Dad’s War: Stories and Remembrances

These are the remembrances of Ralph Joseph Ungers regarding his service as a combat soldier during World War II – specifically, his experiences as a member of the 749th Tank Battalion while attached to General George S. Patton’s, Third US Army. As told to his son, these stories are the personal experiences of a nineteen year-old German-American technical sergeant in the US armored forces. They describe the events surrounding his recruitment, his basic training at Fort Knox; his combat in the Lorraine, France, in Luxembourg, and in Germany; as a casualty of war; and his return home as a World War II veteran. Retold in this book for the benefit of Ungers’ children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, some stories are light-hearted, others are dark, but all describe events in his military service that shaped him as a man, a husband, and a father. Some of his experiences were likely common to many veterans, others perhaps unique to Ungers, but all should be of interest to anyone wanting to appreciate the men and women whom Tom Brokaw has named as the Greatest Generation.