What do you think?
Rate this book
Taught to Kill: An American Boy's War from the Ardennes to Berlin
By mid-1944, the U.S. Army was facing a critical shortage of the most important commodity in any war, the common foot soldier. Higher-than-expected casualties during the liberation of France had forced the Army to comb its ranks for replacement infantrymen. Plucked in 1944 from the safety and privilege of the Army Specialized Training Program (the World War II version of the college deferment of the Vietnam years), twenty-two-year-old John Babcock suddenly found himself an infantry private headed to Europe. Raised in an upper-middle-class family, this sensitive and literate youth was thrust into a group of coarse, uneducated, and sometimes brutal draftees who were headed to the 78th Infantry Division as replacements. Babcock demonstrates that the “greatest generation” was not always that. Instead, it was like any other cohort—full of liars, cowards, and ordinary men who simply wanted to stay alive and go home.
Babcock lets us see the war through his eyes—just over the rim of the foxhole. Undergoing his baptism of fire in the Battle of the Bulge, he endures the trials of combat, advancing through attrition to become the senior sergeant in the company. This ordinary enlisted infantryman in “just another combat division” takes the reader from infantry basic training and seven months of combat to postwar occupation duty in Germany and back home. It is one infantry rifleman’s story rather than an account of how his division fit into the grander scheme of the war in Europe—though the author relates to that by providing the reader with a roadmap of dates and locations taken. Babcock offers an intimate taste of combat, casualties, how he fought, and with which weapons (in clear “civilian” language), and both the heroism and cowardice of his fellow soldiers. Published in cooperation with the Association of the United States Army, it is a gripping account of how an ordinary American boy felt and experienced the so-called good war.
Babcock lets us see the war through his eyes—just over the rim of the foxhole. Undergoing his baptism of fire in the Battle of the Bulge, he endures the trials of combat, advancing through attrition to become the senior sergeant in the company. This ordinary enlisted infantryman in “just another combat division” takes the reader from infantry basic training and seven months of combat to postwar occupation duty in Germany and back home. It is one infantry rifleman’s story rather than an account of how his division fit into the grander scheme of the war in Europe—though the author relates to that by providing the reader with a roadmap of dates and locations taken. Babcock offers an intimate taste of combat, casualties, how he fought, and with which weapons (in clear “civilian” language), and both the heroism and cowardice of his fellow soldiers. Published in cooperation with the Association of the United States Army, it is a gripping account of how an ordinary American boy felt and experienced the so-called good war.
282 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2005
9 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 14, 2009
The military loves spit and polish. The theory seems to be that the sharper looking the soldier, the better the soldier. (George C. Scott said something to this effect in the movie "Patton".) It was interesting to read that a soldier highly regarded by Babcock in the States fell apart under enemy fire.
Babcock's adventures and misadventures are interesting and educational. He was doing a serious job, but he was able to laugh at himself. I respected that. Having grown up in the Great Depression, life in the Army must have seemed a snap to him.
Babcock's adventures and misadventures are interesting and educational. He was doing a serious job, but he was able to laugh at himself. I respected that. Having grown up in the Great Depression, life in the Army must have seemed a snap to him.
May 20, 2009
Another first-hand account from the eyes of a "replacement" in the closing year of the war.
August 2, 2011
A Truly Unique Combat Narrative ..., October 11, 2010
John Babcock's memoir of combat in Europe is unlike most of its kind in that it delves much deeper than a simple recanting of events. The average World War II memoir tends to echo familiar events made personal only by specifically naming individuals. For the most part, the collective accounts tend to be repetitious and somewhat tempered in that most of them refrain from describing vivid details of the carnage, as well as cleaning up the language. "Taught to Kill" sheds the kid gloves as Babcock simply and bluntly tell us what it was really like living in a foxhole, seeing death and having to kill.
