Frederick L. Ridgway

Tanker's Destiny Frederick L. Ridgway

In the scope of human history nothing stands out like warfare. One nation trying to impose it's ideology, political system, or religious beliefs on another. General George Patton said, "next to war, all other forms of human endeavor pale in insignificance." For those who have experienced war and survived it, the experience seems to overshadow the other normal highlights of a well lived life. I have found this true in the life of my father and the many veterans I interviewed as I researched this book. A farm boy, a painter, a gas station attendant, ordinary men transported to another continent and thrust into a life and death struggle for the cause of freedom.


In war the best and worst of man's nature are exhibited. This is a story of the birth of faith and God's protection set against the backdrop of World War II. You will follow one soldier's odyssey from home in the Midwest to the end of the war on the Elbe River in Germany. You will experience war from a Sherman tanker's perspective facing the seasoned Panzer division of Hitler's armies. These are real combat stories with fictional elements added to fill in the details. This is my father's story.