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Roll Me Over: An Infantryman's World War II
OVER THERE
When Raymond Gantter arrived in Normandy in the fall of 1944, bodies were still washing up from the invasion. Sobered by that sight, Gantter and his fellow infantrymen moved across northern France and Belgium, taking part in the historic and bloody Battle of the Bulge, before slowly penetrating into and across Germany, fighting all the way to the Czechoslovakian border.
With depth, clarity, and remarkable compassion, Gantter--an enlisted man and college graduate who spoke German--portrays the extraordinary life of the American soldier as he and his comrades lived it while helping to destroy Hitler's Third Reich. From dueling with unseen snipers in ruined villages to fierce battles in which the lightly armed American infantry skirmished against Hitler's panzers, Gantter skillfully captures one infantryman's progress across a continent where guns, fear, and death lay in wait around every bend in the road.
When Raymond Gantter arrived in Normandy in the fall of 1944, bodies were still washing up from the invasion. Sobered by that sight, Gantter and his fellow infantrymen moved across northern France and Belgium, taking part in the historic and bloody Battle of the Bulge, before slowly penetrating into and across Germany, fighting all the way to the Czechoslovakian border.
With depth, clarity, and remarkable compassion, Gantter--an enlisted man and college graduate who spoke German--portrays the extraordinary life of the American soldier as he and his comrades lived it while helping to destroy Hitler's Third Reich. From dueling with unseen snipers in ruined villages to fierce battles in which the lightly armed American infantry skirmished against Hitler's panzers, Gantter skillfully captures one infantryman's progress across a continent where guns, fear, and death lay in wait around every bend in the road.
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
285 people are currently reading
510 people want to read
About the author
Raymond Gantter
1 bookA graduate of Syracuse University who had played piano with jazz bands from the age of fourteen, Raymond Gantter was the program manager of the major radio station in Syracuse when he turned down his third draft deferment and entered the army. At thirty years of age, nearly six feet tall and 130 pounds, he made an unlikely infantryman, but in six months, he went from private to acting squad leader to acting buck sergeant before being awarded the Silver Star and a battlefield commission. He began to write the journal that became ROLL ME OVER in September 1944 and finished the manuscript in 1949. He died in 1985, survived by his wife and two children. His manuscript was published by Ballantine Books in 1997.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
January 22, 2018
Probably the best written American WWII Enlisted Man's War Memoir I have ever read. Look it up - I've read dozens. Ray Gantter was a married father of two and a Music/Radio player/businessperson when he gave up his defermant and welt overseas with the Army. His harrowing rise to be a First Lt, visa member ship in, and then leadership of a platoon of GIs in the famous First Infantry division, "Roosevelt's SS" as they claim to have been called.
He was also a conversational German speaker, and general humanist in a way that simply is not true of most of the wonderful enlisted gentlemen who put their recollections to paper. His thoughts and wishes, his vivid descriptions and his unerring eye for detail make for a compelling read. I was rapt in Airports to and from Europe my mind totally on each trail through the wood or cowering in slit trench/foxhole with German mortar airburst shells going off above you. With the possible caveat that from records we are pretty sure that all his Tiger Tanks are in fact, Pz IVs, his accurate descriptions bring flaming Europe to life.
And always the civilians. The Harrowing part is he knows exactly what is happening all around him to the civilians, because he is called on the interpret constantly in all sorts of situations as an almost fluent(when he is not it is also interesting) German speaker. He's the one talking to prisoners, negotiating surrenders, expelling people from houses, and commandeering things. So you get the tediousness of the approach to battle, battle, after battle appreciation, civilian ramifications, and then on to the next village..... Along the way he fills us in on sex and looting. It's a straight recommendation people.
This might be a little mature for the junior reader , but over 15 will certainly find the language and approach aspirational and the "collateral damage" discussion and really good one. The sex is so allusional that parents need not be worried about language learned. For the Military enthusiast- purest gold. This is Bolt Action/Flames Of War/BattleGroup scenarios for years, cool diorama concepts and Maps to pore over for the Military Enthusiast, since he pretty much names every town he goes through. Don't delay- read this one.
