Rating: 
Summary: Tall Tales of a Sad Sack
Review: As a retired veteran, I very quickly recognized Blunt (from his own words) as one of the slackers and undesirables in military service. In that light, the book is interesting as a memoir of someone who should have been run out of the service on a rail instead of being a member of the famed RailSplitters. However, from other accounts by members of the 84th, Blunt's account appears to be more fiction that fact. For those cynical readers who expect our servicemen to be lazy, barbaric, self-seeking and weak minded, this book will no doubt confirm their expectations-- but it is far from the truth. Most servicemen in the ETO did their duty with honor and fortitude. Most of the NCO's in ETO were competent and did what they could to keep their men alive, as were most of the officers whose death rate exceeded all others. Blunt has derision for everyone except Blunt. He is one of those "Jerks" and "Sad Sacks" Ambrose writes about in "Citizen Soldier." Skip this one. Try "If You Survive" by George Wilson, "Roll me Over" by Raymond Gantter or "Parachute Infantry" by David Webster for more realistic personal accounts of Army life in the ETO.
Rating:
Summary: Tall Tales of a Sad Sack
Review: As a retired veteran, I very quickly recognized Blunt (from his own words) as one of the slackers and undesirables in military service. In that light, the book is interesting as a memoir of someone who should have been run out of the service on a rail instead of being a member of the famed RailSplitters. However, from other accounts by members of the 84th, Blunt's account appears to be more fiction that fact. For those cynical readers who expect our servicemen to be lazy, barbaric, self-seeking and weak minded, this book will no doubt confirm their expectations-- but it is far from the truth. Most servicemen in the ETO did their duty with honor and fortitude. Most of the NCO's in ETO were competent and did what they could to keep their men alive, as were most of the officers whose death rate exceeded all others. Blunt has derision for everyone except Blunt. He is one of those "Jerks" and "Sad Sacks" Ambrose writes about in "Citizen Soldier." Skip this one. Try "If You Survive" by George Wilson, "Roll me Over" by Raymond Gantter or "Parachute Infantry" by David Webster for more realistic personal accounts of Army life in the ETO.
Rating: 
Summary: Great account of ETO from the infantry perspective
Review: Foot Soldier is a fascinating account of the 82nd's deployment in Europe and its various battles including the Battle of the Bulge. It is an (hopefully) honest portrayal of war and describes the atrocities committed by both sides. Kudos to Mr. Blunt for the honestness of this memoir.The book is a quick, easy read and fans of the genre should definitely enjoy it. While the author was generally not fighting on the front lines, he manages to experience several skirmishes, take many prisoners, and even wind up as a prisoner himself. His knowledge of German is used to literally save his life. What struck me was that Mr. Blunt was a bit twisted. He was a prolific looter and eagerly searched dead Germans literally every chance he got. He used religious icons in churches as target practice. And he was also a loner - the book only describes the actions of one other fellow soldier. It is as if Mr. Blunt was fighting in a vacuum. War books often stress that soldiers really fight for the love of each other, not nations or causes, but in this instance Mr. Blunt seemed to be along for the ride. Perhaps this was his coping mechanism, but it is worth noting. While I enjoyed other books such as Guy Sajer's "The Forgotten Soldier" and SA's "Band of Brothers" more for their portrayals of relationships, this book is definitely worth a read.
Rating: 
Summary: I have come back to clarrify, i wrote yesterday he was a gad
Review: I thought overnight here i have been walking on numb feet for almost 60 years and have read his pipe smoking dreams, and in deference i left off my name well blunt i will be blunt, why did you write this junk around your travalogue? you shame the 84th.
former gun cpl peter a. dattilo 3rd battalion 335th, do you really remember marche and rochfort? or some cellar
Rating: 
Summary: Truthful or Not?
Review: I've read better WWII memoirs and I've read worse. I'm wondering, however, if Mr. Blunt is telling the truth or is he embellishing his war record? After reading the book I contacted Mr. Blunt, requesting if I could see the impressive collection of war relics he accumulated (since he spends considerable time describing how he acquired it in the book) but was told that he'd lost it all in a fire years ago. Lo and behold, however, I recently saw a photo of the author in his study with a huge number of German war souvenirs in display cases behind him. In addition, a Washington Post article recently revealed how he'd had his record expunged for a court martial he'd received for fraternizing with a German woman and her daughter. The whole thing smacked of sour grapes. He knew the rules and he broke them. A lot of time has passed so we're supposed to whitewash the issue and overlook how he broke the law? Don't do the crime if you can't do the time! Consequently, I'm wondering how honest his wartime account is. If he's dishonest in his personal life why should we believe his personal tale? As several other readers have noted, why didn't he describe his buddies? It seems that Mr. Blunt was a strange duck indeed. I feel I'm being generous giving the book three stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Foot Soldier: A Combat Infantryman's War in Europe
Review: If you're interested in the grunt's perspective of WWII combat, Mr. Blunt's book is outstanding. I don't know how much of his tale is true (I assume most is...) I highly recommend.
LTC David Blackburn
Rating:
Summary: Absoulty Aweful
Review: It was amazing when i read this, how self centered and morally wrong this man was. It makes me sick to my stumach to read it. This was nothing more then glorifing his looting and murdering in cold blood. If you have a chance skip this one and read somthing like "Company Commander" or "Band of Brothers" somthing worth while.
Rating:
Summary: reading roscoe blunt is like reading about a gadfly
Review: Roscoe Blunt has given us a most personal and believable history of his time with the 84th Infantry division in WWII. Unlike many memoirs, it is based on extensive notes that he took day by day as his war progressed, so unlike most it includes blunders (many of them his own), accounts of various kinds of "unmilitary" behavior, and vivid descriptions of his reactions to the horrors he faced as well as the progressive dulling of those same reactions. Add to that the insight and writing ability of a man who became an award-winning investigative journalist after the war, and you have one heck of a read. I've read and enjoyed a number of Stephen Ambrose's books, but for me this book has the edge in immediacy and realism.
Rating:
Summary: A great man
Review: This book is great. I have known Roscoe for several years now and he is a great guy. The implication of another reviewer saying Roscoe is a lier is rediculous. I have seen some of his diaries from the war and letters home stating things that are included in the book. And if it was not true why would two different publishers choose to publish his memoirs of the war?? Tom Brokaw even chose to interview Rocky. While in office i believe even President Clinton read the book. It is a hard hitting day to day memoir of a decorated, wounded combat vet leaving in many of the major and minor details that others choose to leave out.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful book into the lives of common foot soldiers
Review: This book is one of my all time favorites. It deals with all the dangers of tranning and actual combat. It shows the hardships men fought against and overcame on their long trek to Germany. It also shows a face of the millitary that most people dont see. It shows how people get changed from unit to unit because a clerk misfiles the paper work or how some soldiers even though they had completed enough time so they could go home had to watch others who had arrivied much latter leave before them all because of a mistake in the millitary. I found this book to be one of the best out of all the books on World War Two that I have read!
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