Description:
Shay looks at the crucial yet unheralded role played by support troops in World War I, in particular those in the medical branch. The unarmed men of the 103rd Field Hospital Company, 26th (Yankee) Division spent a year and a half in France performing their duty bravely under arduous conditions. The experiences of the men of the 103rd Field Hospital were undoubtedly shared by any member of a frontline field hospital. Based on nearly four years of research, including original archival material, he fills an important gap in the military history of World War I.
A Grateful Heart is a detailed account of the 103rd Field Hospital Company, 26th (Yankee) Division in World War I. All aspects of the company are examined. The book is more than a chronological narrative and it places the unit in the context of the larger role of the 26th Division. It features original maps and passenger lists showing the members of the unit who sailed to France in 1917 and who returned in 1919.
Brief description:
MICHAEL E. SHAY is a Superior Court Judge for the state of Connecticut./e He has had a lifelong interest in history and genealogy and is currently working on two nonfiction works about the Yankee Division. He has lectured from time to time on Family Law.
Review Quotes: "Shay's descriptions of the operations of the Yankee Division's 103d Field Hospital, together with some photographs of its medical facilities and personnel, provide a fresh view of a relatively obscure aspect of the history of the First World War...essential to understanding the nature of and response to various medical conditions that the U.S. Army faced in the war..."-Army History