Once Upon a Time in War
The 99th Division in World War II
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Narrated by:
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Frank Graham
About this listen
For the soldier on the front lines of World War II, a lifetime of terror and suffering could be crammed into a few horrific hours of combat. This was especially true for members of the 99th Infantry Division who repelled the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge and engaged in some of the most dramatic, hard-fought actions of the war.
Once Upon a Time in War presents a stirring view of combat from the perspective of the common soldier. Author Robert E. Humphrey personally retraced the path of the 99th through Belgium and Germany and conducted extensive interviews with more than 300 surviving veterans.
When Humphrey discovered that many 99ers had gone to their graves without telling their stories, he set about to honor their service and coax recollections from survivors. The memories recounted here, many of them painful and long repressed, are remarkable for their clarity. These narratives, seamlessly woven to create a collective biography, offer a gritty reenactment of World War II from the enlisted man's point of view.
Although focused on a single division, Once Upon a Time in War captures the experiences of all American GIs who fought in Europe. For listeners captivated by Band of Brothers, this book offers an often tragic, sometimes heartwarming, but always compelling listen.
The book is published by University of Oklahoma Press.
©2008 University of Oklahoma Press (P)2017 Redwood AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
In mid-1943 James Megellas, known as "Maggie" to his fellow paratroopers, joined the 82nd Airborne Division, his new "home" for the duration. His first taste of combat was in the rugged mountains outside Naples.
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Incredible book - narrator was terrible
- By joseph metz on 01-06-22
By: James Megellas
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Tank Rider
- Into the Reich with the Red Army
- By: Evgeni Bessonov, Bair Irincheev - translator
- Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Tank Rider is the riveting memoir of Evgeni Bessonov telling of his years of service at the vanguard of the Red Army and daily encounters with the German foe. He brings large-scale battles to life, recounts the sniping and skirmishing that tried and tested soldiers on both sides, and narrates the overwhelming tragedy and horror of apocalyptic warfare on the Eastern Front. So much of the Soviet experience of World War II remains untold, but this memoir provides an important glimpse into some of the most decisive moments of this overlooked history.
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Wish more about the Soviet POV was written.
- By brian on 10-07-18
By: Evgeni Bessonov, and others
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Honor Before Glory
- The Epic World War II Story of the Japanese American GIs Who Rescued the Lost Battalion
- By: Scott McGaugh
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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On October 24, 1944, more than 200 American soldiers were surrounded by German infantry deep in the Vosges Mountains of Eastern France. When their food, ammunition, and medical supplies ran out, the area's army headquarters turned to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated unit of Japanese American soldiers, to achieve what other units had failed to do: rescue the "lost battalion".
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Sincere gratitude for the honor, courage and integrity of all of the Japanese/American soldiers who served in WW2
- By Michael on 12-30-20
By: Scott McGaugh
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Sacrifice on the Steppe
- The Italian Alpine Corps in the Stalingrad Campaign, 1942-1943
- By: Hope Hamilton
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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When Germany’s Sixth Army advanced to Stalingrad in 1942, its long-extended flanks were mainly held by its allied armies - the Romanians, Hungarians, and Italians. But as history tells us, these flanks quickly caved in before the massive Soviet counter-offensive which commenced that November, dooming the Germans to their first catastrophe of the war. However, the historical record also makes clear that one allied unit held out to the very end, fighting to stem the tide - the Italian Alpine Corps.
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Tens of thousands of my countrymen dead.
- By Meliannos on 06-03-15
By: Hope Hamilton
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Those Who Hold Bastogne
- The True Story of the Soldiers and Civilians Who Fought in the Biggest Battle of the Bulge
- By: Peter Schrijvers
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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In this dramatic account of the 1944-45 winter of war in Bastogne, historian Peter Schrijvers offers the first full story of the German assault on the strategically located town. From the December stampede of American and Panzer divisions racing to reach Bastogne first, through the bloody eight-day siege from land and air, and through three more weeks of unrelenting fighting even after the siege was broken, events at Bastogne hastened the long-awaited end of WWII.
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How Did Anyone Survive?
- By Sher from Provo on 09-26-15
By: Peter Schrijvers
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If You Survive
- From Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge to the End of World War II - One American Officer's Riveting True Story
- By: George Wilson
- Narrated by: Brian Keeler
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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George Wilson has garnered much acclaim for this shattering and enlightening memoir. Detailing his odyssey from July, 1944 until the following summer, If You Survive is a startling first-person account of the final year of World War II. Wilson was the only man from his original company to finish the war. As a Second Lieutenant, he went ashore at Utah Beach after the D-Day invasion amidst burned vehicles, sunken landing craft, and broken fortifications.
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the best story of the war in Europe I've read
- By David on 02-18-17
By: George Wilson
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Enemy at the Gates
- The Battle for Stalingrad
- By: William Craig
- Narrated by: David Baker
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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On August 5, 1942, giant pillars of dust rose over the Russian steppe, marking the advance of the 6th Army, an elite German combat unit dispatched by Hitler to capture the industrial city of Stalingrad and press on to the oil fields of Azerbaijan. The Germans were supremely confident; in three years, they had not suffered a single defeat. The Luftwaffe had already bombed the city into ruins. German soldiers hoped to complete their mission and be home in time for Christmas.