An experience hunting geese in winter some fifty years after the war is what compels Babcock to write about the "impact and effect" the war had on "kids" like him. Drawing from a journal he typed over five decades earlier, he takes us back to a time after D-Day when the US Army was in desperate need to replenish its casualty-ridden ranks with fresh teenage bodies to continue the press toward Germany. Babcock starts by giving us a taste of what life was like for millions of American boys, the abrupt transition from being in school (in his case, college) to a grunt destined for front-line service. He colorfully illustrates the melting pot that is the US Army as a morass of brains, brawn, idiots, slackers, weaklings and egomaniacs all trained to be nothing more than fodder for the war effort. Clearly described is the overwhelming presence of "chickens---" (the inane triviality that makes military life worse than it needs to be) and how some thrived on it while most simply found ways to cope. There is even a brief chapter dedicated to the universal language of US military (even to this day) ... the "f-word".
Babcock's description of his shift from Army recruit to combat soldier reveals even sharper recollections of events. We envisage a green soldier seeing dead bodies for the first time and how the initial shock of seeing such violent death is quickly replaced by the use of the dead as ignoble and morbid landmarks for giving directions to fellow soldiers. One rarely has a question about life on the front line, whether it be the taste of the food, Army equipment, the lack of hygiene, how soldiers relieved themselves, views of the enemy and colorful conversation topics ... Babcock provides the answers and every topic imaginable is covered. He shares the variety of personalities that he served with, whether up close or at a distance, and we read about acts of cowardice, unrewarded heroics, revenge and outright stupidity ... from officers as well as enlisted men. His rank as a NCO provides balance between the enlisted men and officers and presents an unbiased viewpoint from the middle. Not to be ignored is the author's participation in notable combat operations toward the end of the war, most notably the Battle of the Bulge, the press into Germany and being one of the last to cross the Remagen Bridge. The combat is not glorified; it is presented as chaotic, brief and tiresome, fought with dogged determination by hungry and frightened men. "Taught to Kill" does not gloss over the carnage by simply rattling off casualty numbers, Babcock assigns names and detailed accounts of the dead ... a clear indication that the losses were personal and indelibly burned into his memory.
"Taught to Kill" is brutally honest, highly appealing and very addictive mainly due to Babcock's writing ability as even seemingly mundane topics capture the reader's attention. It is evident that the memories of events so long ago still come to view with much clarity and the impact of World War II is still profoundly present in the author's mind. "Taught to Kill" is yet another excellent voice representing the millions of anonymous men who dutifully marched into the firestorm of World War II over 60 years ago only to come home and forge simple, quiet and humble futures as ordinary citizens. When you think about it, every town in America probably has a John Babcock or two: ordinary grandfatherly-types with extraordinary and painful tales they refuse to share ... "Taught to Kill" likely speaks on behalf of those men.
John Babcock's memoir of combat in Europe is unlike most of its kind in that it delves much deeper than a simple recanting of events. The average World War II memoir tends to echo familiar events made personal only by specifically naming individuals. For the most part, the collective accounts tend to be repetitious and somewhat tempered in that most of them refrain from describing vivid details of the carnage, as well as cleaning up the language. "Taught to Kill" sheds the kid gloves as Babcock simply and bluntly tell us what it was really like living in a foxhole, seeing death and having to kill.
An experience hunting geese in winter some fifty years after the war is what compels Babcock to write about the "impact and effect" the war had on "kids" like him. Drawing from a journal he typed over five decades earlier, he takes us back to a time after D-Day when the US Army was in desperate need to replenish its casualty-ridden ranks with fresh teenage bodies to continue the press toward Germany. Babcock starts by giving us a taste of what life was like for millions of American boys, the abrupt transition from being in school (in his case, college) to a grunt destined for front-line service. He colorfully illustrates the melting pot that is the US Army as a morass of brains, brawn, idiots, slackers, weaklings and egomaniacs all trained to be nothing more than fodder for the war effort. Clearly described is the overwhelming presence of "chickens---" (the inane triviality that makes military life worse than it needs to be) and how some thrived on it while most simply found ways to cope. There is even a brief chapter dedicated to the universal language of US military (even to this day) ... the "f-word".
