Spearpoint: Letters of an American War Hero

Hollywood often presents an outsider’s view of the G.I. in combat. Conversely, the letters compiled here are written inside war. They’re an honest portrayal by a young man forced into hellish combat on the front lines of World War II, across Europe and North Africa. History is revealed in letters to his mother, personal recollections, official reports and citations for heroism.

This young man, my father, David Edward Milotta, was born and raised in Pennsylvania’s Mt. Pleasant, a small coal mining town nestled in the Allegany Mountains’ eastern slopes. An ROTC scholarship to Penn State enabled him to become the first in his family to graduate from college. Upon graduation, shortly after marrying Doris Jean Snow, Milotta, along with his entire ROTC class, was commissioned as officer and sent to war.

From behind the plow to the point of a spear, the farm boy became a warrior. He became the assault platoon leader for Company A, First Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, First Infantry Division.

This is his story, in his words.