I found Chapter Eleven, The Truth About Replacements, especially interesting. The author discusses repos vs. unit integrity. They did the former in the ETO in WWII and the latter in the Second Gulf War.
My friend Pvt. Galen was a repo who arrived as the US Army was trying to cross the Rhine River. He and a bunch of other guys were wounded badly (by a shell?) when out in the open and had to crawl back as best they may as they were under heavy fire. Lloyd Apperson, who also served in the ETO, said this sounded like poor leadership.
So I would call him 'Pvt. Galen' as that was the end of his military career. He married well and taught many years in the LAUSD--in junior high schools, he apparently liked combat!
Index and endnotes.
My friend Pvt. Galen was a repo who arrived as the US Army was trying to cross the Rhine River. He and a bunch of other guys were wounded badly (by a shell?) when out in the open and had to crawl back as best they may as they were under heavy fire. Lloyd Apperson, who also served in the ETO, said this sounded like poor leadership.
So I would call him 'Pvt. Galen' as that was the end of his military career. He married well and taught many years in the LAUSD--in junior high schools, he apparently liked combat!
Index and endnotes.
