Reminiscent of the work of Ernie Pyle, Searching for Sgt. Bailey: Saluting an Ordinary Soldier of World War II looks at the fighting through the eyes of the dogfaces upon whom, as much as upon the brass hats, victory depended. Author James Breig, an accomplished journalist and history writer, picks one of them in order to focus on the stories of them all in a narrative taken from the V-mails of, and interviews with, fellows who praised the Lord and passed the ammunition. Anyone whose granddad, father, uncle, brother or buddy marched in the ever-thinning ranks of all the men who only did their duty will want to spend time with Sgt. James Boisseau Bailey.
--Dennis Montgomery, editor, Colonial Williamsburg Journal
At last, the essential soldiers behind the lines get their due. It took 14 quartermasters to support one infantry soldier in WWII and this work tells their story. This book honors the millions of men and women who committed themselves to victory but were all too often forgotten in the histories of WWII. A must read!
--Luther Hanson, curator, US Army Quartermaster Museum, Fort Lee, Virginia
It s a human failing that we take for granted the efforts of those who toil in the background, be it in everyday life or in the throes of war. James Breig gives us reason to pause and live a few moments in the life of Sergeant Bailey, an average World War II soldier. Let s not forget him or any of the others, regardless of the conflict or the size of their sacrifices.
--Edward Zapletal, publisher, History Magazine
Putting a face on the common soldier
East Greenbush man's book tells of WWII GI who worked behind lines
By Dennis Yusko
EAST GREENBUSH -- Author James Breig extols the common soldier in "Searching for Sgt. Bailey," a book about World War II to be released Friday for Veterans Day.
Breig, a writer and editor for 37 years at The Evangelist newspaper in Albany, tells the story of Sgt. James B. Bailey, an Army quartermaster from Prince George's County, Va.
Bailey neither stormed the beaches at Normandy nor raised the flag atop Mount Suribachi at Iwo Jima. He faced little, if any, combat. Instead, the sergeant labored behind the battle lines in a sweaty warehouse on New Guinea from 1944-45.
New book inspired by county man's war letters
By Michael Buettner
PRINCE GEORGE - Like millions of other young men of his generation, World War II turned Prince George County native James Boisseau Bailey into something of a world traveler, but his wartime letters continued their journey long after he came home.
This week, in honor of Veterans Day, there will be a homecoming of sorts for those letters, as a New York author gives a presentation at the Prince George Library about his recently published book inspired by the letters, "Searching for Sgt. Bailey: Saluting an Ordinary Soldier of World War II" (Park Chase Press, Baltimore.)
Book on Prince George’s Sgt. Bailey celebrates common soldiers
By Sarah Steele Wilson
When James Breig walked into Marketplace Antiques in Gloucester County, he didn’t expect to find something that would pull him into the history of Prince George County and its residents for the next three years. But a collection old letters did just that.
The letters were written by Sgt. James Boisseau Bailey, a Prince George County native who trained at Fort Lee as a quartermaster and was stationed in New Guinea during World War II. They form the basis for Breig’s book “Searching for Sgt. Bailey, Saluting an Ordinary Soldier of World War II,” released this month by Park Chase Press.
Former editor's antique-store find evolved into book on WWII soldier
By Angela Cave
Attention must be paid to the millions of "ordinary" World War II veterans who were never properly memorialized, a local Catholic author asserts in his new book.
"For every front-line soldier, I'm told there were 14 people supporting him," said author James Breig of Holy Spirit parish in East Greenbush.