He was also a conversational German speaker, and general humanist in a way that simply is not true of most of the wonderful enlisted gentlemen who put their recollections to paper. His thoughts and wishes, his vivid descriptions and his unerring eye for detail make for a compelling read. I was rapt in Airports to and from Europe my mind totally on each trail through the wood or cowering in slit trench/foxhole with German mortar airburst shells going off above you. With the possible caveat that from records we are pretty sure that all his Tiger Tanks are in fact, Pz IVs, his accurate descriptions bring flaming Europe to life.
And always the civilians. The Harrowing part is he knows exactly what is happening all around him to the civilians, because he is called on the interpret constantly in all sorts of situations as an almost fluent(when he is not it is also interesting) German speaker. He's the one talking to prisoners, negotiating surrenders, expelling people from houses, and commandeering things. So you get the tediousness of the approach to battle, battle, after battle appreciation, civilian ramifications, and then on to the next village..... Along the way he fills us in on sex and looting. It's a straight recommendation people.
This might be a little mature for the junior reader , but over 15 will certainly find the language and approach aspirational and the "collateral damage" discussion and really good one. The sex is so allusional that parents need not be worried about language learned. For the Military enthusiast- purest gold. This is Bolt Action/Flames Of War/BattleGroup scenarios for years, cool diorama concepts and Maps to pore over for the Military Enthusiast, since he pretty much names every town he goes through. Don't delay- read this one.
January 3, 2009
The author was a 6' tall, 130 pound! (really skinny) educated, talented husband and father who was initially denied officer training because of poor eyesight but was given a battle-field commission in April 45. Because he was older than others, he writes with maturity about his battle experiences, especially what a waste war is. One quote about some day fighting in the Huertgen Forest:
"the Germans are drunk and singing, and he tells of attacks and counterattacks in which they rush from their positions, singing as they come, firing until their ammunition is gone, then throwing down their useless weapons and still coming on, still singing. German or not, enemy or not, there is a magnificent and barbaric carelessness in the gesture that is spine-tingling. There is tragic waste, too. Perhaps it's my own Germanic origins that make me thrill to such grandiose extravagance...the Wittelsbach madness that tainted all Bavaria."
He also is appalled by greed and unethical treatment of others by both sides. The first part is too much like a diary, and I almost put it aside, but then the rest of it adopts more of a memoir format. No maps, but he does he name the villages he went through as part of the 1st division. I enjoyed it.
"the Germans are drunk and singing, and he tells of attacks and counterattacks in which they rush from their positions, singing as they come, firing until their ammunition is gone, then throwing down their useless weapons and still coming on, still singing. German or not, enemy or not, there is a magnificent and barbaric carelessness in the gesture that is spine-tingling. There is tragic waste, too. Perhaps it's my own Germanic origins that make me thrill to such grandiose extravagance...the Wittelsbach madness that tainted all Bavaria."
He also is appalled by greed and unethical treatment of others by both sides. The first part is too much like a diary, and I almost put it aside, but then the rest of it adopts more of a memoir format. No maps, but he does he name the villages he went through as part of the 1st division. I enjoyed it.
July 20, 2016
A pretty good and enlightening read about a squad leader's combat experience and thoughts during WWII, from when he arrived in Normandy to the end of the war and on past his battle field commission. He tells it like it is and minces no words when in comes to some of the bad officers he ran up against, especially telling was when he was a young butterbar, on one particularly brutal inspection after the war.
December 16, 2018
This book deserves 10 stars! A powerful read.
November 2, 2018
Memoir by First Infantry Division soldier who rose through the ranks to become sergeant and platoon leader during waning months of WWII and received field promotion to 2nd Lt. right at war's end. The memoir begins in September 1944 and ends May 13, 1945, although a few pages of commentary on the (mis)behavior of troops in occupied Germany are appended. The author finished the manuscript in 1949 but it was not published until nearly 30 years later, after his death.
Gantter was an unusual enlisted man, as he was college-educated, had two children, and was 30 years old at the time of his induction. He first saw action in the Bastogne area and the Hurtgen forest and was involved in the Battle of the Bulge, although he says he didn't know it at the time, as the front-line troops never had much, if any, idea of the bigger picture.
The author's sympathies are with the enlisted infantryman, and much of his account details the suffering and confusion the average fighting man had to endure. He also describes much civilian suffering, and even has some sympathy for German civilians, although he doesn't think most of them deserve it.
This memoir certainly is a worm's-eye view of the war, written by a perceptive and articulate witness.
