Another River, Another Town: A Teenage Tank Gunner Comes of Age in Combat--1945

With so many personal accounts of World War II being published, it’s hard to pick and choose which one to read; so, I try to read any that I come across. While I find most all of these books good, some stand out more than others … ANOTHER RIVER, ANOTHER TOWN is one that stands out.John Irwin admitted he was nothing more than a naïve, self-absorbed teenager upon entering the army … in other words, a typical American kid. After proving he was best-qualified to be a tank-gunner, he is shipped out to Europe following the Battle of the Bulge as a gunner in a M4 Sherman. From the book’s beginning, Irwin reveals himself to be self-deprecating, honest and quite detailed in his recollection of his service. Baptized by a lesson in humility from the very start of his foray into the front lines, Irwin gradually finds a comfortable niche with his fellow M4 crewmates and proves himself as being an able gunner and comrade.ANOTHER RIVER, ANOTHER TOWN is a short, but riveting read. Irwin’s combat tour may have been brief (5 months), but it was full of action. There are no lulls in his story-telling, even when resting between incidents of contact with the enemy. What readers will get is a teenager’s view of World War II, not just what he sees, but what he thinks as well. Some of the best excerpts of the book are Irwin’s interactions with his crewmates (a hodge-podge of veterans and replacements each with his own quirks). With visions of heroic duty erased on his first days in Europe, Irwin gradually matures under the guidance of two grizzled combat vets whose trust he manages to earn and value more than anything.The combat described in the book is straight-forward, exciting and quick … a series of brief skirmishes with German tanks, infantry and even German kids with Panzerfausts (disposable, but deadly hand-held anti-tank guns). Some of Irwin’s crewmates become casualties, as does the M4 (which is replaced with the more-able and rare Super-Pershing). His straight-forward and vivid recollection of events are what makes the book such an enjoyable read. There are moments throughout where Irwin experiences coming-of-age incidents (one being the moment he knows he’s killed someone and another being the opportunity of his first sexual experience). The five months that elapse between joining the Army and the war’s end reveal a maturation process that has one forgetting the author is only eighteen years old (until he divulges in thoughts or actions typical of teenagers). In many ways, the entire book is presented as a scary adventure on a grand scale, similar to how most youngsters view defining moments in their lives. There is an element of sadness knowing that Irwin was but one of many who were forced to grow up under such dire circumstances; he survived the experience, but a good many did not.ANOTHER RIVER, ANOTHER TOWN is an exciting and enjoyable read. Seeing how the war was fought through the eyes of a teenager proved to be a unique perspective for me.

I was surprised considering the number who served, how few first hand accounts by US tankers exist. This book is a well written, interesting account of armored warfare late in the war on the western front. A lot of people consider the war virtually over after the Bulge, but for those on the tip of the armored sweeps through Germany, it was still very dangerous and full of action.The author does a great job of giving the reader the feeling he is riding along with tank crew. He gives concise descriptions of the quick deadly contacts that occur in armored warfare without letting it bog down in insignificant details like so many of these type accounts tend to do. This is a memoir, not a technical treatise, so if you are looking for yet another rehashing of why this tank was better than that one, or what tactics were used, look elsewhere, though it does especially stand out as a rare testimony to the capability of the Pershing. The fact the author was gunner in the only "Super Pershing" makes it quite historically significant as an added bonus. But the book is not about the tank, it's about the men.War is not a board game and this account gives insight as to why so many other factors than the tank itself mattered. Supply, crew training, leadership, and morale had as much or more bearing. Factors such as armor thickness and gun size are all but meaningless if you are the lead Sherman pushing through a German city defended by fanatical SS. Sometimes your number is just up, and the author understood this very well and seemed to be at peace with it during the war, in contrast to his driver who needed "liquid courage" just to keep going.Some reviewers want to fixate on a minor mistake here or there, or the fact its not the longest book on the subject. I find it refreshing its pared down to keep things interesting and the book is not as short as some try to make it. Great read!

A first-person account of WWII from the view of a tank gunner. Makes you wonder how anyone survives war and how they managed peace afterwards. Thank you to all who served.

This short book gives the clearest picture I have found yet of war as seen from the inside of a tank. Here are tank tactics and a tanker's life on the level of one tank and those immediately around them. Irwin was an 18-year-old replacement tank gunner who fought through the last few months of the war, as our army was advancing into Germany. He was in almost continuous combat. Sometimes very intense combat for days at a time, as at Paderborn.Irwin's war was one day at a time, one enemy encounter at a time, one shot at a time. River crossings were major operations, sometimes battles. Towns were often battles, always dangerous. Tiger tanks and boys with panzerfausts were terrible dangers. His first tank, a Sherman, was burnt out by a panzerfaust. He then had the unique experience of the Super Pershing tank, a prototype of a proposed upgrade of the Pershing tank, sent into combat for a field trial. Irwin thought it a very good tank.Irwin was a good gunner with a good tank commander and gives us vivid and insightful picture of how our tanks fought in Germany in 1945. His is a good story and very well told.

If I could award another half-star I would have because while I found it wasn't an exciting 'page-turner' of non-stop action reading experience it was an honest, candid and interesting combat memoir. Having seen the movie 'Fury' (which I enjoyed overall for its take on a neglected war movie niche - the tank crews' experience and despite the Hollywood obsession with cliched 'troubled' and bizarre characters) I would say this book is a half-Fury. Worth a read.

I read this book in one 'sitting', just getting my nights sleep in the middle. It is a clear account of one persons view of the last days of ww2 in europe.

Short but sweet a fascinating insight into the American campaign in North West Europe as seen from the very bottom. There is a tendency to think that the last couple of months of the war in the west was a series of drives with minimal fighting this book puts you right.

For a kid writing for a period of weeks -- i.e., from the Bulge to final armour offensive -- this is a highly accomplished narrative. Believable. I would like some whizz and bangs, that is the sound of the damn shells bouncing off the armour. Well done. A good addition.

Great for young teenagers to read.