Dear Reader:

The Lost Eleven will introduce you to eleven courageous African-American GIs in the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion who served heroically and sacrificially in the United States Army in World War II. While most black soldiers filled noncombatant support roles, these eleven mastered the complicated operation of the 155mm howitzer, one of the most important weapons in the war. In 1944, they traveled across German-occupied France with General Middleton’s VIII Corps, providing support fire where most urgently needed. With their record-setting speed in loading and positioning the 155, and their extreme accuracy in firing, they helped prove the combat skill of black soldiers. This story, and the fate of the eleven, unacknowledged for half a century and left out of the Congressional War Crimes Report of 1949, is told here in book form for the first time.

The events in this book are true, gleaned from military documents, interviews, VIII Corps and 333rd Battalion after-action reports, and written verbal accounts. While accurate in content, some of it has been creatively retold. Some of the dialogue, unrecorded by history, has been created.

All the characters in this book are historical and use their real names, with the exception of “Jeb,” the training instructor, and “Greta,” the Langers’ German-loyal neighbor who betrayed them, whom the Langers refused to identify.

This exciting true story of eleven black heroes will delight your spirit, give you rare first-person historical insights, and make you proud of America’s devoted GIs. But be forewarned. While this story will warm your heart, it will also break your heart. Graphic and deeply moving, this story screamed to be written, and now yearns to be read by generations yet to be born.

It is with great honor that after seventy-two years, and within the pages of a book, we introduce you to the Lost Eleven.

Denise George and Robert Child July 2016