This is the story of one man's war -- the memoirs of Sgt. Charles D. Kipp, who served with the Canadian army on active duty in Europe during the bloody days and weeks following D-Day. What makes this work stand out from other Second World War battlefield journals is its unadorned, almost naive sense -- a guileless attention to small details, horrific and beautiful, that Kipp recalls from his experiences.

First published in 2003, this is a must-read, not only for veterans of the War and military history buffs, but also for anyone who seeks to understand what ordinary soldiers endured during the World War II. Charles D. Kipp was wounded nine times during ten months of fighting at the front during the Second World War. After the war, he farmed briefly before being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome and suffering a second heart attack. He passed away in January 2000.

Charles Kipp served in the Canadian army during WWII. During ten months of fighting at the front, he was wounded nine times. After three months of intense fighting without a break, he suffered a heart attack in the heat of battle yet continued to fight, serving in the Battle of Bergen-op-Zoom. Afte rthe war, he farmed briefly before being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome and suffering a second heart attack. He soon became well-known locally as a fine craftsman of beautiful cabinetry and as the banjo player in a popular local country band, the Cornhuskers. In 1984 and 1986, he returned to Holland as a war veteran where he was reunited with the Dutch people who offered him shelter and the Germans against whom he had fought. He passed away in January 2000. He is survived by his wife, Margaret; daughter, Peggy Fox; and two grandchildren, Stephanie and Steven.

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