Overview

Saving My Enemy is a Band of Brothers sequel like no other. Guilt nearly killed one of the celebrated Band of Brothers members, Sgt. Don Malarkey. He was a hero for his service in World War II, especially in the Battle of the Bulge, yet he came to the brink of suicide, haunted by the memories of the German soldiers he killed. Across the ocean, Fritz Engelbert was shackled in shame for having been a pawn of Hitler--he too had fought in the Battle of the Bulge--but for the Germans. He could not find peace. Saving My Enemy is the touching true story of two soldiers on opposite sides of WWII whose unlikely friendship, forged in their eighties, dissolves six decades of guilt and shame that had pushed both men to despair. ""I contend that every vet crying over his beer in some American Legion hall about something that happened seventy years ago is doing so not because of lost buddies, but because of lost honor, of shame. Long after World War II was over, Don helped restore that honor in Fritz. And Fritz did the same for Don. I was gripped by this story."" --Jeff Struecker, a former US Army Ranger who heard this story directly from the men's families Malarkey and Engelbert had completely different backgrounds, but their stories collided amid the largest and bloodiest single battle fought by the USA in WWII--the Battle of the Bulge. Beneath blankets of snow, the earth was hardened like iron. With temperatures dipping below zero degrees Fahrenheit, the conditions were as brutal as any in the history of warfare. This was Germany's last hope to stop the Allies and they were desperate for victory. Fritz, nineteen, a private in the Panzer-Lerh-Division, had the chief duty of being a krad messenger (on a military motorcycle). Don, twenty-three, is a sergeant in E Company, 506th Regiment, and is living in a foxhole in the woods overlooking villages below where Fritz and other German soldiers are awaiting the fight. Both men took quiet moments of introspection. Fritz remembered a dead American soldier he saw alongside the road and he ""thought of his parents who would miss him dearly"" and felt a certain ""brotherhood with the enemy."" Two weeks later, as Easy Company pushed Germany back, Don had a similar experience--he had just shot and killed a German soldier and was shocked to find he was only sixteen. ""I looked at his face, eyes fixed forever. A face that I wouldn't forget. Not the next day. Not the next month. Not ever."" Welch gives intimate glimpses into these men's souls as they fought each other during the war, lived in despair and guilt in the decades that followed, and finally found forgiveness and peace through each other. Don and Fritz's story is one of hope and inspiration that will not be forgotten.

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9781665045865

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Reviews

Saving My Enemy is the uplifting story of the loss of humanity, the rediscovery of that humanity, and the power of friendship. -- Joe Muccia, historian of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne A quintessential tale. Once read, never to be forgotten. -- Erik Jendresen, lead writer of Band of Brothers on HBO Bob Welch has unearthed history that transcends the battlefield and culminates in a story about peace, forgiveness, and humanity. -- Tony Brooks, author of Leave No Man Behind Exploring the evocative themes of survival and guilt, Welch paints endearing portraits of two soldiers who mustered the inner strength to forgive their former foe. -- Erik Dorr and Jared Frederick, coauthors of Hang Tough I've never read a story about combat and its personal aftermath quite like Saving My Enemy...As one who has seen the carnage of combat, I was inspired to read the rare war story with a happy ending. -- Diane Carlson Evans, Vietnam War combat nurse and author of Healing Wounds Late in life, when two enemy soldiers needed each other, they found each other. I was gripped by this story. -- Jeff Struecker, former U.S. Army Ranger and author of The Road to Unafraid World War II made Don Malarkey and Fritz Engelbert enemies, but forgiveness made them friends, and grace made them whole again. Read this with a box of tissues and a Scotch at hand. -- Karen Spears Zacharias, author of After the Flag Has Been Folded

Author Information

Bob Welch previously collaborated with Band of Brothers hero Don Malarkey on his memoir Easy Company Soldier. He has conducted hours of interviews with World War II veterans and their families and is the author of more than a dozen books on World War II and other topics. Grover Gardner (a.k.a. Tom Parker) is an award-winning narrator with over a thousand titles to his credit. Named one of the ""Best Voices of the Century"" and a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, he has won three prestigious Audie Awards, was chosen Narrator of the Year for 2005 by Publishers Weekly, and has earned more than thirty Earphones Awards.

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