The unknowns The untold story of America's unknown soldier and WWI's most decorated heroes who brought him home

Patrick K. O'Donnell, 1969-

Book - 2018

Celebrated military historian and bestselling author Patrick O'Donnell illuminates the saga behind the creation of the Tomb itself and recreates the moving ceremony during which it was consecrated and the eight Body Bearers, and the sergeant who had chosen the one body to be interred, solemnly united. Brilliantly researched, vividly told, The Unknowns is a timeless tale of heeding the calls of duty and brotherhood, and humanizes the most consequential event of the twentieth century, which still casts a shadow a century later. --

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Subjects
Published
New York : Atlantic Monthly Press 2018.
Language
English
Main Author
Patrick K. O'Donnell, 1969- (author)
Edition
First Grove Atlantic hardcover edition
Item Description
Printed simultaneously in Canada. -- Title page verso
Physical Description
362 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 327-349) and index.
ISBN
9780802128331
  • Preface
  • Prologue
  • Dramatis Personae
  • I. America Goes to War, 1917
  • Chapter 1. Getting Over There
  • Chapter 2. The Kaiser's Killing Machine
  • Chapter 3. James Delaney and the SS Campana
  • Chapter 4. Q Ships and Depth Charges: Das Boot
  • II. Buildup, 1917-1918
  • Chapter 5. Pershing and the AEF
  • Chapter 6. Ernest August Janson: First to Fight
  • Chapter 7. Trench Warfare
  • III. Defending paris, 1918
  • Chapter 8. Belleau Wood
  • Chapter 9. Hill 142
  • Chapter 10. "The Marines Are Fighting Like Trojans"
  • Chapter 11. Edward Younger: Vaux
  • IV. Counteroffensive, 1918
  • Chapter 12. Turning Point: Soissons
  • V. By Sea, 1918
  • Chapter 13. Charles Leo O'Connor: USS Mount Vernon
  • Chapter 14. James Delaney: Brandenburg
  • VI. Offensive, 1918
  • Chapter 15. St. Mihiel
  • Chapter 16. Thomas Daniel Saunders: Breaching the Wire
  • Chapter 17. The Skies Above and Victory
  • Chapter 18. "A Natural Fortress ... Beside Which the Wilderness in Which Grant Fought Lee Was a Park": The Meuse-Argonne
  • Chapter 19. Harry Taylor and the Wild West Division
  • Chapter 20. The Charge of the Light Brigade at Gesnes
  • Chapter 21. Mission Impossible: Blanc Mont Ridge
  • Chapter 22. Woodfill of the Regulars
  • Chapter 23. "I Got a Few"
  • Chapter 24. Louis Razga: The Big Guns
  • VII. The final battles and coming home
  • Chapter 25. The Final Push
  • Chapter 26. The Bridge
  • Chapter 27. Occupation
  • VIII. America's Unknown Soldier
  • Chapter 28. The Unknown
  • Chapter 29. Coming Home
  • Afterword: The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
  • Epilogue
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • Index
Review by Booklist Review

Acclaimed military historian O'Donnell (Give Me Tomorrow, 2010) brings to life America's involvement in the Great War through the stories of eight body bearers of an unidentified fallen soldier, the very one who lies in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, representing all of America's WWI unknowns. O'Donnell does his subject justice, beginning with the book's inspiration, his own work giving marines a tour of the battlefields in France. His recounting of the experiences of the body bearers vividly conveys the bloody reality of combat in the trenches while humanizing the combatants caught in a dehumanizing conflict. Each eventual body bearer faced adversity and violence differently, and their courage and devotion to duty were manifested in different ways. Together, these profiles offer a window on America's part in the twentieth-century's first world war. O'Donnell expands coverage by exploring the ceremonies and rituals associated with each U.S. service branch. A thrilling title for readers interested in WWI and an excellent primer for understanding the full significance of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.--Pekoll, James Copyright 2018 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review

