Randall, Homer: Army Boys Omnibus v1, 31 Mar 2008

[tsgreer]

The 1919 Army Boys Series by author, Homer Randall. These stories paint true-to-life pictures of what our brave soldier boys did, in the training camps, aboard the transport, and on the battlefields in World War One.

These books were written in the tradition of the High School Boys juvenile series that HarryT was kind enough to post. Maybe just a tad edgier, but not much.

I could only find three books in the six-part Army Boys series and I've combined them into this volume. As I track down the others, I'll update this file. Don't let that stop you from reading these, because each book sums up what happened in the book before. These books are great reads. It may be a long time before the other volumes appear as e-books, so please don't wait for them before you dive in.

The books in this omnibus are:
Army Boys in the French Trenches; Or, Hand to Hand Fights with the Enemy

Army Boys Marching Into Germany; Or, Over the Rhine With the Stars and Stripes

Army boys on German Soil


Oddly enough though, I could find NO info about these books on Wikipedia or anywhere else. So I've been piecing together what I could from the stories themselves.

A quick summary (happens in the first book in the series):
Frank Sheldon, Bart Raymond, Tom Bradford and Billy Waldon had all been born and brought up in Camport, a thriving American city of about twenty-five thousand people. They had known each other from boyhood, attended the same school, played on the same baseball field and were warm friends.
After a patriotic episode in their hometown (Frank was forced to fight a burly neighbor who had insulted the American flag), Frank and his friends joined the old Thirty-seventh regiment. This regiment had a glorious record in the Civil War, and had recently seen service on the Mexican border. It also happened to be made up chiefly of Camport boys. World War One had just started, so Frank and friends were sent to Camp Boone for their preliminary training and put through their paces in rifle shooting, grenade throwing, bayonet practice and all the other exercises that turn boys into soldiers.

There's plenty of fun mixed in with the hard work, and they have many stirring adventures together, including capturing a Zeppelin! Not so pleasant, though somewhat amusing, was the fact that their hometown bully, Nick Rabig was drafted and ended up in their regiment as well. This leads to some interesting complications.

Book One - Army Boys in France: This book isn't available in e-book format yet, but if and when it does become available, I'll add it. This missing book shouldn't keep you from reading the others though, because they are fairly self-contained and sum up the preceding events for you.

Book Two - Army Boys in the French Trenches: The army boys are in the thick of the fighting--open fighting in the field is the order of the day. They get trapped in cellar of a ruined house, where they overhear the discussion of important enemy secrets in the room overhead. The eventually get taken prisoner. Can an American airplane, seeping down upon their captors, rescue the boys and get them back to the American lines?

Book Three - Army Boys On the Firing Line: By this time the boys are no longer recruits, but veteran fighters and all they've learned will be fully tested. It's the Spring of 1918 and the enemy is preparing for their last desperate drive. The Americans are brought to the front to check the thrust of the Crown Prince's army toward Paris, and the old Thirty-seventh finds itself in the very thick of the fighting. During these events, the Army boys are separated for the first time because Tom gets taken prisoner. The boys are brought again and again within arm's length of death. Also, there's an unmasking of a traitor...

Book Four - Army Boys In the Big Drive: This book isn't available in e-book format yet, but if and when it does become available, I'll add it..

Book Five - Army Boys Marching Into Germany: This book isn't available in e-book format yet, but if and when it does become available, I'll add it.

Book Six: Army boys on German Soil: The final book in the series. The American Army Boys are fighting for their lives against enemies who greatly outnumber them. Already they had held out for hours, and although some of their comrades had been killed and others wounded, they had no thoughts of surrender. This book also describes the end of the war.

Sorry for the long post! This omnibus took a lot of work and research, but it's such a great find that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share these. Happy reading...

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