Lyle Bouck
Encyclopedia
Lyle Bouck, Jr. enlisted in the U.S. National Guard at age 14. During World War II
, he was a 20 year old Lieutenant
in charge of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon
, 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division. On the first morning of the Germans' advance during the Battle of the Bulge
, his 18 man unit along with four forward artillery observers held off an entire German battalion of more than 500 men for nearly an entire day, killing or wounding 92, and significantly delayed the German advance in a vital sector of the northern front. Every single member of the platoon was later decorated, making it one of the most decorated platoons in all of World War II. Bouck was one of the youngest commissioned officers in the U.S. Army.
maneuvers of 1941. Bouck was assigned responsibility as transportation sergeant for the regimental Headquarters Company and performed very well. While attending a transportation course, and just before their federal duty was completed, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
. Their active duty status was indefinitely extended and Bouck's unit was sent to protect California against a possible enemy invasion. When he was later deployed as part of an advance unit to the Aleutian Islands, he volunteered to attend Officer Candidate School
, the newly created Parachute School, or the Army Air Corps
. An offer to attend Officer Candidate School arrived first, and Bouck was transferred to Fort Benning
, Georgia for four months of intensive training. On his first day there, he was ordered to drill his men. Bouck performed well enough to draw the attention of his commanding officers. He graduated fourth in his class of 57 officers on August 25, 1942. The top ten graduates of each class were retained to teach the next class at Fort Benning, and Bouck was assigned to teach small unit defensive tactics. He spent a year at the school before he was transferred and assigned to the 99th Infantry Division for deployment to Europe.
in early November, 1944. By mid-November, without any battle experience, they were in the Ardennes
, where they relieved the 60th Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. For the next few weeks his reconnaissance platoon
established and maintained regimental listening and observation posts and gathered information. As they were not trained for direct combat, they were kept from direct engagement with the Germans. Bouck earned the Combat Infantryman Badge
during this period. The platoon consisted of two nine-man reconnaissance squads and a seven-man headquarters section who worked in the 394th regimental S2 section. Their mission was to conduct reconnaissance up to and through the German lines, including missions to capture German soldiers, to obtain intelligence about the enemy forces' disposition.
from the 394th Infantry Regiment of the 99th division was the most decorated platoon of World War II
for action on the first morning of the Battle of the Bulge
defending a key road in the vicinity of the Losheim Gap
. Led by 20-year old Lieutenant Lyle Bouck Jr., the second youngest man in the unit,, the unit of 18 men along with four U.S. Forward Artillery Observers
from Battery C, 371st Field Artillery, held off an entire German battalion of over 500 men during a 10-hour long fight, inflicting 92 casualties on the Germans. The platoon seriously disrupted the entire Sixth Panzer Army's schedule of attack along the northern edge of the offensive. At dusk on 16 December, about 50 German paratroopers
finally flanked the platoon and captured the remaining 15 soldiers. Two who had been sent on foot to regimental headquarters to seek reinforcements were also later captured, and a member of the forward artillery observation platoon assisting the platoon was killed.
Due to the capture of the platoon's soldiers and the blur of events during the first week of this massive campaign, the U.S. Army did not recognize the platoon for its courageous deeds for thirty-seven years. On October 25, 1981, the entire platoon was recognized with a Presidential Unit Citation, and every member of the platoon was decorated, including four Distinguished Service Crosses
, five Silver Star
s, and ten Bronze Stars
with V for Valor
.
Bouck and his men were finally imprisoned in Stalag XIII-D
in Nuremberg
and later in Stalag XIII-C
in Hammelburg
, where the non-commissioned and enlisted men were split, with the officers sent to Oflag XIII-B
. Cpl. Sam Jenkins and PFC Preston were captured before they reached Allied lines, and they later joined Bouck and the rest of the platoon in the POW camps. The men barely survived, most suffering from the advanced effects of malnutrition. When Task Force Baum
from Patton's 4th Armored Division raided the camp, Bouck pretended to be a field grade officer and accompanied the task force as it attempted to return to the front lines. Almost the entire task force was captured or killed, and Bouck was returned to prisoner of war camps for the remaining days of the war.
