2d Squad, 2d Platoon, G Company, 385th INF

About the Book

It is the tale of a group of young men, most of whom were in the late teen age years of their lives. We were thrown together by chance through the action of local draft boards who had designated each of us as fit for military service. Each had received his basic infantry training at camps in his own region of the country. Upon completion each was assigned to duty with 76th Infantry Division, then atationed at Camp Mc Coy, Wisconsin Within the Division all were assigned to the 2d squad, 2d platoon, of G company, 385th Regiment. Fortunately we had not the slightest hint that one day in the near future we would be assigned the task of attacking and capturing the German bunkers that constituted the Siegfreid Line. Enemy Generals commanding those troops that manned the defense positions were assured in emphatic tones by Der Fuhrer that "German troops can never be shot out of these positions." Later our 1st and 2nd Battalions were members of the 17th Armored Group task force with the mission of penetrating the enemy Kyll River defense lines in a planned drive to reach the Rhine River, trap enemy forces west of that river and to seize an intact bridge over its waters. Unfortunately stiff German resistance slowed our drive. However by drawing in enemy forces to thwart our effort, we could possibly have aided the 9th Armored Division, 1st Army Sector, to break through weakened enemy lines, reach the Rhine and seize the bridge at Remagen Koblenz was the ultimate goal of Onaways task force, Remagen lies approximately 25 miles north of Koblenz.

About the Author

P>George Hammond is the author of three novels (The Senior Partner, Bob and Charlie and The Morning Light), a collection of short stories (Mark Twain's Visit to Heaven And Other Short Stories) and four philosophical books on issues in theoretical physics (Even More Relativity), Plato's theory (Conversations With Socrates), early Christianity (The Gospel According to Andrew) and rational idealism (Rational Idealism).

George was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1953 and was raised there along with eleven brothers and sisters. After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1974, he studied Indian and Greek philosophy in Switzerland and then taught philosophy in Hong Kong. While there, he started keeping notes for future short stories, novels and nonfiction projects.

In 1977, while writing his novel The Morning Light, he started developing philosophical concepts that effectively undercut several basic assumptions of Indian philosophy. Applying those same concepts to Greek philosophy eventually led to a new approach to several fundamental ideas. By 1979, George's reformulation of Plato's Eternal Ideas theory had culminated in a completely different view on why life might be "just". It had also led to a rational explanation of all our emotions.

His brother Louis lent him the finances and the room to allow him to write about his new ideas for two and a half years. Starting late in 1981, stints as a day laborer, temporary secretary, accounting assistant and securities salesman eventually led to full-time work as a secretary for a real estate firm.

Within a few months, and with the help of one of the original Apple computers, George became a real estate syndication consultant. He also became a student at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Consulting fees repaid his debts and inspired a promise to return to writing when he was 40.

After eight years at Dewey Ballantine in Manhattan, where George was a corporate attorney specializing in joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions (including the merger of United Artists into TCI, the sale of Del Monte foods by KKR and real estate joint ventures for the Mall of America, a Chicago skyscraper and the Circle Center Mall in Indianapolis), George kept his promise and moved to Germany, where he wrote The Senior Partner (1994), Even More Relativity (1995) and Bob and Charlie (1996).

While juggling his literary and legal careers, George has lived abroad for over six years, in Germany, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Spain, Russia, France, Belgium and Zambia.

George is currently working as a mergers and acquisitions attorney for LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae in San Francisco.

George, his wife Maria and their daughter Sophie Claire live in Orinda, California.