A Cause Greater Than Self; The Journey of Captain Michael J. Daly, World War II Medal of Honor Recipient

College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press, 2012. First Edition [stated], presumed first printing. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. xix, [3], 271, [3] pages. Frontis illustration. Includes List of Illustrations, Illustrations. Maps. Figures. Preface, Abbreviations, Introduction, Note on Sources, and Prologue. Also includes Epilogue: Causes Greater Than Self; Appendix, Acknowledgments, Notes, Glossary: Military Units--United States Army, World War II, Selected Bibliography, and Index. Chapters include Hero-Father; Born with a Silver Spoon--''Slightly Bent''; A Disappointment to His Family; Initiation: D-Day, June 6, 1944; Proving Ground: The Battle of Normandy; Becoming an Officer; The Colmar Pocket: Winter Heroism; The Dragon's Teeth: Assuming Command; "Discipline of Kindness''; Gotterdammerung: The Final Battle for Germany; Nuremberg--Medal of Honor; and Escaping the "Hero's Cage." This is one of the Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series. Inscribed by the author on the title page. Inscription reads: To Kathy and Phil--In appreciation for all of your support and for all you have done for Prep. With warm regards, Steve Ochs, Nov. 11, 2012. This book is at once a unique, father-son wartime saga, a coming-of-age narrative, and the tale of a heroic man's struggle to forge a new and meaningful postwar life. Daly's story also highlights the crucial role played by platoon and company infantry officers in winning both major battles like those on D-Day and lesser-known campaigns such as those of the Colmar Pocket and in south-central Germany. This book further emphasizes the debt that Americans owe to these heroes--especially those whose selfless courage merited the Medal of Honor. Stephen J. Ochs, the Lawler Chair of History at Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda, Md., is the author of A Black Patriot and a White Priest: Andr� Cailloux and Claude Pashal Maistre in Civil War New Orleans, Desegregating the Altar: The Josephites and the Struggle for Black Catholic Priests, 1871-1960 and, most recently, A Cause Greater Than Self: The Journey of Captain Michael J. Daly, World War II Medal of Honor Recipient. A privileged, hell-raising youth who had greatly embarrassed his family-and especially his war-hero father-by being dismissed from West Point, Michael J. Daly would go on to display selfless courage and heroic leadership on the battlefields of Europe during World War II. Starting as an enlisted man and rising through the ranks to become a captain and company commander, Daly's devotion to his men and his determination to live up to the ideals taught to him by his father led him to extraordinary acts of bravery on behalf of others, resulting in three Silver Stars, a Bronze Star with "V" attachment for valor, two Purple Hearts, and finally, the Medal of Honor. Historian Stephen J. Ochs mined archives and special collections and conducted numerous personal interviews with Daly, his family and friends, and the men whom he commanded and with whom he served. The result is a carefully constructed, in-depth portrait of a warrior-hero who found his life's deepest purpose, both during and after the war, in selfless service to others. After a period of post-war drift, Daly finally escaped the "hero's cage" and found renewed purpose through family and service. He became a board member at St. Vincent's Hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he again assumed the role of defender and guardian by championing the cause of the indigent poor and the terminally ill, earning the sobriquet, "conscience of the hospital." From a review found on-line: This is a classic tale about how the values of the "1 percent" shaped military leadership during World War II. After he graduated from Georgetown Preparatory School, Michael J. Daly's insouciant willfulness caused his dismissal from both Princeton and West Point; he seemed spoiled and wealthy enough not to care. Yet rather than disappoint his family, he volunteered for the Army infantry and fought splendidly from the time of the 1944 Normandy invasion until he was gravely wounded as the war ended. Stephen J. Ochs, who teaches history at Georgetown Prep, has interwoven Daly's career with the rise of his Irish Catholic family and the Army's implacable drive across France and Germany. Throughout the narrative, Daly's tactical brilliance in leading a squad, a platoon and a company shine through. His repeated acts of valor rivaled those of the much-decorated Audie Murphy. His daughter summed up Daly's life by calling war "the one time in life when you are willing to sacrifice everything for the guy alongside of you. . . . You had a cause greater than yourself." 'A Cause Greater than Self: The Journey of Captain Michael J. Daly, World War II Medal of Honor Recipient' by Stephen J. Ochs. - Bing West.