Easy Company Soldier: The Endless Combat of a Sergeant from World War II's "Band of Brothers"

Malarkey was not ever severely physically wounded but mentally and emotionally was severely wounded by the war. He is very straight forward with this, beginning the book with him in a very rough mental state in the woods of Bastone, he does talk of the good times he had growing up and of the bits of fun he had when not in battle but they do not by any means make up the majority of the book. He has a way of talking about certain things that are so descriptive you almost feel like you're there, and other things are talked about so little you feel his hurt without him saying a thing. He's very good at telling his story, it is a necessary book if you're interested in Band of Brothers or Easy Company at all.

Don Malarkey offers yet another heart-felt memoir from those brave Band of Brothers, Easy Company, 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment. Malarkey writes deep from the heart on every page of this gripping account of his life. From humble beginnings growing up in Astoria, Washington to attending the University of Oregon, Malarkey beautifully describes the people, places, and occurrences that had the most influence on his life. Like the memoirs of Winters, Guarnere and Heffron, the bulk of the book's pages are devoted the exploits of Easy Company. Malarkey does not stray far from the chronological events of Stephen Ambrose's book and HBO mini-series; however, he delves deeper into his own emotions and philosophical questions than his predecessors. Rather than explaining events, Malarkey paints a human face on the people who participated in them. As Malarkey clearly explains in the book's final pages, the attention brought upon him and his Easy Company comrades by both the book and film coupled with a string of Easy Company reunions, has been tremendously therapeutic in overcoming over four decades of suppressed post traumatic stress and survivor's guilt. This memoir tells more than just the story of Don Malarkey's life; writing it undoubtedly helped Don Malarkey understand the meaning of his own life, an undertaking better than any high-priced therapist could offer. Most of us probably know Don Malarkey by the character portrayed by actor Scott Grimes in the popular HBO mini-series. Images of the carefree mischievous red-haired Irish kid from Washington State, who foolishly risked his own life to retrieve a German Lugar, and efforts to keep a stolen motorcycle with side-car hidden from the much hated Captain Sobel, immediately come to mind. These events were true. Yet Malarkey takes his readers into the turbulent emotions of a young man who, on the surface enjoyed English literature, recited poetry from memory, yet inwardly was forever changed by his experiences in combat. The film only scratched the surface of Don Malarkey; the book takes us to the inner depths. The awkward scene where Grimes goes to pick up his uniforms from the British laundress, and silently pays for all the bundles belonging to his dead comrades killed in Normandy, is what this book is all about. Malarkey took the deaths of all his fellow Easy Company men hard, but none harder that the death of his closest friend, Warren "Skip" Muck. After Skip's death, Malarkey exchanged letters with Skip's fiance promising to visit her after the war, but couldn't bring himself to keep that promise. When she showed up at an Easy Company reunion in the mid-1990s, Malarkey embraced her and allowed fifty years worth of tears to flow. The film showed Malarkey fidgeting with his coveted Lugar in the frozen woods outside Bastogne, but could not adequately convey that Malarkey was a hare's frozen breath from committing suicide. His undying belief that "a Malarkey never gives up" kept him from putt

I've been a fan of Band of Brothers since it aired, and by extension, a fan of E/506 for about that long. The guys of Easy 506th have been writing a lot of books lately, and I have them all, and love them all, to a greater or lesser extent. But this one beats them all. "Malark" lays it all out, shows all his cards, keeps nothing back, makes himself tell all the things his comrades still try to shield in silence or jargon or laughs. He's opinionated, sometimes shocking, and his observation is surpassed only by his examination of his own self. If you're looking for just a war memoir, too, you're only going to read half this book. This is a life memoir, and some of the best parts are at the beginning, when he and writer Bob Welch bring to life Astoria, Oregon, and life in the Depression; and the postwar period, when after the ticker-tape and champagne of victory faded, too many young men wondered who they were and what they would do with the horrible memories they kept, and too many young women wondered what happened to the sweethearts they had promised themselves to. The imagery and landscape of the Northwest recur over and over again, throughout the book, even as Malarkey bares his family history and the things you'd think a person would never say. The climax of the book is as emotional as anything I've ever read. Of all the books written by and about Easy Company, 506th, 101st Abn., this is the one that deserves, and should win, the widest audience. Thanks, Don; you're the one, and you're still here.