Wilhelm Mohnke
, in charge of the Sixth Panzer Army, had charged his best colonel, Standartenführer Joachim Peiper
, commander of the 1st SS Panzer Division
, with leading the push to Antwerp. The unit finally arrived in Lanzerath just after midnight, having been delayed 12 hours by horrendous road traffic, blown bridges, and ultimately the tenacious defense of the American soldiers. The eighteen men's day-long battle not only prevented the German infantry from advancing, but held up the entire 6th Panzer Army behind them. Instead of reaching the Meuse River on the battle's first day, the Germans went almost nowhere. The entire northern wing of the German attack fell hopelessly behind schedule, never to recover.
Author Alex Kershaw said, "Had they not stood and held the Germans and halted their attack, or rather postponed it for a crucial 24 hours, the Battle of the Bulge would have been a great German victory." Bouck attributed the unit's success to the fact that all of his men were expert marksmen. The excellent defensive terrain, the extra weapons Bouck acquired, and their prepared and well-concealed defensive positions contributed significantly to the massively disproportionate casualties they inflicted on the Germans. The inadequately trained and inexperienced German troops also attacked across an open field in waves that made them easy targets for Bouck and his men.
Due to their capture and the general chaos of the Battle of the Bulge, the unit's story was not well known. When Lt. Bouck was freed as a prisoner of war, he was too weak to file a combat report, and didn't think much of what the men had done. "We were in those foxholes and ... what we did was to defend ourselves and try to live through it."
In 1965, the U.S. Army published a multi-volume history of World War II, The Ardennes: The Battle of the Bulge. Author Hugh M. Cole
mentioned Bouck's platoon in passing, which upset platoon member William James (Tsakanikas). He contacted Bouck and encouraged his former commanding officer to get his men their proper recognition. Bouck contacted his former division commander, Maj. Gen. Walter Lauer, who nominated Bouck for a Silver Star. In June 1966, the Silver Star
arrived in Bouck's mailbox, but no other man had been recognized, which upset Bouck. He was shortly afterwards interviewed by John S. D. Eisenhower for his book The Bitter Woods, in which the actions of the unit were told in detail. Columnist Jack Anderson
unsuccessfully campaigned to see that William James (Tsakanikas) be awarded the Medal of Honor
.
es, five Silver Star
s, and ten Bronze Star
s with V device
s, all for their 10 hour struggle with an entire 500-man strong German
battalion
.
In 2004, the book The Longest Winter was published documenting the defensive actions of the platoon. Bouck cooperated with the author, Alex Kershaw, but imposed one condition, "I told him that other authors never wrote about the other men in the platoon, just me. I said I wouldn't talk to him unless he promised that he'd also write about the other men."
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he was a 20 year old Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in charge of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon
ISTAR
ISTAR stands for Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing the information they gather.Information is collected on...
, 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division. On the first morning of the Germans' advance during the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
, his 18 man unit along with four forward artillery observers held off an entire German battalion of more than 500 men for nearly an entire day, killing or wounding 92, and significantly delayed the German advance in a vital sector of the northern front. Every single member of the platoon was later decorated, making it one of the most decorated platoons in all of World War II. Bouck was one of the youngest commissioned officers in the U.S. Army.
Early life and enlistment
Bouck was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the second child in his family. His father was a carpenter, and Bouck grew up during the Depression and moved frequently with his family. With four siblings, (Robert, Bernice, Eugene and John) they often lived in homes with only one bedroom and no indoor plumbing or electricity. Bouck enlisted in the National Guard at age 14 so he could earn one dollar per drill day to help his family. He was never asked his age. He was rapidly promoted to Supply Sergeant at age 16, making more than most of his civilian friends. At the outset of World War II, when his unit was sent to Alaska, he opted to choose another direction. He volunteered for the paratroop school, Officer Candidate School, or a third option. Officer Candidate School responded first, and Bouck graduated at the top of his class at Ft. Benning, doing so well that he was kept on as an instructor.Active duty
On December 23, 1940, the 35th Infantry Division was activated for one year of federal duty. His unit participated in the Texas-LouisianaLouisiana Maneuvers
The Louisiana Maneuvers were a series of military exercises held all over north and west-central Louisiana, including Fort Polk, Camp Claiborne and Camp Livingston, in August and September 1941...