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An Unforgettable and Haunting Read
- By Jean on 02-03-16
By: William Craig
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Fighting With the Filthy Thirteen
- The World War II Story of Jack Womer - Ranger and Paratrooper
- By: Jack Womer, Stephen Devito
- Narrated by: John Allen Nelson
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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In this long awaited work one of the squad’s integral members - and probably its best soldier - reveals his own inside account of fighting as a spearhead of the Screaming Eagles in Normandy, Market Garden, and the Battle of the Bulge.
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Interesting listen
- By Nick on 11-27-14
By: Jack Womer, and others
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Beyond Band of Brothers
- The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters
- By: Dick Winters, Cole C. Kingseed
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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They were called Easy Company, but their mission was never easy. Immortalized as the Band of Brothers, they suffered huge casualties while liberating Europe in an unparalleled record of bravery under fire. Dick Winters led them through the Battle of the Bulge, the attack on Foy, where Easy Company reached its breaking point, and finally into Germany, by which time each member had been wounded. Outside Munich, they liberated an S.S. death camp and captured Berchtesgaden, Hitler's alpine retreat.
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I listen to this over and over
- By David Ewing on 08-10-07
By: Dick Winters, and others
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11 Days in December
- Christmas at the Bulge, 1944
- By: Stanley Weintraub
- Narrated by: Patrick Cullen
- Length: 5 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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11 Days in December tells the unforgettable story of one of the grimmest points of World War II and its Christmas Eve turn toward victory. In December 1944, the Allied forces thought their campaign for securing Europe was in its final stages. But Germany had one last great surprise attack still planned, leading to some of the most intense fighting in World War II: the Battle of the Bulge.
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c-
- By Nikki on 05-11-07
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I Will Hold
- The Story of USMC Legend Clifton B. Cates from Belleau Wood to Victory in the Great War
- By: James Carl Nelson
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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The incredible true story of Clifton B. "Lucky" Cates, whose service in World War I and beyond made him a legend in the annals of the Marine Corps. Cates knew that he and his small band of marines were in a desperate spot. Before handing the note over to a runner, he added three words that would resound through Marine Corps history: I WILL HOLD.
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I Cannot Hold!
- By Matthew on 10-22-16
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Hue 1968
- A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam
- By: Mark Bowden
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 18 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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By January 1968, despite an influx of half a million American troops, the fighting in Vietnam seemed to be at a stalemate. Yet General William Westmoreland, commander of American forces, announced a new phase of the war in which "the end begins to come into view". The North Vietnamese had different ideas. In mid-1967, the leadership in Hanoi had started planning an offensive intended to win the war in a single stroke.
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I KNEW This Book Would Sting Me . . . .
- By Rum Runner on 07-28-17
By: Mark Bowden
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Undefeated
- America's Heroic Fight for Bataan and Corregidor
- By: Bill Sloan
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Abandoned by their government, the men and women of the American garrison struggled against impossible military odds, rampant disease, and slow starvation to delay inevitable surrender by the largest American military force ever. Rather than picturing these defenders as little more than helpless victims of an overwhelmingly powerful and sadistic enemy-as most previous books about the Philippines campaign have done- Undefeated credits American troops with the unexcelled heroism and indomitable spirit they displayed under the worst imaginable conditions.
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Mesmerizing
- By Amazon Customer on 03-30-17
By: Bill Sloan
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Voices of the Foreign Legion
- The History of the World's Most Famous Fighting Corps
- By: Adrian D. Gilbert
- Narrated by: Eric Brooks
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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The French Foreign Legion has established a reputation as the most formidable of military forces. Created as a means of protecting French interests abroad, the legion spearheaded French colonialism in North Africa during the nineteenth century. Accepting volunteers from all parts of the world, the legion acquired an aura of mystery—and a less than enviable reputation for brutality within its ranks.
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A good, if not amazing listen
- By Shaun on 03-06-13
What listeners say about Once Upon a Time in War
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- PCB
- 07-25-17
Narrator???
What made the experience of listening to Once Upon a Time in War the most enjoyable?
It was hard to enjoy this book because of the narrator. I'm reluctant to criticize someone who apparently does this for a living, but Mr. Graham's delivery was like a phrase-by-phrase staccato in many places and he seemed to ignore breaks between sentences. I felt like I was was being rushed through the book to the point where it was hard to follow what went on.
What did you like best about this story?
The soldiers who fought in this war and in this battle were brave men, and their courage is demonstrated in the narrative.
How did the narrator detract from the book?
See above.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No.
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- Clint Russell
- 08-12-17
Important story; amatuer narration.
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
Social or local historians; perhaps family members of former 99th veterans.
What didn’t you like about Frank Graham’s performance?
His cadence was up and down constantly; not smooth. Consistently mispronounced military words, such as "corps", pronouncing it "corpse", like a dead body.
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