Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

This Is It: The Real Thing
This Is It: The Real Thing
This Is It: The Real Thing
Ebook219 pages3 hours

This Is It: The Real Thing

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

()

Read preview

About this ebook

While in training, soldiers were often asked by an officer, “What would you do if this was the real thing?” Once at the Port of Embarkation, the question became a directive: “This is it!” Having joined the US Army at the age of eighteen, Ward McGill was practically a kid when he started fighting in World War II as a combat infantryman.

Quickly, he was exposed to the brutality of war. He had no choice but to become calloused and tough, struggling to find the strength to keep his resolve. Rational thinking was no longer the rule as emotions took precedence. After four months of intermittent action in eastern France, the bloody job became more or less routine—until Ward was wounded in action.

Ward’s account might not be the most historically accurate account of World War II, but it’s the way he remembers it. He presents not war as a whole but the small part that changed his life forever. Soldiers fight bravely to protect freedom, but the most frightening part is when violence becomes the norm and fear is no longer there to keep them safe.
LanguageEnglish
PublisheriUniverse
Release dateJan 24, 2019
ISBN9781532054709
This Is It: The Real Thing
Author

Ward D. McGill

Ward D. McGill entered the United States Army through the draft at eighteen. After basic training, he was assigned to the Army Specialized Training Program at New Mexico A&M. When ASTP folded, he was sent to the Twelfth Armored Division and entered combat on December 7, 1944. He was wounded in action on Easter Sunday, 1945.

Related to This Is It

Related ebooks

Biography & Memoir For You

View More

Related articles

Related categories

Reviews for This Is It

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings

0 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    This Is It - Ward D. McGill