Babcock's description of his shift from Army recruit to combat soldier reveals even sharper recollections of events. We envisage a green soldier seeing dead bodies for the first time and how the initial shock of seeing such violent death is quickly replaced by the use of the dead as ignoble and morbid landmarks for giving directions to fellow soldiers. One rarely has a question about life on the front line, whether it be the taste of the food, Army equipment, the lack of hygiene, how soldiers relieved themselves, views of the enemy and colorful conversation topics ... Babcock provides the answers and every topic imaginable is covered. He shares the variety of personalities that he served with, whether up close or at a distance, and we read about acts of cowardice, unrewarded heroics, revenge and outright stupidity ... from officers as well as enlisted men. His rank as a NCO provides balance between the enlisted men and officers and presents an unbiased viewpoint from the middle. Not to be ignored is the author's participation in notable combat operations toward the end of the war, most notably the Battle of the Bulge, the press into Germany and being one of the last to cross the Remagen Bridge. The combat is not glorified; it is presented as chaotic, brief and tiresome, fought with dogged determination by hungry and frightened men. "Taught to Kill" does not gloss over the carnage by simply rattling off casualty numbers, Babcock assigns names and detailed accounts of the dead ... a clear indication that the losses were personal and indelibly burned into his memory.
"Taught to Kill" is brutally honest, highly appealing and very addictive mainly due to Babcock's writing ability as even seemingly mundane topics capture the reader's attention. It is evident that the memories of events so long ago still come to view with much clarity and the impact of World War II is still profoundly present in the author's mind. "Taught to Kill" is yet another excellent voice representing the millions of anonymous men who dutifully marched into the firestorm of World War II over 60 years ago only to come home and forge simple, quiet and humble futures as ordinary citizens. When you think about it, every town in America probably has a John Babcock or two: ordinary grandfatherly-types with extraordinary and painful tales they refuse to share ... "Taught to Kill" likely speaks on behalf of those men.
June 10, 2024
This is a well written, harrowing account that at no point glorifies war. "Taught to Kill" is a bit of a deceiving title though. Nothing they learned in training camp could prepare them for the real horrors of the Battle of the Bulge, from death by concussion to being completely blown to bits by a direct hit.
You'd think that being covered with shreds of flesh of your fellow GI would be the worst part of the book, but for me the chapter where Babcock looks back upon the endless list of KIA was the most gripping. Notifying the family of the heroic death of their beloved while reality was often gruesome or plain banal. That struck me the most.
You'd think that being covered with shreds of flesh of your fellow GI would be the worst part of the book, but for me the chapter where Babcock looks back upon the endless list of KIA was the most gripping. Notifying the family of the heroic death of their beloved while reality was often gruesome or plain banal. That struck me the most.
December 15, 2023
I just finished this book, which was much sooner than I thought it would be because I kept staying up to read "just one more chapter" (which often turned into two or three). Babcock's writing is supremely entertaining and his description of the war, his role in it, the comeradie made at the front, and his difficulty actually facing and describing the horror of the war made this a book well worth reading.
December 17, 2020
I wanted to know what the people who had gone to fight in the last great war had lived through. This was one book that gave some very straightforward details of what fighting in a "good war" for the "good guys" looked like on the ground.
I recommend the book. Mostly it makes clear that from the standpoint of the soldier there is no good war, and as a soldier you are not good, you are a soldier, trying to stay alive and do as necessary.
Those of us who haven't lived that can try to get this by reading something that gives a straightforward account.
For me it meant that I wanted as few people as possible, ever, from here or anywhere, to have to do what these people had to do.
I recommend the book. Mostly it makes clear that from the standpoint of the soldier there is no good war, and as a soldier you are not good, you are a soldier, trying to stay alive and do as necessary.
Those of us who haven't lived that can try to get this by reading something that gives a straightforward account.
For me it meant that I wanted as few people as possible, ever, from here or anywhere, to have to do what these people had to do.
June 2, 2012
One of the better personal accounts I've read, great insight into the mindset of the American soldier. Also a very honest assessment of the quality of troops we were sending to fight in Europe later in the war.
July 7, 2010
A well written and captivating book.
October 14, 2012
This is no "glory in war" story. Brutal and honest.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews