Medic!

Lt. Gen. George S. Patton remarked that the "45th Infantry Division is one of the best, if not the best division that the American army has ever produced." Such praise, however, came at a steep price, for the 45th saw some of the fiercest fighting in the European campaignfrom Sicily to Anzio and from southern France to Germanyand racked up one of the highest casualty rates. Through it all, medic Robert "Doc Joe" Franklindrafted in 1942 and thrust into combat with no specific training or knowledge for treating war woundssoldiered on, fighting as hard to keep his men alive as the enemy fought to kill them. The story of his career as a frontline medic, one of the first memoirs written by an aid-man, is told here with simplicity, unflinching honesty, and grit. Studded with memorable vignettesof a friend who "smells" the Germans long before they appear, the dog that acts as an artillery spotter, the lieutenant who can't see beyond a few hundred feetFranklin's memoir documents the almost unbearable drama of ground gained and lives lost, as well as the terrible human toll of battle on himself, his comrades, and civilians quite literally caught in the crossfire. A rare look at the fight for lives laid on the line,Medic!brings to life the reality of war.

Robert “Doc Joe” Franklin (1917–2006) served as a medic with the 157th Infantry Regiment of the 45th Division during the invasion of Europe in World War II. Flint Whitlock, author of The Rock of Anzio: From Sicily to Dachau, A History of the 45th Infantry Division, is a former army officer and Vietnam veteran.