This Is It

While in training, soldiers were often asked by an officer, “What would you do if this was the real thing?” Once at the Port of Embarkation, the question became a directive: “This is it!” Having joined the US Army at the age of eighteen, Ward McGill was practically a kid when he started fighting in World War II as a combat infantryman.

Quickly, he was exposed to the brutality of war. He had no choice but to become calloused and tough, struggling to find the strength to keep his resolve. Rational thinking was no longer the rule as emotions took precedence. After four months of intermittent action in eastern France, the bloody job became more or less routine—until Ward was wounded in action.

Ward’s account might not be the most historically accurate account of World War II, but it’s the way he remembers it. He presents not war as a whole but the small part that changed his life forever. Soldiers fight bravely to protect freedom, but the most frightening part is when violence becomes the norm and fear is no longer there to keep them safe.