Follows the Pennsylvania National Guard's 28th Infantry Division from its peacetime status through training and into combat in Western Europe. It also looks at the braoder picter of the U.S. Army and National Guard, and their roles and priorities over the years. -- from Book jacket.

Introduction : background and issues -- Relations with the army and state identity -- Readiness and training, 1939-1941 -- Peacetime maneuvers, 1939-1941 -- The Pennsylvania National Guard and American society -- Social class, recruiting, and ideology -- The October purge -- Stateside training, 1942-1943 -- Training in Wales, 1943-1944 -- From Normandy to the West Wall -- Battle of the Hürtgen Forest : a leadership failure -- Battle of the Bulge : stubbornness and flexibility -- Winter battles -- Conclusion -- Appendix 1: The execution of Private Slovik -- Appendix 2: The reestablishment of the Pennsylvania National Guard.