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Saving My Enemy: How Two WWII Soldiers Fought Against Each Other and Later Forged a Friendship That Saved Their Lives by Bob Welch is the story of Don Malarkey, from the now famous Band of Brothers, and Fritz Engelbert who unknowingly fought each other in the Battle of the Bulge and became friends later in life. Mr. Welch is a published author, speaker and educator.
- 384 pages
- Publisher : Regnery History
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 1684513030
My rating for Saving My Enemy - 5
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More books by Bob Welch*
Thoughts:
This is an easy to read book, but not an easy read. Despite of the fame and limelight that the series Band of Brothers has brought to the 101st Airborne (and its all well deserved and long overdue), the soldiers suffered silently from PTSD.
Saving My Enemy by Bob Welch is a powerful, non-medical exploration of finding humanity and forgiveness within oneself. Both Don Malarkey and Herr Englbert found it within themselves to forgive themselves and each other after the brutal conflict they were a part of.
The book traces the lives of both men from their childhood to the war and its aftermath. The two men meet, finally, as elderly soldiers in a reunion.
Mr. Engelbert's story is touching and not as well known as Mr. Malarky's. An avid Nazi and Hitler supporter, he finds himself after war questioning all that he knows to be true. In a move which becomes less and less familiar this day and age, he actually admits he was wrong. A proud man, he was convinced by his sons to go to a WWII reunion, finding himself the only German soldier there. This is where Mr. Malarkey finds it in himself to welcome his former enemy and the two became friends for the rest of their lives.
I love military history and biographies, and this book was right up my alley. It traces the maneuvers of the 101st Airborne, and does not mince words on the profound psychological toll that total war takes on the toughest of men. Warriors lives don't fit into a neat report. Guilt and trauma can affect one even decades after the events happened.
A known survival tactic, especially in soldiers but is more common than it should be today in other aspects of society, is the "us vs them" mentality. As soldiers, it's a must, but afterwards this binary option can slowly drain one's mind long after the war ends. Acknowledging each other's humanity provide both men with closure without the hatred involved.
The book is focused on the heavy emotional toll soldiers faced, and the reconciliation. Frankly, I think that we need to to change the for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. After going through what soldiers go through, it would actually be a "disorder" not to have Post Traumatic Stress.
Buy Saving My Enemy from Amazon.com*
More books by Bob Welch*
Bob Welch argues that reconciliation is the final act of a soldier's duty. In our current era of digital and political polarization, do you think we’ve lost the 'firmware' required to see the humanity in our 'enemies' before a conflict begins?
Zohar — Man of la Book
Disclaimer: I bought this book
*Amazon links point to an affiliate account, the money is usually spent on books
Bob Welch argues that reconciliation is the final act of a soldier’s duty. In our current era of digital and political polarization, do you think we’ve lost the ‘firmware’ required to see the humanity in our ‘enemies’ before a conflict begins?