In Her Father's Footsteps: With the 90th - Normandy to the Moselle, 1944

Chris Johnston lives in Tyler, Texas. He is an Architect and a student of military history. Chris is married to Margie Neil Johnston, daughter of Lt. Harris C. Neil. Chris and Margie traveled to France in 2014 and documented the trail of Lt. Neil from his diary and unit histories.

 

Lt. Harris C. Neil joined the Tough Hombres, the 90th Texas -Oklahoma Division, after the tragic Seves Island battle, as a replacement officer. This story is about his personal journey through the WWII battlefields of France, Luxembourg, and Belgium as a platoon leader. The journey leads to an infantry assault on Fort Koenigsmacker, a Metz area fortification where he defied orders to withdraw his men. The book might be subtitled "Saving Patton " because of the results of that infantry assault. Anyone with connections to the 90th Infantry Division will especially enjoy this book. It spotlights the Lorraine Campaign east of Paris....that forgotten part of the war. The book sources numerous histories, Lt. Neil's wartime diary, personal papers, WWII photographs and conversations with the author to record this aspect of the war. The book had its origin in a desire to give Lt. Neil's grandchildren a context for his diary. It led to a journey by his youngest daughter in 2014, following the path of her father's platoon. This experience is also chronicled in this book.