Five Lieutenants: The Heartbreaking Story of Five Harvard Men Who Led America to Victory in World War I

AuthorReviewed by Major Christopher A. LaCour
Pages363-371
2014] BOOK REVIEWS 363
FIVE LIEUTENANTS: THE HEARTBREAKING STORY OF
FIVE HARVARD MEN WHO LED AMERICA TO VICTORY IN
WORLD WAR I1
REVIEWED BY MAJOR CHRISTOPHER A. LACOUR*
He had done all that the Army had required and
expected of him, and more: despite all his self-doubts
and fumbling, he had learned to lead men, and those
same men had willingly followed him into the trenches
and lastly into battle, where their safety, not his own,
had been paramount, and where his courage had not
faltered. “They can’t kill me,” he had said, and one gets
the sense that by that morning, his men believed it.2
I. Introduction
In Five Lieutenants, James Nelson explores the private thoughts of
five Harvard-educated lieutenants during World War I—from their
recruitment, training, and suffering during battle to either their untimely
death or disillusionment at the hands of a terrible war machine.
Meticulously researched from private letters and journals, an especially
impressive achievement given the heavy censorship during the war, the
book succeeds at two things: giving insight into a war almost forgotten
in the American literary narrative and showing that great leaders are not
born from education or privilege, but rather from good mentorship and
training. Despite being peculiarly organized and, at times, burdened with
cumbersome prose, Five Lieutenants is worth reading by any junior
officer or fan of military history, because it offers a distinct perspective
of the challenges faced by our forefathers and of leadership and
leadership development that is still relevant today.
* Judge Advocate, U.S. Army. Presently assigned as Deputy Chief of Operational Law,
U.S. Army Pacific, Fort Shafter, Hawaii.
1 JAMES CARL NELSON, FIVE LIEUTENANTS: THE HEARTBREAKING STORY OF FIVE
HARVARD MEN WHO LED AMERICA TO VICTORY IN WORLD WAR I (2012).
2 Id. at 266.

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