maneuvers of 1941. Bouck was assigned responsibility as transportation sergeant for the regimental Headquarters Company and performed very well. While attending a transportation course, and just before their federal duty was completed, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
. Their active duty status was indefinitely extended and Bouck's unit was sent to protect California against a possible enemy invasion. When he was later deployed as part of an advance unit to the Aleutian Islands, he volunteered to attend Officer Candidate School
Officer Candidate School
Officer Candidate School or Officer Cadet School are institutions which train civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country....
, the newly created Parachute School, or the Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
. An offer to attend Officer Candidate School arrived first, and Bouck was transferred to Fort Benning
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
, Georgia for four months of intensive training. On his first day there, he was ordered to drill his men. Bouck performed well enough to draw the attention of his commanding officers. He graduated fourth in his class of 57 officers on August 25, 1942. The top ten graduates of each class were retained to teach the next class at Fort Benning, and Bouck was assigned to teach small unit defensive tactics. He spent a year at the school before he was transferred and assigned to the 99th Infantry Division for deployment to Europe.
Movement to Europe
His division arrived at Le HavreLe Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
in early November, 1944. By mid-November, without any battle experience, they were in the Ardennes
Ardennes
The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel...
, where they relieved the 60th Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. For the next few weeks his reconnaissance platoon
ISTAR
ISTAR stands for Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing the information they gather.Information is collected on...
established and maintained regimental listening and observation posts and gathered information. As they were not trained for direct combat, they were kept from direct engagement with the Germans. Bouck earned the Combat Infantryman Badge
Combat Infantryman Badge
The Combat Infantryman Badge is the U.S. Army combat service recognition decoration awarded to soldiers—enlisted men and officers holding colonel rank or below, who personally fought in active ground combat while an assigned member of either an infantry or a Special Forces unit, of brigade size...
during this period. The platoon consisted of two nine-man reconnaissance squads and a seven-man headquarters section who worked in the 394th regimental S2 section. Their mission was to conduct reconnaissance up to and through the German lines, including missions to capture German soldiers, to obtain intelligence about the enemy forces' disposition.
Battle near Lanzerath
The Intelligence and Reconnaissance PlatoonISTAR
ISTAR stands for Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing the information they gather.Information is collected on...
from the 394th Infantry Regiment of the 99th division was the most decorated platoon of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
for action on the first morning of the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
defending a key road in the vicinity of the Losheim Gap
Losheim Gap
The Losheim Gap is a long, narrow valley at the western foot of the Schnee Eifel, on the border of Belgium and Germany. Most accounts of World War II describing the Battle of the Bulge focus on the attack by the Germans around Battle of Bastogne and the Battle of St. Vith, while the Germans'...
. Led by 20-year old Lieutenant Lyle Bouck Jr., the second youngest man in the unit,, the unit of 18 men along with four U.S. Forward Artillery Observers
Artillery observer
A military artillery observer or spotter is responsible for directing artillery fire and close air support onto enemy positions. Because artillery is an indirect fire weapon system, the guns are rarely in line-of-sight of their target, often located tens of miles away...
from Battery C, 371st Field Artillery, held off an entire German battalion of over 500 men during a 10-hour long fight, inflicting 92 casualties on the Germans. The platoon seriously disrupted the entire Sixth Panzer Army's schedule of attack along the northern edge of the offensive. At dusk on 16 December, about 50 German paratroopers
Fallschirmjäger
are German paratroopers. Together with the Gebirgsjäger they are perceived as the elite infantry units of the German Army....
finally flanked the platoon and captured the remaining 15 soldiers. Two who had been sent on foot to regimental headquarters to seek reinforcements were also later captured, and a member of the forward artillery observation platoon assisting the platoon was killed.