O'Donnell (Washington's Immortals) has made a specialty of writing about America's military conflicts. The author is an expert at providing background information and narrating the chaotic flow of war. Here, he reevaluates the 1921 dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Following the paths of the eight veterans selected as pallbearers for the casket and the ninth asked to choose the coffin beforehand, O'Donnell finds a personalized way to chronicle a particularly gruesome conflict: World War I. There are 11 heroes here; as in addition to the nine with responsibilities to the casket, the tenth is the unknown dead soldier and the eleventh is Gen. "Black Jack" Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force, who comes across as an unlikable leader one can't help but admire. O'Donnell has succeeded admirably in conveying that we need heroes as much as we need reminders of war. VERDICT There are many readers for old-style military history. This is a solid volume, written with a twist, and the battle scenes are as good as you'll find in John Keegan's classic The Face of Battle.-David Keymer, Cleveland © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

"World War I marked the death of the old world and the emergence of the modern era." A century later, a prolific military historian revives one of that cataclysm's most iconic personal stories.In 1921, one decorated World War I veteran chose the "Unknown Soldier," and eight others solemnly bore his casket to its tomb in Arlington National Cemetery. Realizing that their remarkable stories would make a compelling background for a history of this monument, O'Donnell (Washington's Immortals: The Untold Story of an Elite Regiment Who Changed the Course of the Revolution, 2016, etc.), in his first book about WWI, strikes gold with vivid accounts of nine often horrendous battlefield experiences. The American Army fought under Gen. John J. Pershing, whom the author admires but also takes to task for some of his flawed convictions that led to immense casualties. Seven of O'Donnell's soldiers fought bravely, won medals, and often suffered grievous wounds in the iconic battles in Belleau Wood, Saint-Mihiel, and the final, brutal, perhaps unnecessary Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Of the two sailors, one sustained nearly fatal burns but saved his torpedoed ship; the other spent weeks as a prisoner aboard a U-boat and more than a year in a prison camp. The author is good at turning up "untold stories" from America's warsfive of his previous books include those words in the subtitleand he accompanies lively, well-researched accounts of these admirable, sometimes-heroic men with histories of our unknown soldiers (there are now three) and a fervent, American-oriented version of the final year of the war (arriving in the nick of time, Pershing's forces saved the day) that even American scholars no longer hold.Serious history buffs may roll their eyes, but if they concentrate on the lives of the main characters and less on the patriotic frills, they will not regret the reading experience. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

With flawless precision, a testament to their expert horsemanship and endless days of drilling in the saddle, a regiment of cavalrymen wheeled their mounts to form two lines flanking the entrance to the US Capitol. The sharp ring of cold steel echoed off the pavement and marble buildings as they drew their blades in unison. While drizzly rain dripped from their hats and soaked into their dress uniforms, eight men slowly lifted a flag-draped coffin off the caisson. Sergeant Samuel Woodfill of the US Army infantry, Sergeant Harry Taylor of the cavalry, Sergeant Thomas D. Saunders of the engineers, Sergeant Louis Razga of the coast artillery, Sergeant James W. Dell of the field artillery, Chief Torpedo Man James Delaney of the Navy, Chief Water Tender Charles Lee O'Connor of the US Navy, and Gunnery Sergeant Ernest A. Janson of the US Marine Corps elevated the body of the Unknown Soldier to shoulder height and marched beneath the upraised cavalry sabers and up the long flight of granite steps. Beneath the day's fading light spilling from windows high above, they gingerly placed the body upon the specially prepared platform in the Rotunda. Here the Unknown Soldier would lie in state before the final journey to his eternal resting place in Arlington National Cemetery. Within minutes, some of the most powerful men in the country joined the Body Bearers to pay their respects to this exemplar of America's fallen heroes. The president, vice president, speaker of the house, chief justice, secretary of war and secretary of the navy all laid flowers around the platform. But in the minds of the military men who formed an honor guard around the body, likely the most important visitor that night was the last. In solemn silence, General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing strode across the rotunda in his dress uniform. Having witnessed firsthand the terrible carnage of World War I, he understood the price of victory in a way that the other dignitaries could only begin to imagine. He tenderly laid a large wreath of pink chrysanthemums in tribute to the Unknown Soldier, who had fought and died at his command. Then, the general stepped back and drew himself up to his full height before snapping a sharp military salute. Pershing, the Body Bearers, and the Unknown Soldier had come full circle. They had left America's shores years earlier, prepared to sacrifice, yet not fully comprehending the true cost of war. One had paid the ultimate price, but each had come home forever changed by battles won and friends lost. Excerpted from The Unknowns by Patrick O'Donnell All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.