Commissioned in Battle

Jay Gruenfeld's war ended on May 15, 1945 with his fifth and final wound. He left the remnants of his platoon on a rain-soaked hillside on Luzon in the Philippines. It was the ninth day of the Ipo Dam offensive. He was twenty years old, a veteran of two campaigns and a battlefield commissioned 2d lieutenant in the 103rd Regiment of the 43rd Infantry Division. After four months and seven days of combat, he was coming to the end of what he calls "the greatest, most consequential time" of his life. This is his story. A story of combat. A story of brothers-in-arms. And above all, a story of survival.

Jay Gruenfeld Jay Gruenfeld is a retired forestry executive and consultant who served as a rifle squad and platoon leader with the 43rd Infantry Division in the Pacific Theater in World War II. Todd DePastino, Ph.D., is an award-winning author and producer who has written biographies of Jack London and WWII cartoonist Bill Mauldin. He lives in Pittsburgh, PA.