The Replacement: The Maturing of an 18-year old in WW II

Most books about the Second World War outline various strategic situations and then go on to describe the tactics employed by both sides and the resulting battles. The picture is usually viewed from the top down and one is rarely able to appreciate what it was really like for the individual soldier involved in such conflict. This book is quite different. It shows the reader the raw material from which history is made and describes, often in brutal form, the tedium and misery of sitting in a foxhole in the freezing cold and the intense mixture of terror and elation of being involved in close combat. Few books have done this with such clarity. Forward by Major General Michael Reynolds, CB

Much of the success of the U.S. Army during World War II was due to their well organized system of replacements. As men in the front line units were injured or killed they were replaced by other already trained men, thus keeping each unit continually at near full strength. The U.S. was the only country to do this effectively, a fact which impressed even the Germans. Bob Kauffman was one such replacement. He landed in Normandy on D-Day+10 (June 16, 1944). A few days later he joined the 3rd Armored Division, 36th Armored Infantry Regiment, Company D, 2nd Platoon, 3rd Rifle Squad when a man in that unit had been killed. He was with that unit only a few weeks when he was wounded on July 10th and sent to a hospital in England. He rejoined his unit at the beginning of September and fought with them for several months until he was wounded again. He later joined them for a third time after the surrender of Germany. After the war, Bob returned to the US and to Emmaus, PA, where he still makes his home. Over the last 20 years Bob has made many trips back to Europe, visiting all the places that he was in during the war and assembling the various stories that make up this book.