Due to the capture of the platoon's soldiers and the blur of events during the first week of this massive campaign, the U.S. Army did not recognize the platoon for its courageous deeds for thirty-seven years. On October 25, 1981, the entire platoon was recognized with a Presidential Unit Citation, and every member of the platoon was decorated, including four Distinguished Service Crosses
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
, five Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
s, and ten Bronze Stars
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
with V for Valor
Valor device
The Valor device is an award of the United States military which is a bronze attachment to certain medals to indicate that it was received for valor...
.
Prisoners of war
The I&R platoon members who were able to walk were sent east into Germany. After two days of walking through the cold, Bouck and the remainder of his platoon were loaded into a boxcar in the village of Junkerath. They spent 11 days traveling into the heart of Germany, as the POW camps were overflowing with Allies. Their unmarked trains were prime targets for Allied aircraft, who attacked the train on December 21, killing and wounded several POWs. The POWs were allowed off only once, and were given only a few slices of bread and some water to drink during the entire trip.Stalag XIII-D
Stalag XIII-D Nürnberg Langwasser was a German Army World War II prisoner-of-war camp built on what had been the Nazi parade grounds in Nürnberg, northern Bavaria.-Timeline:...
in Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
and later in Stalag XIII-C
Stalag XIII-C
Stalag XIII-C was a German Army World War II prisoner-of-war camp built on what had been the German Army training camp Hammelburg, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany....
in Hammelburg
Hammelburg
Hammelburg is a town in the district of Bad Kissingen, in Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Franconian Saale, 25 km west of Schweinfurt...
, where the non-commissioned and enlisted men were split, with the officers sent to Oflag XIII-B
OFLAG XIII-B
Oflag XIII-B was a German Army World War II Prisoner-of-war camp camp for officers, originally in Langwasser near Nuremberg. In 1943 it was moved to 3 km south of Hammelburg, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany....
. Cpl. Sam Jenkins and PFC Preston were captured before they reached Allied lines, and they later joined Bouck and the rest of the platoon in the POW camps. The men barely survived, most suffering from the advanced effects of malnutrition. When Task Force Baum
Task Force Baum
Task Force Baum was a secret and controversial World War II task force set up by U.S. Army general George S. Patton and commanded by Capt. Abraham Baum in late March 1945. Baum was given the task of penetrating 50 miles behind German lines and liberating the POWs in camp OFLAG XIII-B, near...
from Patton's 4th Armored Division raided the camp, Bouck pretended to be a field grade officer and accompanied the task force as it attempted to return to the front lines. Almost the entire task force was captured or killed, and Bouck was returned to prisoner of war camps for the remaining days of the war.
Aftermath
Bouck considered the wounding of most of his men and the capture of his entire unit a failure. He only later learned that because his platoon prevented the lead German infantry elements from advancing, armor units were backed up behind them for miles during the entire day. At the end of the fight, exhausted from more than 15 hours of continuous combat, out of contact with their division, and out of ammunition, after Bouck and most of his men had been wounded, the platoon was overrun by German soldiers. The remaining 15 men were captured and were prisoners of war in freezing, disease-infested prison camps for five months until the war ended, and were near death when their own Army division freed them.Wilhelm Mohnke
Wilhelm Mohnke
SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke was one of the original 120 members of the SS-Staff Guard "Berlin" formed in March 1933. From those ranks, Mohnke rose to become one of Adolf Hitler's last remaining generals.Mohnke saw action with the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler in France, Poland...
, in charge of the Sixth Panzer Army, had charged his best colonel, Standartenführer Joachim Peiper
Joachim Peiper
Joachim Peiper , more often known as Jochen Peiper, was a field officer in the Waffen-SS during World War II, convicted of war crimes in Belgium and accused of war crimes in Italy. He was Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler's personal adjutant . In 1945, he was an SS-Standartenführer, the Waffen-SS's...
