Nimrod Frazer Program Transcript.pdf

Nimrod T. Frazer, Send the Alabamians: World War I Fighters in the Rainbow Division

In Send the Alabamians, Nimrod T. Frazer recounts the story of the 167th Infantry Regiment of the Rainbow Division from their recruitment to their valiant service on the fields of eastern France in the final months of World War I. Sponsored by the United States World War One Centennial Commission.

Send the Alabamians tells the remarkable story of a division of Alabama recruits whose service Douglas MacArthur observed had not "been surpassed in military history." The book borrows its title from a quip by American General Edward Plummer who commanded the young men during the inauspicious early days of their service. impressed with their ferocity and espirit de corps but exasperated by their rambunctiosness, Plummer reportedly exclaimed: "In time of war, send me all the Alabamians you can get, but in time of peace, for Lord's sake, send them to somebody else!'

The ferocity of the Alabamians, so apt to get them into trouble at home, proved invaluable in the field. At the climactic Battle of Croix Rouge, the hot-blooded 167th exhibited unflinching valor and, in the face of machine gun, artillery shells, and poison gas, sustained casualty rates over 50 percent to dislodge and repel the deeply entrenched and heavily armed enemy. 

Relying on extensive primary sources such as journals, letters, and military reports, Frazer draws a vivid picture of the individual soldiers who served in this division, so often overlooked but critical to the war's success. Richly researched, yet grippingly readable, Nimrod T. Frazer's Send the Alabamians will delight those interested in World War I, Alabama history, or military history in general.

-- Book description courtesy of The University of Alabama Press

NIMROD T. FRAZER is a retired investment banker, formerly CEO of Enstar. He earned his MBA at Harvard University and was awarded the Silver Star for his military service in Korea. His research on the Rainbow Division stems from his father's stories of the famous unit.