Young Hickory: A WWII Novel

JIM FARRELL, a lanky young soldier from Virginia, is injured in a practice run just before his division is set to land at Omaha Beach. He's holed up in a hospital with both arms broken while many of his fellow soldiers are decimated in the bloody battle that takes place on D-Day at Omaha Beach.After recuperating, Jim is sent to the 30th Division-called Old Hickory-which has suffered its own losses in a devastating friendly fire incident. The athletic and fast-as-lightning nineteen-year-old tries to prove his worth on the battlefield and become accepted by his new regiment. Because of his skills and youth, the Old Hickory veterans decide he has earned the nickname of "Young Hickory." And in the midst of all the insanity, Jim finds love in the person of Lille-a delicate, beautiful Belgian girl working at a bakery in the town of Liege. But can love survive in the deepening conflict? Or will it be challenged by the harsh realities of war? This is Jim Farrell's story-his accomplishments and his failures. His transgressions and his redemption. It is also the story of Dave, Stak, Al, Z, Wally-and the rest of Jim's Old Hickory brothers-in-arms-as they fight to survive the Battle of the Bulge in the brutal, final days of WWII. .JIM FARRELL, a lanky young soldier from Virginia, is injured in a practice run just before his division is set to land at Omaha Beach. He's holed up in a hospital with both arms broken while many of his fellow soldiers are decimated in the bloody battle that takes place on D-Day at Omaha Beach. After recuperating, Jim is sent to the 30th Division-called Old Hickory-which has suffered its own losses in a devastating friendly fire incident. The athletic and fast-as-lightning nineteen-year-old tries to prove his worth on the battlefield and become accepted by his new regiment. Because of his skills and youth, the Old Hickory veterans decide he has earned the nickname of "Young Hickory." And in the midst of all the insanity, Jim finds love in the person of Lille-a delicate, beautiful Belgian girl working at a bakery in the town of Liege. But can love survive in the deepening conflict? Or will it be challenged by the harsh realities of war? This is Jim Farrell's story-his accomplishments and his failures. His transgressions and his redemption. It is also the story of Dave, Stak, Al, Z, Wally-and the rest of Jim's Old Hickory brothers-in-arms-as they fight to survive the Battle of the Bulge in the brutal, final days of WWII. .