<li>Firsthand accounts and contextual narrative chronicling the U.S. war effort before D-Day <li>Sidebars on patrols, service troops, the replacement system, Rangers, and more <li>Based on interviews with more than 200 veterans <p>This prequel to <i>The American GI in Europe in World War II: D-Day: Storming Ashore</i> (978-0-8117-0454-0) details American involvement in World War II from Pearl Harbor to the preparations for D-Day, June 6, 1944. Weaving together veterans' testimonies, the Kaufmanns capture the complete experience of the individual soldier from stateside training to overseas combat. This volume covers not only recruiting and training, but also combat in North Africa, Sicily and Italy, the Battle of the Atlantic, and the air war over Europe.