Truth be told, I am not the kind of person who writes many book reviews. Honestly, this is my first. This book meant enough to me to take the time to write a few words on its behalf. In the Ambrose book and HBO mini-series, Malarkey always stood out to me as the heart of Easy Company. I have read through Bill and Babe's book ... which I enjoyed, Webster's book, Major Winters' book, Compton's book, but this one was different. By far the best of the bunch. I sat down one morning to read it and finished it later that night. I didn't want to put it down. Mr. Malarkey really brought the emotion of growing up during the depression, facing the reality of being sent of to war, friendship, disappointment, and above all courage to the page in a very honest, humble way. Personally, I really enjoyed the chapters he spent talking about his life before and after the war. It was interesting to see how the things he did before the war influenced who he was during the war, and the things he did during the war impacted his life after the war. Thank you for not giving up Mr. Malarkey!

This is the companion book to Dr. Ambrose's Band of Brothers that we've been waiting for since the late professor published his opus in 1991. Unlike many other books, this one provides a thought provoking and fresh look at the rise of the 506th Parachute Infantry Division and their training in the American south prior to deployment overseas. And while this book centers on the training and subsequent invasions, it's not the same perspsective rehashed for new readers. It's really does a nice job of adding to the value of the Band of Brothers with new insite from a paratrooper's personal perspective. The thing I liked most about the book was the description of how Malarkey grew up in the American North West and his reasons for going to war. I also enjoy the very cerebral perspective he took in quoting poetry, literature and song. The man is truly a rare person in many ways and someone I'd love to have a glass of Scotch with some day. He is a modern Irish warrior. Quite frankly, after reading close to 300 books on World War Two history, I can safely say this book will find a sacred place next to Donald Burgett's fine works. I can always tell how much I enjoyed a book by the number of turned down, "dog eared" pages indicating something important. There are plenty "ears" in this work.

Any reader will be richly rewarded, regardless of whether they have read Stephen Ambrose's "Band of Brothers" or seen the mini-series, by this well told story of an American life. Don Malarkey's autobiography poignantly tells how the legacy of the first World War, the devastating impact of the Great Depression on his father and his family, and other events molded his character and provided the drive and discipline that took a young man from a small town at the mouth of the Columbia River to become a decorated war hero. It is a tale of honor, courage and loyalty to his comrades, love challenged by the isolation of war and the toll of battle and its scars, invisible yet no less haunting. Co-author, longtime Oregon newspaper columnist and author Bob Welch, does a fine job of crafting Malarkey's journey through war and remembrance. A remarkable cache of Malarkey's wartime letters to his family and a girlfriend he left behind, discovered during the writing of the book and quoted extensively, take the reader to the frontlines with Easy Company. Malarkey's love of his home state Oregon is an ever present theme conveyed through vivid description providing the reader with a shared sense of place with the author. The reader will gain an insight and understanding of the mindset of a young soldier, far away from his home and family, and the motivations and drive to survive to return to the people and place he loves best. As a member of Easy Company, experiencing the highest number of days on the front line in the company, Malarkey tells not only the battlefield events in fine detail, and there are many, but also the war as seen through the eyes of a compassionate comrade. He revels in his deep bonds with those Easy Company members whose heroism was not included in previous books. The loss of best friend Skip Muck looms large. As one of Malarkey's own heroes, Winston Churchill said "...never, never, never, never give up"; the reader will readily understand that Malarkey never did. This book will serve as an inspiration to many. After reading it, I realized that no challenge I will probably ever face be as great or horrific as those encountered by Easy Company in battle or Don Malarkey in life. When you open this book, be prepared for a long read; I found it impossible to put down until the final page.