Sharpen Your Bayonets
A Biography of Lieutenant General John Wilson “Iron Mike” O’Daniel, Commander, 3rd Infantry Division in World War II
Timothy R. Stoy
Casemate, Philadelphia, 2022, 320 pages
Book Review published on: May 5, 2023
One of the key objectives of any biography should be to provide the public with a deeper understanding of the subject. It is up to the biographer on how and what he wants to share with readers to develop this insight, comprehension, and understanding. Achieving this purpose is certainly a challenge for any biographer. It is even more daunting for a first-time biographer who has selected a subject who is undergoing study and written upon for the first time. Such is the case in author Timothy Stoy’s superb biography of Lt. Gen. John Wilson “Iron Mike” O’Daniel titled Sharpen Your Bayonets: A Biography of Lieutenant General John Wilson “Iron Mike” O’Daniel, Commander, 3rd Infantry Division in World War II.
Before discussing the book in earnest, let’s highlight O’Daniel’s career for those unfamiliar with him. He served in the U.S. Army for over forty years. During his long, illustrious career, he fought in both world wars and the Korean War. During combat, he commanded the 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) in World War II and I Corps in the Korean War. O’Daniel additionally commanded U.S. Army Forces Pacific after his service in the Korean War. He ended his service by serving as the chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam during America’s initial involvement in the country.
During his career, he amassed numerous achievements and accolades. However, it was his performance as the commander of the 3ID that was the pinnacle of his service. O’Daniel took over the division in February 1944 in Anzio, Italy, and led the division until the German surrender the following year. In between, the 3ID was instrumental in the liberations of Nuremberg, Augsburg, Munich, and Adolf Hitler’s Berghof and Eagle’s Nest on the Obersalzberg. He was praised and received the utmost respect from Allied senior leadership and most importantly, from the “Dogface Soldiers” of the 3rd Infantry Division.
The author of Sharpen Your Bayonets is no stranger to the U.S. Army or the 3ID. Stoy served thirty-one years as an infantry and foreign area officer. During his career, he served six and a half years with the division while it was stationed in Germany during the Cold War. He also served as historian of the Society of the 3rd Infantry Division and was a past president as well. Clearly, Stoy was well-versed in O’Daniel’s service to the division and the Nation.
It was this knowledge and his own respect for O’Daniel that was the impetus for crafting the biography. Stoy relates his rationale for developing the biography early in the volume. He asks, “why a biography on O’Daniel now, more than 75 years after his World War II exploits, and 65 years after he retired from the Army having begun to build the South Vietnamese Army? I find O’Daniel to be a fascinating character and inspirational leader. I would also like to introduce O’Daniel to a wider audience, beyond the several mentions, most always positive, in various published World War II histories.”
Stoy takes advantage of many factors to superbly introduce O’Daniel to the public. The first and most critical is the exhaustive research the author conducted for the biography. Stoy faced several major challenges trying to uncover resources. As addressed earlier, there are no previous biographies of O’Daniel, and minimal scholarship exists on him. Additionally, though rumors existed, there were not any personal memoirs of “Iron Mike.” However, through diligence and determination, Stoy uncovered the research he required to tell O’Daniel’s story.
The author provides an interesting summary of his research efforts in the volume’s introduction. He states, “Iron Mike donated his military papers to the U.S. Army’s Military History Institute which has become the Army Heritage and Education Center, so I had access to those papers he saved and thought important. His granddaughter shared what memories she had of him, and some priceless family pictures. I was able to obtain copies of his military personnel records, a true Godsend. I may have missed a vein of gold or silver in the mountains I did mine, but I believe there have been sufficient raw materials to draw a good picture of the man and commander, if not to answer every possible question I would have liked to ask.”
Another key factor is Stoy’s decision to keep the focus of the biography specifically on O’Daniel. A biography should be focused on the subject. However, I have read many biographies where the author spends significant copy addressing other areas not specifically tied to the subject. Readers will find the entire focus of the biography is O’Daniel. Everything in the volume is directly related to explaining who he was and how he became that person.
Stoy gets incredible value in telling the O’Daniel story from three areas of the book. The first, which is in many cases an afterthought, is the book’s foreword. Many times, you find the foreword is simply a short feel-good section where the author is lavishly praised, and the book’s merits are many times overhyped. In Stoy’s foreword, he utilizes the services of former 3ID division commander (2008-2011), Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Tony Cucolo. Within the foreword, he addresses the overall value of biographies and the importance of O’Daniel. Cucolo does a superb job of setting the conditions for Stoy.
The second area which greatly assists the author is the visuals injected throughout the book. My experience in most books is that a small group of visuals are inserted en masse toward the middle of the volume. It is obvious the author has had the same experiences. Within Sharpen Your Bayonets, Stoy has inserted over 150 photographs, nearly a dozen maps, and several cartoons and sketches. These are placed throughout the volume in proximity to its related text. I cannot think of any biography which has utilized nearly as many visuals nor has received as much value from them as this book.
The final area, which is truly an asset, is the volume’s appendices section. Stoy has included eleven distinct items within the section. These include several of O’Daniel’s speeches and writings (including his outstanding “Combat Principles of the Cold War”), a document listing his military decorations, and some short biographies of people instrumental in O’Daniel’s career. In total, this section is a great asset in telling the O’Daniel story.
In summary, Timothy Stoy has crafted a superb biography of “Iron Mike” O’Daniel. Through exhaustive research and the use of techniques not normally seen in a biography, he has clearly told the story of O’Daniel. In doing so, he has done a great service to the public. He has exposed many to a soldier and leader who made huge contributions to the U.S. Army and to the Nation. These are contributions which should be known and admired by far more people.
Book Review written by:Rick Baillergeon, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas