Unforgettable: The Biography of Captain Thomas J. Flynn

Unforgettable: The Biography of Captain Thomas J. Flynn
ISBN-10
1452814961
ISBN-13
9781452814964
Series
Unforgettable
Category
Biography & Autobiography
Pages
386
Language
English
Published
2011-09-10
Publisher
Alice Flynn
Author
Alice Flynn

Description

Born and raised on East End Avenue in Manhattan during the Great Depression, Tom lied about his age to join the New York National Guard. His unit, The Fighting Irish, would be the first to be activated to duty in October 1940 for the U.S. Army prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. After becoming an officer, Tom met Anna, a beautiful young Army nurse, in the summer of 1942. The two fell in love and were married just one month later. In September 1944, Tom was shipped to Europe for combat duty and found himself promoted to commanding officer of the 110th's K Company during the Battle of Hurtgen Forest in November - a replacement officer with the 28th Infantry Division. Lucky to survive, the remnants of his unit are moved to a front line position in the quiet sector of the Ardennes Forest to rest and recuperate only to face the brunt of Hitler's last offensive to retake Europe just four weeks later. During the ensuing battle, Tom's K Company and Company B's 103rd Engineers faced insurmountable odds, yet held the town of Hosingen for two and half days, helping to buy precious time for the American defense of Bastogne. Being the last company of the 110th to hold their town, they were in essence what were left of the Bulge. Tom and the men of Hosingen would then be tested to their physical and emotional limits as POWs in Nazi Germany until the end of the war four and a half months later. Returning to civilian life with his young wife, Anna, Tom finishes college at Iowa State College on the GI Bill and becomes a veterinarian in Anna's hometown, Kimballton, Iowa, where they raised a large family. The next forty years are packed with humorous, entertaining and touching stories of a humble man who touched the hearts of everyone he knew. Like many of our WWII heroes, Tom was a humble man who rarely spoke of his time in combat or as a Nazi POW so when Tom was laid to rest in November 1993, his family was sure all the stories that he could have shared with them would never be known. Fortunately that turned out not to be the case as author, Alice Flynn, uncovered books, National Archives records, consulted Battle of the Bulge experts, and combined with the few stories he did share with his wife and children, has put together the most comprehensive analysis of what happened in Hosingen during the Battle of the Bulge that is available to date.

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