It is not often noted and perhaps little remembered these days, but seven decades ago this month the battles around the small Italian village of San Pietro decimated the olive groves and many of the American men advancing on well-fortified German positions. My father was commander of Company H of the 143rd Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division, during that battle. He had become the company commander in earlier battles, after one more senior officer was captured and another simply quit the fight, telling medics he “couldn’t take any more.” The 36th Infantry Division, and my father, entered combat for the...