Alfred

The Quiet History of a World War II Infantryman

By: Louise Endres Moore

Narrated by: Louise Endres Moore

Book Excellence Awards Winner in Biography

Number one best seller in Biographies of the Army on Amazon

Eric Hoffer Award Category Finalist

IAN Book of the Year Awards Finalist

We almost didn't know.

For 57 years, Alfred Endres told his family he had been a barber, chauffeur, and translator in World War II. But following the death of his wife, Alfred quietly started sharing a glimpse into his actual wartime experiences. His daughter first began capturing those fractions of stories on napkins during her weekly nursing home visits, which grew into a nearly two-decade deep dive into his true role in the war a reluctant front-line machine gunner in Europe from 1944 to 1945.

Intensely researched and thoroughly human, Alfred compiles a lifetime panorama of one infantryman who never wanted a part in the war but accepted it. He returned home, discernibly the gentle Wisconsin farmer he was when he left, to a family unknowing what he had done and what he had survived.

©2019 Louise Endres Moore (P)2019 Louise Endres Moore

I now understand.

I have never been a dedicated reader of “war” stories. I’m still not. But . . . this book is so much more than a story of war and warriors. It is a story of what it means to be selfless, to truly be human—even in the most inhuman circumstance imaginable. I loved “Alfred.” And, if you are drawn to stories (actual, true stories) about people who rise above the noise of today’s hero-worship, you need to read “Alfred.” You will love it, too. Thank you to Alfred and all his compatriots. I’m in awe.