, commander of the 1st SS Panzer Division
1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard. Initially the size of a regiment, the LSSAH eventually grew into a divisional-sized unit...
, with leading the push to Antwerp. The unit finally arrived in Lanzerath just after midnight, having been delayed 12 hours by horrendous road traffic, blown bridges, and ultimately the tenacious defense of the American soldiers. The eighteen men's day-long battle not only prevented the German infantry from advancing, but held up the entire 6th Panzer Army behind them. Instead of reaching the Meuse River on the battle's first day, the Germans went almost nowhere. The entire northern wing of the German attack fell hopelessly behind schedule, never to recover.
Author Alex Kershaw said, "Had they not stood and held the Germans and halted their attack, or rather postponed it for a crucial 24 hours, the Battle of the Bulge would have been a great German victory." Bouck attributed the unit's success to the fact that all of his men were expert marksmen. The excellent defensive terrain, the extra weapons Bouck acquired, and their prepared and well-concealed defensive positions contributed significantly to the massively disproportionate casualties they inflicted on the Germans. The inadequately trained and inexperienced German troops also attacked across an open field in waves that made them easy targets for Bouck and his men.
Due to their capture and the general chaos of the Battle of the Bulge, the unit's story was not well known. When Lt. Bouck was freed as a prisoner of war, he was too weak to file a combat report, and didn't think much of what the men had done. "We were in those foxholes and ... what we did was to defend ourselves and try to live through it."
Civilian life
After the war ended, Bouck returned to St Louis and was reintroduced to a fifth grade classmate, Lucille Zinzer. They married on April 27, 1946. Bouck attended the Missouri Chiropractic College on the G.I. Bill and graduated in 1949. He practiced for nearly fifty years, until 1997. They had 5 children, Daniel, Diane, Denise, Douglas and Dwight. Two of his sons served as U.S. Navy pilots and the third followed his career as a chiropractor. He was a charter member of the Concord Village Lion's Club and served as its president. His unit's actions were largely forgotten or unknown. Of his war experience, his wife Lucy said, "He never talked about it. Never."In 1965, the U.S. Army published a multi-volume history of World War II, The Ardennes: The Battle of the Bulge. Author Hugh M. Cole
Hugh M. Cole
Hugh Marshall Cole was an American historian and army officer, best known as the author of The Lorraine Campaign and The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge, two volumes of the U.S. Army official history of World War II....
mentioned Bouck's platoon in passing, which upset platoon member William James (Tsakanikas). He contacted Bouck and encouraged his former commanding officer to get his men their proper recognition. Bouck contacted his former division commander, Maj. Gen. Walter Lauer, who nominated Bouck for a Silver Star. In June 1966, the Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
arrived in Bouck's mailbox, but no other man had been recognized, which upset Bouck. He was shortly afterwards interviewed by John S. D. Eisenhower for his book The Bitter Woods, in which the actions of the unit were told in detail. Columnist Jack Anderson
Jack Anderson
Jack Northman Anderson was an American newspaper columnist, syndicated by United Features Syndicate, considered one of the fathers of modern investigative journalism...
unsuccessfully campaigned to see that William James (Tsakanikas) be awarded the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
.
Unit recognition
On October 26, 1981, after considerably lobbying and letter-writing by Bouck, members of the unit were finally decorated. Fourteen of the 18 members were present. Secretary of the Army John O. Marsh hosted the ceremony. Every member of the platoon was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. Four members were given the Distinguished Service CrossDistinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
es, five Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
s, and ten Bronze Star
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
s with V device
Valor device
The Valor device is an award of the United States military which is a bronze attachment to certain medals to indicate that it was received for valor...
s, all for their 10 hour struggle with an entire 500-man strong German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
.
In 2004, the book The Longest Winter was published documenting the defensive actions of the platoon. Bouck cooperated with the author, Alex Kershaw, but imposed one condition, "I told him that other authors never wrote about the other men in the platoon, just me. I said I wouldn't talk to him unless he promised that he'd also write about the other men."