If second lieutenants are fortunate at the start of their careers, they are helped by good sergeants. I was fortunate in having Sergeant James C. Sheriff as a platoon sergeant soon after I began army life. He knew more about leading men than I did, and he was patient with me. There is a character in this story named after him. However, the real Sergeant Sheriff did not have the gambling instinct the “Sergeant Sheriff” in this book has. It is hard to imagine anyone writing a book entirely on his own. In order to write the adventures of Clint Lane, I traveled in Germany and France, and received help from many people there as well as in this country. Dort Darrah Reeder, my wife, devoted hours to this manuscript. Nardi Reeder Campion, my sister, a skilled writer, reviewed it and boosted it along. Lieutenant Colonel Dan Halpin devoted time, energy, and thought to the story. I am also indebted to: 1st Lt. James B. Allen, Jr.; 1st Lt. and Mrs. James L. Anderson; Capt. R. M. Berglund; Col. Morton Brooks; Joe Cahill; Lt. Col. Merle Carey; Sgt. Cicuzzo; Master Sgt. Paul Cirignano, USA—retired; Tim Cohane; 1st Sgt. George Danner; 1st Lt. Jim Ellis; Coach Dale Hall; Maj. Gen. Barksdale Hamlet; Mrs. Judy Hewgley; Coach Tom Harp; 2nd Lt. Dale Hruby; Master Sgt. Harry Lake; Capt. James Lay; 1st Lt. Robert Ley; Maj. Gen. Robert M. Littlejohn, USA—retired; 2nd Lt. Rod-eric (“Butch”) Ordway; Herr and Frau Walter Kissler; Sgt. Robert Jennings; Brig. Gen. Harold K. Johnson; Col. and Mrs. Doug Kendrick; Bill Merrill; Maj. G. R. Moe; Maj. Leslie McMorrow; Master Sgt. Bob Neel; Russ Reeder, III; Capt. Scott Riggs, Jr.; Maj. John Stannard; Maj. Gen. Harry Storke; Mrs. Virgil Shyrock; 1st Lt. Jeff Tuten; Maj. Gen. Tom Watlington; and S. B. Whipple. RED REEDER West Point, New York