Notes of a Private Soldier

by Harold Knittel

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 0967288304
• ISBN13: 9780967288307
• Release Date: July 1999
• Publisher: TJ Press Publishing, Inc
• Length: 122 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.

Customer Reviews

This book made World War II more "real" to me.

My father, who also served in World War II, passed away one year ago today. Although I heard a few of his "war stories", most of what I knew came from history books and classes. How I wish I had read Harold Knittel's book while my Dad was still alive, so I could tell him how much I appreciate the sacrificies he and the other brave young people made so we can enjoy the life we have today. My thanks and gratitude go to Mr. Knittel for making WWII more "real" to us and for his brave service!

deep, passionate, the heart of this man's soul

On page 119, the very last paragraph, very last sentence, Dad says, "I had had enough. The war was over for me forever." His reference to the last battlefield visit he and Mom had taken while in Europe. I wonder if he realizes that the war really wasn't over for him until he typed those last words. There has always been an intensity to Dad, a wound that had never healed, a spirit unbroken but deeply scarred. As children, we often overlook these parts of our parents maybe because we like the mystery. As adult children, we sometimes allow the mystery to continue, afraid to face the realness, making them somehow human and capable of hurts so deep, a hug and "I love you", can't reach. "Notes of a Private Soldier" opened a whole lifetime of feelings for me. Reading his words, I felt like I was right there with him. Only, I was scared spitless. In a crazy, unrealistic way, I was afraid to read the book, like maybe he wouldn't come home. Often, I would have to put it down, go for a walk, breathe, and remind myself that Dad did come home. My favorite chapter was Three, Shipping Out. Probably because I got to see a time when he was young, a little sassy, and full of that invincibility all 19-25 year olds experience. My Dad is 80(and a half), and like all seniors will repeat a tale twice, forget it's your birthday even if you make him a calendar with the date circled in red(yes, I do that), and won't show up for card night because he didn't write it down on his "to-do" list. I think this is why his work on this book, the dedication, the years it took to write, and the determination to finish before he might forget how to turn on his computer was so miraculous to me. He wrote with the memory, the eyes, and the spirit of the young man leaving his South Dakota farm for the first time.

Enjoyable reading, insight into WWII I never had before.

I heard about the war, but never read anything that gave me insight into how it must have felt to leave home a very young man and experience the horror's of war. Having been to Europe, I had visted the towns and areas described in the book. The book cast a different light on how it must have been then.