Grunts

Inside the American Infantry Combat Experience, World War II Through Iraq

By John C. McManus, and Reviewed by CW5 Leonard Momeny, EdD

July 1, 2023 | Warrant Officer Journal, July-September 2023 Edition

Read Time: < 4 mins

Published by NAL Caliber New York, NY, 2010. 518 pages

As an instructor for the Department of Military History, my colleagues and I are always approached on the topic of book recommendations. There are of course countless leader recommended reading lists available to all. Nearly every reading list can contribute tremendously to the development of any Soldier, NCO, and Officer to study, and many are quite aware of these lists. Some of the most popular include that of the Chief of Staff of the Army and the Sergeant Major of the Army. However, if you have read books from some of these more popular lists and you are looking for something decidedly different, both myself and many in the Military History Department recommend reading John C. McManus’s book, Grunts: Inside the American Infantry Combat Experience, World War II Through Iraq.

Military history remains a key point of study in any institution engaged in Professional Military Education, or PME. In these institutions, military history is normally studied through the lens of multiple dimensions. Some of the most important studied dimensions include the ability to better understand the enemy, doctrine development, and lessons learned. Still, one of the most powerful dimensions of study found within military history remains that of the human dimension. The power of the human dimension is found in the fact that war is a human endeavor, and all readers, no matter their level of professional experience will immediately connect with the very human dimension area of study done by McManus within the pages of Grunts.

In the pages of Grunts, McManus takes the reader through various battles that include stops in such memorable locations as Guam, Peleliu, Ardennes Forest, Dak To, and even Fallujah. No detail is left undisclosed from any of these engagements, as McManus picks a specific incidence in each battle and drills down with great precision. The precision is aimed at identifying the exact experience of each Soldier, Sailor, or Marine, at a particular crucial moment and then contextualize larger success of an Army or U.S. military effort as being a byproduct of the man with “boots on the ground” rather than an oversimplified technological advantage. This is a necessary point of exploration based upon both the title and the very definition of the word, grunt, which McManus opens with:

“A United States Army or Marine foot Soldier; one who does routine unglamourous work.”

-Merriam-Webster Dictionary

The “routine unglamourous work” emphasized by McManus is the real main thrust of the book, as he preps the reader by invoking the perspective of the famed historian Keegan and his ability to “penetrate the battle rhetoric in search of the actual human story” of war (McManus, 2010, p. 11). That is not to say the book is absent of strategy and discussion of technology on the battlefield, nor is it a collected rant against the American fascination with greater and greater military technological innovation. Instead, Grunts is a work that seeks to implore all with the ability to affect both change and decisions to “learn from the lessons of recent history… [and that] technology has been a major asset, but [it is] not a magic-bullet solution to all security problems” (McManus, 2010, p. 440).

The benefit of reading this book is multifaceted for the Army Warrant Officer and other readers. First the basic historical value of the work is tremendous. Second to the historical value of the work is the ability for the reader to develop a better understanding of how a fight really happens. McManus engages in painstaking detail to convey the reality of real war, revealing gaps in technological marvels and battlefield systems and their inability to achieve all desired outcomes in combat. The reader is forced to consider the importance of accurate systems development and integration in battle to hopefully spare as many trials and challenges possible for the Grunts they both serve and support. The work conveys that war is chaotic and, in the end, a very human endeavor. This human dimension of war cannot be overlooked, and Grunts will aid the reader in further developing their understanding of the nature of war and the greater profession of arms.

References