''See Here, Private Hargrove'' (1942) is a book by

Marion Hargrove Edward Thomas Marion Lawton Hargrove Jr. (October 13, 1919 – August 23, 2003) was an American writer. Early years Hargrove was born in Mount Olive, North Carolina. He worked on the newspaper at his Charlotte, North Carolina, high school and ...

, about his experiences in

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

basic training.

Origin

The author, a North Carolina native, was a correspondent for ''

The Charlotte News ''The Charlotte News'' was the afternoon newspaper in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was first published on December 8, 1888. The newspaper was eventually purchased on April 5, 1959 by Knight Newspapers, owner of its larger rival ''The Charlotte Ob ...

'' prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After he was drafted in the U.S. Army, he wrote columns for the newspaper as a private at Fort Bragg. ''See Here, Private Hargrove'' is his collection of those columns, detailing his experiences in basic training with humor and sarcasm. :''See Here, Private Hargrove'' was a good-natured look at Army ways, its early portions making the Army seem like a boys' camp. Private Hargrove and his buddies irritated their sergeants endlessly but were punished with nothing worse than stints polishing garbage cans.

Success

The light-hearted book was a hit with readers, spending 15 weeks on the ''New York Times'' best-seller list. It was regarded as a "publishing phenomenon," selling more than 400,000 hardcover copies, and more than two million copies in a paperback edition. In 1944 the book was made into a movie of the same name, starring Robert Walker,

Donna Reed Donna Reed (born Donna Belle Mullenger; January 27, 1921 – January 14, 1986) was an American actress. Her career spanned more than 40 years, with performances in more than 40 films. She is well known for her portrayal of Mary Hatch Bailey in ...

Keenan Wynn Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was an American character actor. His expressive face was his stock-in-trade; and though he rarely carried the lead role, he had prominent billing in mos ...

Chill Wills Theodore Childress "Chill" Wills (July 18, 1902 – December 15, 1978) was an American actor and a singer in the Avalon Boys quartet. Early life Wills was born in Seagoville, Texas, on July 18, 1902. Career He was a performer from early chi ...

and

Robert Benchley Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. From his beginnings at ''The Harvard Lampoon'' while attending Harvard University, thro ...

. This was followed the next year by ''

What Next, Corporal Hargrove? ''What Next, Corporal Hargrove?'' is a 1945 black-and-white comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Robert Walker and Keenan Wynn. It was distributed by MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer ...

''. The book mentions fellow North Carolinian and journalist

Lloyd Shearer Lloyd "Skip" Shearer (December 20, 1916 – May 27, 2001Wadler, Joyce." ''The New York Times''. May 27, 2001. Retrieved on August 5, 2014.) was an American celebrity gossip columnist. From 1958 to 1991, he wrote "Walter Scott's Personality Parade" ...

, who later became a gossip columnist. It was said he "gained some notoriety" as a result of his appearance in the book.

References

;Sources * Bear, John. ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times bestsellers since the first list, 50 years ago'', Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1992 ;Notes {{reflist 1942 non-fiction books Military humor Military life World War II memoirs Henry Holt and Company books Memoirs adapted into films