The Dead of Winter: How Battlefield Investigators, WWII Veterans, and Forensic Scientists Solved the Mystery of the Bulge's Lost Soldiers

by Bill Warnock

Book Overview

Honor can never be left behind. Sixty years ago, as Allied forces pushed across Europe, the Nazis launched a desperate, overwhelming attack that caught them unprepared, setting off what would become... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1596090855
• ISBN13: 9781596090859
• Release Date: October 2005
• Publisher: Chamberlain Brothers
• Length: 314 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Aftermath Of Battle

"The Dead Of Winter" by Bill Warnock, Subtitled: "How Battlefield Investigators, WWII Veterans, And Forensic Scientists Solved The Mystery Of The Bulge's Lost Soldiers". Chamberlain Bros. Penguin books, New York, 2005. The subtitle sums up the entire book. Bill Warnock, however, has written a book that combines History with story-telling, with the science of forensics, with the lives of Americans and Belgians, and with the honor of being World War II veterans who had fought and bled in the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944. The book is excellent. While serving with the United States Air Force, the author opts for an assignment in a small corner of Europe, near some of the more important battlefields of the Second World War. His life has not been the same since. His initial curiosity becomes what appears to be a life-long obsession, as Warnock and his Belgian friends search for the remains of those soldiers long since dead on the battlefield. But, it is not enough just to find the remains, Mr. Warnock follows through with modern techniques of identification of the deceased, and documents the entire process in an interesting and understandable fashion. While working on each individual solider, Warnock develops a story-book tale of how that individual lived prior to the war, how he entered the U.S. Army, and the probable cause of his death. It is surprising to me how many of the subjects of this book were members of ASTP, Army specialized Training Program. Further, I was surprised to see that my alma mater, Manhattan College (see page 238) had ASTP training. (Manhattan College is in the Bronx.) Warnock's book is enjoyable and well documented. For example, Appendix B, entitled, "U.S. Army Dog Tags In world War II", had me pulling out my Navy dog tag (now fifty years old) for comparison. The dog tag had "...corners rounded and edges smooth" (page 286), with blood type and religion and service number, as in the appendix, but, in the left corner, mine had the term, "USN". One little issue: page 118 had "... Camp Myles Standish near Taunton, Massachusetts." Myles Standish is about 30 miles, or so, from Taunton. The camp, now Myles Standish State Forest, IS located in the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, best known, I would think, for being the place where the Pilgrims came ashore in 1620.

A real hero

Bills continuing endeavors with the MIA Project and his loyalty to the men of the 99th Infantry Division is inspiring. His account is well written, insightful, and absorbing. Bill has filled this book with enough detail to keep us informed, and at the same time he has given us an insight into what those brave combat soldiers experienced during that snowy winter of 1944. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the "Battle of the Bulge" or the 99th Division. I look forward to his next book.

Bill Warnock's MASTERPIECE

I first met Bill Warnock in the bar of the Hotel Dahmen in Bullingen Belgium many years ago. I was with the late Charles B. MacDonald and we began talking to Bill. It soon became clear he had a passionate interest in the American Soldier and his role in the Battle of the Bulge. Over the next few years Bill and myself walked this hallowed ground together in search of relics. Mr.Richard H. Byers, himself a veteran of the battle, decided to do something in order to try and solve the problem of men from his division who were listed as MIA. Bill Warnock took the bull by the horns and began serious research aimed at recovering the remains of some of the MIA's. His meticulous research has resulted in the ultimate recovery and identification of 12 of the missing soldiers. At long last, Bill has seen fit to tell his incredible story

Battlefield CSI

Bill Warnock's debut book is a must have not just for Bulge and WWII mavens and scholars but for any person interested in compelling life stories of these brave soldiers. Compelling, heart breaking, heart warming, exciting, informative...Mr. Warnock weaves these soldier's stories together with new (and sometimes corrected) accounts of what actually happened over 60 years ago during Germany's last push in this war. Mr. Warnock is extremely successful at not boring the reader with information ad nauseam as one might expect from an author who has over 16 years of research into 290+ pages. He successfully caters to both audiences - the layman and the scholar. The human stories are strong as well as his summation of this work. The shear fact that some of these men were discovered after years of relic hunters digging all around them is astounding. Yet the MIA Project through their research was able to pinpoint their resting place within meters. Through eye witness accounts, photographs, maps, and unearthed clues you start to understand how much effort was involved. The bibliography alone would keep you reading for years. The MIA Project (mis-named, by the way according to the author) should serve as a blueprint for our government to look at private individuals and organizations who have an interest in researching and processing soldiers lost overseas. All of these families have waited at least 50 years for these 8 soldiers to make their resting place either with their brothers overseas or buried here back at home. Read this worthwhile and important account. I am looking forward to the follow up book!

The Search for MIA's from the Battle of the Bulge

Bill Warnock has done a tremendous job with his research and search effort for the Battle of the Bulge MIA's. The book puts a "human face" on the missing soldiers from the 99th Infantry Division that were lost during the Battle of the Bulge during WWII. Searching for these lost remains in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium is a great mystery with some great success stories. The book is a must-read.