{"product_id":"top-sergeant","title":"Top Sergeant","description":"Beginning with his humble origins as an Illinois farm boy and son of a \"dirt farmer \" Bill Bainbridges Top Sergeant is the only memoir of an enlisted mans rise to the most senior NCO position in the U.S. Army. In a military career spanning more than three decades  Bill Bainbridge saw service in three wars  fought in two of them  and was captured in one. In France in World War II  Bainbridge served with A Company  423rd Infantry of the 106th Infantry Division. Forced to surrender during the Battle of the Bulge  he spent five months in a German POW camp  weighing only eighty-six pounds when he was liberated. Discharged in December of 45  he fully expected to spend the rest of his life as a farmer. But being called up for the Korean War ruined his farming prospects and  in due time  \"That peculiar chemistry of training  experience  and promotion began to have its effect  and I realized that I didnt want to be anywhere else but the Army.\" In thirty-one years of service  Bainbridge served in leading NCO positions the world over  including Battalion Sergeant Major  1st Battalion  28th Infantry  1st Infantry Division  II Field Force Sergeant Major in Vietnam  Sergeant Major U.S. Army Pacific  and Basic Training Center Sergeant Major at Fort Benning  where he was instrumental in setting up the first NCO Candidate Course. Bainbridge was also the first sergeant major of the Sergeants Major Academy. He received ten Good Conduct Medals  two awards of the Combat Infantry Badge  three Army Commendation Medals  and the Distinguished Service Medal  among others. But the greatest moment in his career came when he was selected to be Sergeant Major of the U.S. Army  its highest NCO position  an office he was the first to hold for four years. But Bainbridges most important job of his illustrious career was the welfare of his soldiers. Whether in base camps in Vietnam  aviation units in Germany  or training centers in Fort Benning  Bainbridge never forgot what he was there for. \"Soldiers will do anything you ask provided you prepare them with good training and treat them with dignity.\" Top Sergeant is all about doing what a good sergeant does best--attending to the needs of his men--and what it takes to be a great noncommissioned officer in an Army that officers are proud to command--but that NCOs really run.","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44894895407157,"sku":"ByrdShop_0449908925","price":91.34,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/ByrdShop_0449908925_91512ad2-a15d-4211-851d-69c00e26de91.jpg?v=1770586216","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/top-sergeant","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}