Gantter was an unusual enlisted man, as he was college-educated, had two children, and was 30 years old at the time of his induction. He first saw action in the Bastogne area and the Hurtgen forest and was involved in the Battle of the Bulge, although he says he didn't know it at the time, as the front-line troops never had much, if any, idea of the bigger picture.
The author's sympathies are with the enlisted infantryman, and much of his account details the suffering and confusion the average fighting man had to endure. He also describes much civilian suffering, and even has some sympathy for German civilians, although he doesn't think most of them deserve it.
This memoir certainly is a worm's-eye view of the war, written by a perceptive and articulate witness.
November 3, 2019
I read this because my 92-year-old mother had been reading it lately and just couldn’t put it down, which seemed like a good recommendation. The author, Raymond Gantter, was an older-than-average infantryman in WWII, starting out around September of 1944 and finally getting home around New Year’s Day of 1946 after the war was over. His platoon was primarily in Germany, although they also went to Czechoslovakia. Gantter was well educated and this memoir is well written with thoughtful observations and musings, as well as being a diary of events as they went from place to place. War is awful, not only because of the battles and bloodshed, but also because it often brought out the worst in men, and not just those who were on the “wrong” side. The Americans gleefully looted and pillaged wherever they went in Germany as they cleared the German soldiers out of the town. But there are also some wonderfully fine moments, such as when they entered a town and were able to liberate men of many different countries who had been enslaved and imprisoned by the Germans. Among some of the American officers, there was an appalling sense of superiority and entitlement that made brute, bully beasts of men who were supposed to be principled leaders. Gantter himself became a commissioned officer toward the very end of the war and sometimes regretted the distance that this put between him and the men with whom he formerly fought. If you ever think war is glorious business, you’d better read this book.
April 1, 2024
Gantter portrays his time as a soldier from his arrival in Normandy in the fall of 1944, taking part in the Battle of the Bulge and fighting all the way to the Chech border.Hard hitting, realistic portrayal of the war. The author was already in his late 20s when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Turning down a third deferment in 1944, he was drafted into the Army. He was old for an enlisted men; thirty by the time he entered combat. His life experience and natural ability to observe those around him make this book a vivid portrait of life during the winter of 1944-45.
Gantter was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division and had the misfortune of joining his unit as a replacement during the Huertgen Forest campaign. The author's portrayal of the the subtle changes that come over a soldier as he continues to see death day in and day out is extraordinary. There is a process by which the soldier becomes inured to it, and by the end of the war, Mr. Gantter appears embittered.
Gantter was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division and had the misfortune of joining his unit as a replacement during the Huertgen Forest campaign. The author's portrayal of the the subtle changes that come over a soldier as he continues to see death day in and day out is extraordinary. There is a process by which the soldier becomes inured to it, and by the end of the war, Mr. Gantter appears embittered.
July 1, 2025
While this book is fascinating from a historical perspective I have to give it a low rating simply because the author is a hypocritical war criminal. Raymond Gantter derides his fellow soldiers for their lack of morals within his notes and maintains a sense of superiority over them. However once you get about halfway into the book he starts to shamelessly admit to actions that disgust me. I found it harder and harder to get to the end of the book as he constantly contradicts his own moral standards. People might say that war is war and bad things simply happen to which I would agree to a certain point. But needless cruelty inflicted upon civilians is just plain evil. If you disagree I suggest you read “With The Old Breed” by Eugene Sledge, a soldier who served in the Pacific Front under much harsher conditions than Gantter and still maintained (for the most part) his sense of good and humanity.
September 14, 2020
War Is...
I enjoyed this war story very much. It is the story of a man who learned to be a warrior and a leader of warriors in the late winter and spring of 1944-45. I especially liked the tales of war after the Battle of the Bulge, often neglected. Reader beware. Gabriel shows much of the 'seamy ' side of the American efforts over seas, and can get a little preachy. Rips the lid off as it were. Some may not like it. Some may disagree. That's why it earned 4 Stars from me.
It's still an excellent war story, worth the read.
I enjoyed this war story very much. It is the story of a man who learned to be a warrior and a leader of warriors in the late winter and spring of 1944-45. I especially liked the tales of war after the Battle of the Bulge, often neglected. Reader beware. Gabriel shows much of the 'seamy ' side of the American efforts over seas, and can get a little preachy. Rips the lid off as it were. Some may not like it. Some may disagree. That's why it earned 4 Stars from me.
