The legendary "Fighting 69th" took part in five major engagements during World War I.
Harris completes his outstanding trilogy on New York National Guard regiments in World War I..
With this book, Stephen L.
Published during a resurgent interest in the doughboy experience of World War I, Duffy\'s War also tells the fascinating history of New York City and the Irish experience in America.
Brothers joined up, oftentimes three and four from one family.
They streamed out of the tenements and apartment houses, enlisting en masse.
These boys came from the East Side, the West Side, Hell\'s Kitchen, the Gashouse, and Five Points; from Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island City, and Staten Island; and from Father Duffy\'s own parish in the Bronx.
The exciting Duffy\'s War brings to life the men\'s blue-collar neighborhoods--Irish mostly and Italian and overwhelmingly Catholic.
But until now, no one has recounted in detail the full story of this famous Irish outfit in World War I.
Due in large part to the classic 1940 movie The Fighting 69th, starring James Cagney and Pat O\'Brien (as Duffy), the unit still has strong name recognition.
One of its casualties was the poet Joyce Kilmer.
This highly decorated unit was inspired by its chaplain, the famous Father Francis Duffy (whose statue stands in Times Square), and commanded by the future leader of the OSS (predecessor of the CIA), "Wild Bill" Donovan.
It served in the front lines for almost 170 days, suffering hundreds killed and thousands wounded.
The legendary "Fighting 69th" took part in five major engagements during World War I
