National Flowers

This story follows a company of French soldiers arriving at The City of Verdun one month after the initial German attack in February 1916. This 300-day battle was one of the most terrible in history. The author lived in the Verdun area for 18 months in the years 1955- 56 while serving with the USAF in military communications in the NATO defense of Europe. During those two years I spent time studying the battlefield and talking with the veterans of that battle. This is a work of fiction based on the accounts told to me by these men. Through the story, we live the lives of these young soldiers, both French and German, as they desperately, with no time for reflection, attack or defend the totally destroyed landscape about them. We look into the lives of the privates as well as the highest levels of command; all are warriors. These soldiers have names, personalities, loved ones and dreams. You will see some in the hospitals still within the range of artillery and further back. The women, in this story, each in their own way, work to hold society together. This story is for anyone that has served in the military of their country. It is a historical novel of the Battle of Verdun in 1916.