Dog Tags: Prisoners of War

Dog Tags: Prisoners of War

By: C. Alexander London

Dog Tags, by C. Alexander London, is a book series about dogs, and their use in different wars. This certain Dog tags, Prisoners of War, takes place in a remote Belgian forest in the winter. As it seems, the book would spike the interest of someone that likes reading fiction war books, like myself.

Anyway, Miguel, the main character in the book, is a 16 year old American medic that was just deployed near the front lines, but not in contact with any enemies. Medics aren’t allowed to carry a weapon, FYI. While in a trench waiting for the Nazis, he meets a gunman named Goldsmith. Goldsmith keeps talking about his home, and his Jewish heritage. At first Miguel doesn’t say anything nor look at Goldsmith. However as time goes on, Miguel starts to lighten up and become friends with Goldsmith. While they’re talking they start saying things like yutz, or vato, which is Spanish. All of a sudden, artillery starts booming down to the ground, like a tornado hitting a hill of unstable C4. Nazis were attacking! Bullets whizzing by, Goldsmith stands and fires at the incoming Nazis.

Then, American soldiers start yelling, “Medic!” After that, Goldsmith says, “Hey, vato, I think they need you,” but Miguel hesitates, the other soldiers still crying out for a medic. Then Goldsmith says, “Don’t be a yutz, get to work!” Finally Miguel grabs his medic bag and runs toward the cries. He goes from trench to trench bandaging as many soldiers as he can. Later, after Miguel gets to his fourth man he realizes he is not moving, or breathing, just still. Then Miguel notices it’s the man who is supposed to be giving orders, the Sargent. “Hey, Sarge?” Miguel says, “Sarge!” He turns the still man from his position and saw that the Sargent was gone. His eyes were wide open and just above them, his skull had been torn open, the parts of destroyed brain visible were bluish-red like the morning sunrise. That’s when Miguel stopped; he couldn’t take any more of it. He fought with himself, still in the trench with the diseased Sargent. He wanted to fight, but knew he couldn’t. Suddenly another artillery shell boomed above him. A large branch of a tree landed on Miguel knocking him out, cold.

When he awoke he first noticed everyone had gone, the Nazis overran the place. He peaked up from the trench, and saw a dead Nazi soldier lying in the snow, giving off a whining sound. In a split second a dog jumped from behind the dead soldier biting, and jumping at Miguel. However, the dog stopped mid jump… he was on a leash that the Nazi had in his dead, frozen hand. Miguel then jumped out the other side of the trench, but the dog kept jumping towards him, slowly pulling his master. Luckily, the dog falls in the trench and can’t get out. Miguel then hears Nazis in the distance, so he looks through the bushes and sees the Nazis had taken his comrades prisoner. They were marching down the road, into the distant fog.

Miguel decides he can’t do this alone; he needs someone to track the Nazis, so he can free his friends and redeem himself for his foolish behaviors. He goes back to the trenches, and slowly but surely befriends the dog and names him Yutz. Now he is on his mission, with no plans, and only one way of navigation, a dog. He is going to have a really hard road, meet a rebellion, even sneak into the base disguised as a Nazi, but one goal stays the same, rescue his fellow Americans.

The book is very exciting and entertaining to read. It will, without a doubt, hold the attention of almost anyone who starts to read it.