It's still an excellent war story, worth the read.
July 16, 2021
Roll Me Over Helps Us All Roll On
Raymond Gantter's notes of his combat unit helps us all understand the life of WWII foot soldier.The life living in cold damp dirt holes high just deep enough help keep him alive. To bull she## that frustrates all foot soldiers. No food, guard duty, the loss of a fellow soldier. The horrors of war. Gantter gives his honest opinions on things a combat soldier encounters. Mostly of it could sicken a normal civilian who have experienced the horrors of war.
Raymond Gantter's notes of his combat unit helps us all understand the life of WWII foot soldier.The life living in cold damp dirt holes high just deep enough help keep him alive. To bull she## that frustrates all foot soldiers. No food, guard duty, the loss of a fellow soldier. The horrors of war. Gantter gives his honest opinions on things a combat soldier encounters. Mostly of it could sicken a normal civilian who have experienced the horrors of war.
August 9, 2021
Absolutely an excellent account of the terrific ground fighting in the European theater. He wrote about it daily while in the thick of it and turned those notes into this book. You feel like you are there with them in the mud, the cold and wet miserable conditions. But, you feel the strength of his humanity, his toughness, his tiredness and his determination to slog on through with his buddies and later his men under his command. The best first hand account I have ever read.
Read it and teach your children what it took to save the civilized world from barbarity.
Read it and teach your children what it took to save the civilized world from barbarity.
September 27, 2025
A well written story of an infantryman’s journey
The personal account of Raymond Gantter’s journey from citizen to a leader of men who fought during World War II. His story takes you through the life of an American soldier from training camp through combat. The daily life in Europe from the daily lives living in the outside with the colder weather and constant rain and living in all types of terrain. The citizens of the enemy forces and how they were able to relate to the men serving in their country.
The personal account of Raymond Gantter’s journey from citizen to a leader of men who fought during World War II. His story takes you through the life of an American soldier from training camp through combat. The daily life in Europe from the daily lives living in the outside with the colder weather and constant rain and living in all types of terrain. The citizens of the enemy forces and how they were able to relate to the men serving in their country.
July 7, 2019
An excellent memoir, perhaps the best I've read by an American serviceman. Gantter is intelligent, observant, and has genuine talent as a writer. It also helps that his account is based on contemporary diary notes and letters home, not recollections decades after the war. But it's his gift for painting a portrait with words that makes this work really shine.
A must read for anyone interested in life as an American Infantryman in WWII.
A must read for anyone interested in life as an American Infantryman in WWII.
April 26, 2021
Most powerful account of war I have read.
Seldom if ever do you read of the "grunts" war written first person by a man with education and age. Most "grunts" are not college degree holders or men of letters. Thus it is hard to get the real nuance of combat beyond the bloody reality.
I am a Viet Nam Marine combat vet. There is some comfort in knowing that my feelings having survived it all , although "shot to hell" are eternal and consistent with all "grunts" of all wars.
Seldom if ever do you read of the "grunts" war written first person by a man with education and age. Most "grunts" are not college degree holders or men of letters. Thus it is hard to get the real nuance of combat beyond the bloody reality.
I am a Viet Nam Marine combat vet. There is some comfort in knowing that my feelings having survived it all , although "shot to hell" are eternal and consistent with all "grunts" of all wars.
January 7, 2022
Roll Me Over
I’ve read countless books about war, primarily about WWII, (I am a retired history teacher), and Roll Me Over is one of the best accounts of the experiences of the men who fought the war as combat soldiers I ever have read. Raymond Gantter brilliantly describes and analyses war and its brutality, senselessness, and often ironic futility. This book is well worth reading.
I’ve read countless books about war, primarily about WWII, (I am a retired history teacher), and Roll Me Over is one of the best accounts of the experiences of the men who fought the war as combat soldiers I ever have read. Raymond Gantter brilliantly describes and analyses war and its brutality, senselessness, and often ironic futility. This book is well worth reading.
March 5, 2024
One thoughtful man’s story of his war. Elegantly and painfully written.
The author relates his experience with charming elucidating prose. Almost poetry. The awful truth of war and combat. The fragile grasp on humanity and the failings of human weakness in the face of horror, pain and tragedy. Every combat veteran fought his own war. This man, very eloquently relates his.