    Qabook_preview_excerpt.html\rFy#JՒm) E-$JMVx޲BB,#e>a~c>dι7"yBVzs<}]7`?̽;w2m_y[u4Oncؓ3Ȍhz]ʥ9 ` f¥iά+M1C9m3ݙ6.̦]勅q+>WTza|[cۍ0/ ,Z{LLv>&CݕM5f*̶Zӹ1r\;bToܗu | {EU(= E1ƛԽ@ߨQ2Pz`vB.^ӆ|{ ݚ|֍ z,},j(Tš:\ү|퇝9y[\#^Çr=81Ɛ:B0gwdt.vZ;Ν[GBh_=㞶宵/Lk>=m׷nXYnelY "e4Eh'ը,M O/Tbk%?# \ju*:c@|)r&z8V&A,6ơx ¬<3HqXnN;p|я;~|rp9[,yy em3 ?ݽwѣFa{*v]~nu)p-I׺QqنmMf̿}3/jv#s0|hEE1T0X0 ?q+ ){i|cꃃB޼|o퇃GBh1>y[bj|}v΂ƣ5=޵¯}?Lz9-[/| ƚ#H{ODzMr^v ~z:p#>qiB) ċ_Cf[{vPrkkوǵSx_!Dĉz׃ذtWTBTH rpdpra" !=vx~pAG@=auf21G^=+Շ&Du(Q:@≞$$B}TPw*` à|5~ͮ|4yjq'<A%˺ xo.`ߡ"nLA0ϰh'x'}c#SOc,w:{HO?W|߿ %?T2|u"\}ć&;@]c$%g"kj5Z׊ _a[R Zc-ْhEGrd* Zm+۱5f؄T]eui1M&mCnhuu \uvN BT0H2x*kyYF q2zE#v3_8D,~=܇I$ya$j1zW`]gàtB*VNҴK-s%BJЎ8EɆ#aJ'ն+:5_#E"1%cQtSLikkq2!NZn]B$B'@H{tT! E -hpv6Q,Sy;oa?ԫlB@Т\w`z,.$ Ho&{l1B.t)vm#[a†&,kGmhuW-@~7!B>'>?9jLk~w൅/qr`UE  ,WKFc H|VqIl+/| $ƤQ=NC$~2o(6J$WJ+ 1GԂʓSh2 T.6QP<$U%{K2m+T;@L :.7Ք+p) nP)׵2Vcsr UGr+lVࡈвDښ"h/; `)4!yq&pDH~ l"kwXy&&^x~ rxhl]BTz^5h>tp5ecTd(C(kD!+/at^@OW8.;{0WkK[MHD߷<̽; |(9l2`61X`WV`6De,V Y{IC'pF"rHbYKۦV  P{$dQ\(/MU h7˓Z.. QN]D) >EJ' Z礷n1N}<{O 0_\~,d@UTqL'_u.$40vdL|Rt7q^C2};&xc:.hw|=ȼɒO/||`inf)7n7cHQk؇}fI>xC0ʴTiT9=8w۳wgyl\$CL UB_-0!{/A*UE⵻?=?&XyS (qcp b u֔҇"Ė[(¼`UmЇcqQb Ӗ-$g flłcUmEMNz=%L#llPߩXA/&&DT׼Xc<ƉȚY) Xh!X{uh\WYqWDE[TRf[MY 8_ TnGnuJ&*ϣ0&h+C?4\"K(&Jҵ'#艜XVrlYSم̍'%tf[ Nu p@ 'd4=A/CDVcqR:1 {/27?)O X+Ў30 +" YO0:`+~ck0S0&J !pYz>E3A?rDq4S1"w;d \,|1èu8DfxRdJ. jHׂtū* c^ ħ%6{E<[P3_9v YR:5[ hj\rzPp |xP)^Ǡ}LBB?Xfʠ& pC͘Pn- lUx4:qCB^"̂f2suAoC(4#TJ(AS|NL8>|jI먪 7) l(F\b6 8NRu$?~)~-5W(>k q2XG!jbvCS~n^bv<,K_BJjgc dm6E2/.ըOfCk-&2@+xln0Fa #/đP)2J aĵZmnDؐyUݦ@z&?f擳5%45fv !an5,SiVʊ!TS\ASbVUW`^ެ)\.j־BڦhbY]4;mkEExn> kV8{bvBd8ؚFim4 ;ԧ,dH @ ~MݚozL=iJ~'s[>8);9Ҟ)j!12 epO!d Q}n,z%/PMсv&֋-\KŨ kqu16\88 .-e佴r!K]y~0H uvz$!N-{;zߔ* |Zύ!H%MJa ReNǂ4DݩUN ]L+h9+џGȲj %\5ÎQ<ӣ"a\ ("jӏݠP4ocRr k$M9ɱz7&?0'% ,Ȓb3vcBm>ԼC6[7MmZ,|EmP!F(rv 4HVlXNBޔũ`vsٜtMY$X_pgJoj+ȼ [׉Ojx'2,MHyRН>sSf״6 E{m b|WwPad ,l j9P-! !RXĄ0ɞCR-tyfJ>XjG>`|wwQZU]~1udKZXk_ "T>0syw_$ 3` 𷣓stޘG隆4o7ϏNLn`H^ = pgz+P3 s .E |pXYragCU452HxR:﫣7/n]={mNO.\],a'6&^Y'-R,qw>xr\:=?9T{߽}tG>❽0GGof}KyaY_HUeȖy&Ij/9Ļ5;\DKvm+9LRHA7U,E+l*sF=>/nH?|4sϊ $.t%y$(ܘSVAִ'Bh̀'13;ۄ^͎eKE>!qq6~H͋V&:'&P3[{ΥoO?2E#c O XgThg`LϜHxn1nIdG/1%/]kCNɗv?w@1Ї悠'I]'%#pL>VEry̰m %YJ4l*Yqx-/ؙ/־CmK(!Ȗ=V?'M Xj{MV3LL[.|v̀H16$+4fKBH7)- "%c_D; vN Yѵ L2ǀ5ZBFqo4h]ckZZ:hHE ^]oYxlN~^KGN| 6'P?qW_ŭ5Ƕ ˵"bvcsn⧯});y6<|FfA}Qڲ/}R,n䫒$i d wS40^ MN" 獥~yN;XM1K d ͺ `Rin[C*-h9f5BcBL$I+M:e[]9r/B4K!Ev/lҔ-f["V.ݔ=w-oI7>7*0?ВuA ՜$ S@KPR`z0ڢ]kui+ۊEyM8~*ezɇ ";T94JtZ(0,S 7+WhU-'6 T$ >g(Hm]c'^R,S+}y!P\VuM8x]C m`#+~ f^$ tO2H5`P5K~omݗJ>FƬ{sÔϵܶ$V!qe#SsC*Io#pc-O`~t).]5}[ƫYC@ή2^3 UKy5J,&#` J@+KO xb:{;;S3e~HMz8P:sW?ɤN5~-QAB5Kj?0 {x,:6jv7'RRf갰%W".~kLjRj7m/)͟+13?_,ucPH/}0hK0 ;+:p#MJcr}evm?X`a+y=Xի]@E?sNv2J2z? ԁY :%+ RIA&zphe3P$}CK+@ڍv|˲ _u՘uj$4XȀ$tHc+ yv#]2f}>B ԴJDcǗQ9JgmL?]rE6`4z;*R`E||Xڥp\|Le4S*r{˷1)})REɾf r ^AL/o9gs'8mv&;i31Bv#UgVK_4nlcJd-?]!5Ci>HP0u##:)CHBVv"RN37(ԕ)V;+ҫI,ۧgX VߠqW2YE)B_u֞ 4lpsZ+ǰHyQO(jT(K9QI5N1/-I
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1