In Death’s Dark Shadow: A Soldiers Story, by Harold G. Barkley as told to Cleve C. Barkley. (ISBN 1-59872-487-8. Distributed by Advance Guard Militaria, 270 Highway HH, P.O. Box 339, Burfordville, MO 63739; 573.243. Web site: www.advanceguardmilitaria.com. Softcover, 6” x 9”, 410 pages, 18 black-and-white illustrations, 2006, $20.00).
As our WWII generation fades, more and more memoirs, letter compilations and abbreviated unit histories flood the market. The vast majority are self-published memorials to a veteran’s personal service. As such, they tend to be tilted, larger-then-life, and often suffer from little editing. When one of these memoirs stands out from the pack, however, it provides a rare, personal, honest insight into a soldier’s life. This is the case with IN Death’s Dark Shadow. Fortunately, author Cleve Barkley took the time to study the campaign of his father’s unit, the 2nd Division, and then sat down and interviewed the elder Barkley with the tenacity of Dan Rather and the compassion of Tom Brokaw.
Harold G. Barkley was eighteen when he was drafted. From the time he entered basic training in Texas until he emerged from the Normandy invasion and the subsequent campaign into the winter forests of Germany, he aged faster then anyone should. Barkley was a scout, and as such, he was the first man over the hedge, the lead down unexplored causeways and the last to withdraw when enemy fire was overwhelming. Though he never really spoke of his experiences while his son was growing up, Barkley did divulge his memories in minute detail. The younger Barkley assembled the memories into a chronological, thrilling story that, at times, reads like an excerpt from Steven Ambrose’s thrilling Band of Brothers. The elder Barkley left out no details and his son hid none. You will read about the miserable conditions of combat, losing friends on an almost daily basis and Barkley’s subsequent break down when the strain of warfare became too much. The narrative is as raw as combat itself and is filled with details that will make you feel as though you are a part of the action.
In Death’s Dark Shadow is a gem among many nuggets of WWII memoirs. Self-published, it will probably not be available for long, so don’t waste any time to become one of the privileged few who will add this to their WWII European Theater library.—John Adams-Graf
As our WWII generation fades, more and more memoirs, letter compilations and abbreviated unit histories flood the market. The vast majority are self-published memorials to a veteran’s personal service. As such, they tend to be tilted, larger-then-life, and often suffer from little editing. When one of these memoirs stands out from the pack, however, it provides a rare, personal, honest insight into a soldier’s life. This is the case with IN Death’s Dark Shadow. Fortunately, author Cleve Barkley took the time to study the campaign of his father’s unit, the 2nd Division, and then sat down and interviewed the elder Barkley with the tenacity of Dan Rather and the compassion of Tom Brokaw.
Harold G. Barkley was eighteen when he was drafted. From the time he entered basic training in Texas until he emerged from the Normandy invasion and the subsequent campaign into the winter forests of Germany, he aged faster then anyone should. Barkley was a scout, and as such, he was the first man over the hedge, the lead down unexplored causeways and the last to withdraw when enemy fire was overwhelming. Though he never really spoke of his experiences while his son was growing up, Barkley did divulge his memories in minute detail. The younger Barkley assembled the memories into a chronological, thrilling story that, at times, reads like an excerpt from Steven Ambrose’s thrilling Band of Brothers. The elder Barkley left out no details and his son hid none. You will read about the miserable conditions of combat, losing friends on an almost daily basis and Barkley’s subsequent break down when the strain of warfare became too much. The narrative is as raw as combat itself and is filled with details that will make you feel as though you are a part of the action.
In Death’s Dark Shadow is a gem among many nuggets of WWII memoirs. Self-published, it will probably not be available for long, so don’t waste any time to become one of the privileged few who will add this to their WWII European Theater library.—John Adams-Graf
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