The author relates his experience with charming elucidating prose. Almost poetry. The awful truth of war and combat. The fragile grasp on humanity and the failings of human weakness in the face of horror, pain and tragedy. Every combat veteran fought his own war. This man, very eloquently relates his.
June 20, 2018
Probably one of the most well written memoirs that I have read
. The author's first hand experiences allow the reader the get a better idea of what the infantry encountered as World War II wound down on the Western European theater.
. The author's first hand experiences allow the reader the get a better idea of what the infantry encountered as World War II wound down on the Western European theater.
September 3, 2020
Couldn't put this book down. Very well written account. Highly recommended. I was very impressed with the author's very human telling of his experiences
A well told b story
One of the best books regarding life in the ETO I
Great book well worth reading
A well told b story
One of the best books regarding life in the ETO I
Great book well worth reading
July 23, 2021
Great Book
One of the best war diaries I have ever read. It follows the author from the first days to and through the defeat of Germany. The author is not afraid to share his thoughts and emotions with us. He even discusses mud and it’s miserable effects.
One of the best war diaries I have ever read. It follows the author from the first days to and through the defeat of Germany. The author is not afraid to share his thoughts and emotions with us. He even discusses mud and it’s miserable effects.
August 14, 2021
Excellent writing.
Author is a marvel, and you feel like you are with him every step of the way in this intriguing journey through the hell of war. His ability to vividly bring to life the characters and events is remarkable. Not for the faint-hearted.
Author is a marvel, and you feel like you are with him every step of the way in this intriguing journey through the hell of war. His ability to vividly bring to life the characters and events is remarkable. Not for the faint-hearted.
October 23, 2022
One of the best
As a former enlisted man who gained a commission I found the ok to be straigtforward , inspiring in honesty and vey well written. Hard to put down. War and its misery well documented.
As a former enlisted man who gained a commission I found the ok to be straigtforward , inspiring in honesty and vey well written. Hard to put down. War and its misery well documented.
November 26, 2022
Bad Blood
Obviously a man bitter because he secretly resents being called up to serve. Throughout his narrative he
Criticlses and decides most of those over him. He obviously feels that he has been impositioned by the system that has interrupted his good life.
Obviously a man bitter because he secretly resents being called up to serve. Throughout his narrative he
Criticlses and decides most of those over him. He obviously feels that he has been impositioned by the system that has interrupted his good life.
July 9, 2018
So so
It has good and bad author rambles off on tangents at times. The action accounts are good when he is recounting them but it’s a jerky read.
It has good and bad author rambles off on tangents at times. The action accounts are good when he is recounting them but it’s a jerky read.
February 23, 2019
Good read
An excellent read. This book was real!y spot on and very well written. Definitely gonna borrow this book again and reread
An excellent read. This book was real!y spot on and very well written. Definitely gonna borrow this book again and reread
December 27, 2021
Bobs review
I really enjoyed the book. WW2 stories are interesting. I was infantry in Nam. We fought almost daily. WW2_
Was bad also. War is hell. Thank you
I really enjoyed the book. WW2 stories are interesting. I was infantry in Nam. We fought almost daily. WW2_
Was bad also. War is hell. Thank you
June 11, 2022
Best Written I have read
Enthralling story of a raw and reluctant replacement who did his duty and received a battlefield commission for bravery and competence
Enthralling story of a raw and reluctant replacement who did his duty and received a battlefield commission for bravery and competence
November 26, 2022
Superb!
This was so well written I could not put it down. The author did a superb job of relating what the war was like for the men in battle. I highly recommend this book.
This was so well written I could not put it down. The author did a superb job of relating what the war was like for the men in battle. I highly recommend this book.
August 7, 2023
Very entertaining, and in many areas, surprising. It's a valuable slice of history as to what American GI's had to endure in WWII. I couldn't put it down.
August 7, 2024
A good balance of downtime and terror
A really detailed review of what it was like to be a foot soldier in the war to end all wars.
A really detailed review of what it was like to be a foot soldier in the war to end all wars.
July 5, 2018
Infantry Brought to Life
All the horrors of the infantry are brought to life in this intimate recounting of combat.
Accurate recounting of the good and the blunders
All the horrors of the infantry are brought to life in this intimate recounting of combat.
Accurate recounting of the good and the blunders
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews