffman, author of The War to End All Wars)

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Hidden Gem

i listen to a lot of war memoirs. I was hesitant with this one as I know the US Army did not join the fray until close to the end of the war. I was missing out. This memoir is action packed pretty much from start to finish, The author is part of the original detachment of the US Army sent to France that was originally under French command. He is there throughout the final great offensives of the war, and takes part in occupation of Germany afterwards. A great listen for anyone interested in WW1 or war memoirs.

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