User:Rhubb1/Herbert W. McBride

Herbert W. McBride was a World War I sniper and commander of a machine gun unit known as the "Emma Gees." He was also the author of two books on the war: "A Rifleman Went To War," and "The Emma Gees." He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1873, and died in 1933. Prior to World War I, he traveled to the western United States, where he met some of the legendary gunfighters, such as Bat Masterson. When the war started, he volunteered in a Canadian rifle company because he wanted to see action as quickly as possible. He was an expert marksman who honed his talent at Camp Perry national riflery competitions. In his book, "A Rifleman Went To War," he recounts killing more than 100 German soldiers as a sniper. This book is highly regarded by students of riflery, and has been often read by U.S. military snipers. It is also considered one of the best first-person accounts of World War I, often being compared favorably to "Storm of Steel" by Ernst Junger. Like Junger, McBride is unusual in that he writes enthusiastically of his war experiences, deriding Hollywood "sob stuff" pictured in the movies after the war.