The Sergeant is a series of nine pulp-novels written by Len Levinson under the pseudonym Gordon Davis. Len Levinson has over 60 novels to his credit, including two Western novels, Apache Dawn (1989) and Gold Town (1989), under the name of "Clay Dawson".
 "The Sergeant" is Clarence Joseph "CJ" Mahoney, a fictional character created by the author. The series details his adventures and exploits as a U.S. GI, and former US Army Ranger, fighting in France during World War II.
 The series consist of 9 books over a 3-year period beginning in 1980. Mahoney, we learn, has often been promoted and busted in his long career. During the period of the Novels, May 1944 to December 1944, Mahoney is a Master Sergeant, that serves in special missions with the Rangers, and as a Company Sergeant, Platoon Leader, and Squad Leader in the "Hammerhead" Division. Mahoney, with his always present side-kick, Corporal Edward Cranepool, become involved in several of the key battles for the liberation of France, and invasion of Germany. Mahoney, as a US Army Ranger aides the French Resistance before, during, and immediately after the June 6, 1944 D-Day invasions of France. Later, tired of always finding himself involved in "suicide" missions, Mahoney and Cranepool transfer to the "Hamerhead" Division in General George S Patton's 3rd Army. With the Hammerheads, Mahoney participates in the battles of the hedgerows after the Normandy invasions, the liberation of Paris, the crossing of the Moselle and battle for Metz, and the defense of Bastogne.
 In the first book in the series, Death Train, which takes place in the summer of 1944, Mahoney is a US Army Ranger working behind German lines with the French Resistance, "maquis", to disrupt a rail-road line that will be essential to German troop and supply movement after the D-Day invasion on Omaha Beach. The book establishes Mahoney as a tough, career Army, individual, and an experienced combat veteran that had seen action since the initial US amphibious landings in 1942 at Morocco.
 The series ends with Book 9, Hammerhead, circa late December 1944. Mahoney, disgusted by all the death he has seen, and killing he has done, is praying in a small Catholic church. Facing the altar, with his back to the church, he is nearly killed, before two of his arch enemies end up shooting each other. After determining that one of the men has died and the other likely did as well, Mahoney returns to his prayer. We do not learn any more of Mahoney, or Cranepool, after this.
 There were several more months of European battle left to fight after December 1944. It is not known why the author, or publisher, discontinued the series.
 The 23rd Rangers, to which Mahoney and Cranepool belonged in the first two novels.
 The 33rd Infantry Division of the Third Army. Known as the "Hammerheads" for their tough fighting style, they were one of Patton's favorites. The Hammerhead's landed on Utah Beach, D-Day plus 1 (Bloody Bush). The Hammerheads were often fight in the heaviest combat zones of the front, and often took substantial casualties. Mahoney and Cranepool joined the Hammerheads in Book 3, believing an infantry division would be safer than the combat they had seen as Rangers.
 (all by Gordon Davis)
The novels were all published Kensington Publishing, Corp., in the United States. The first three were printed by the Zebra Books division. They used a uniform cover design featuring a large color, portrait drawing of a US GI (Mahoney), and a small combat action scene in the lower right. Starting with the fourth book in the series, the novels were printed by the Bantam Books division, and the title graphics changed, though the artwork remained relatively unchanged.