Doctor's War

Peggy Ludwick’s background is in microbiology and public health; her research has appeared in several medical journals. Her work includes supervising hospital clinical labs and gender equity work in the Yakima, Washington, public school system. She has taught in a variety of educational settings. Discovering her father’s 265 eloquent letters home as a young medical officer during World War II was a revelation, and a gift she felt compelled to share. She lives in Wenatchee, Washington.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPrefaceIntroductionPrologue1. Camp Claiborne, Louisiana: 34th Infantry Division Training, February 1941–December 31, 19412. Northern Ireland: First U.S. Troops to Europe, January 26–December 20, 19423. North Africa: Operation TORCH and Meeting the Desert Fox, January 3–September 22, 19434. Italy: Battle Hardened, September 21, 1943–May 5, 19445. Winding Down: Anzio and Headed Home, March–April 19446. Chronology of Military Service and Major 34th Infantry Division Events: December 2, 1940–November 12, 19517. Walking Wounded8. Epilogue: Return and Readjustment9. Behind the Lines: A Daughter’s ReflectionsAppendicesA: Silver Star CommendationB: German Treatment of American POWsC: Capt./Baron Rudolph Charles von Ripper and His “San Pietro, Italy, 1943” EtchingD: John “Jack” Vail HoyerE: 34th Infantry Division BuddiesBibliographyIndex

“Intimate and compelling. A Doctor’s War captures the vivid, often poignant experience of a frontline physician during the brutal campaigns in North Africa and Italy. Dr. Arthur L. Ludwick, Jr. illuminates not only the war, but also the humanity to be found despite the war.”—Rick Atkinson, author, consummate WWII historian and Pulitzer Prize winner for his The Liberation Trilogy