Although To the Last Salute covers the point from the mobilization of the Austrian U-boats to the end of the war, reference to direct experience with home is minimal. In fact, although the book refers to various home leave taken by von Trapp, mention of his family or his time with them is almost absent and noticeably lacking in any detail. Perhaps this helped contribute to him later being portrayed as cold and distant from his family. It may, however, simply be that von Trapp simply wanted to portray life from the military aspect and not from a more personal perspective.
In addition, his recounting of conversations contain so many direct quotes that it suggests they are recreated. Yet the fact is that this is a memoir by a military man, not a historian's account. As such, it focuses on the things and compatriots that were important to him. More important, it provides a rare insider's view of an aspect of World War I of which we in the West know little to nothing.
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