Author: Zia Telfair
Publisher: Author House
ISBN: 1481717111
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 284
Book Description
The Boys of Benning highlights the lives of fourteen graduates of a 1962 Infantry Officer Candidate School class-before, during, and way after OCS. These men came from all across America to compete for officership in the United States Army. They emerged victorious from the crucible of OCS, and went on to serve our nation-in and out of the Army. Twelve of these fourteen men served combat tours in Vietnam. Most were wounded in action there; some more than once. They were point men in the so-called Cold War. For them, it was often hot war. Beyond the battlefields of Vietnam and the long wars divisive impact on American unity, these Boys of Benning persevered in their patriotic duty. They rose to the challenges and opportunities of higher rank and responsibility with confidence born from competence. Whether they remained in uniform-as most did-or left the Army to pursue civilian careers, the men whose stories leap from the pages of The Boys of Benning exemplify the time-honored traditions of Duty-Honor-Country. Despite their diverse backgrounds and subsequent achievements, they share a common bond, forged at Fort Benning and strengthened by their long service to our nation and their respective communities, where they continue to serve with distinction. The Boys of Benning is a treasure trove of exemplary leadership that far transcends the military milieu with valuable lessons for all who aspire to pursue excellence in their personal and professional lives. Advance Praise for The Boys of Benning The Boys of Benning is an American story. It captures the experiences of a diversity of Americans who were brought together more than half a century ago by a shared ambition to become commissioned officers in the United States Army. Its pages unveil the greatness of the Vietnam generation. Stories are told with remarkable candor. A deep sense of adventure, dedication to country and duty, bravery in battle, and a contagious sense of humor are found in this book. It was an honor for me to be in the midst of these men more than 50 years ago and their stories fill me with pride. I strongly recommend this book. Powell A. Moore Former OCS Tactical Officer Former Assistant Secretary of Defense
The Boys of Benning
Author: Zia Telfair
Publisher: Author House
ISBN: 1481717111
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 284
Book Description
The Boys of Benning highlights the lives of fourteen graduates of a 1962 Infantry Officer Candidate School class-before, during, and way after OCS. These men came from all across America to compete for officership in the United States Army. They emerged victorious from the crucible of OCS, and went on to serve our nation-in and out of the Army. Twelve of these fourteen men served combat tours in Vietnam. Most were wounded in action there; some more than once. They were point men in the so-called Cold War. For them, it was often hot war. Beyond the battlefields of Vietnam and the long wars divisive impact on American unity, these Boys of Benning persevered in their patriotic duty. They rose to the challenges and opportunities of higher rank and responsibility with confidence born from competence. Whether they remained in uniform-as most did-or left the Army to pursue civilian careers, the men whose stories leap from the pages of The Boys of Benning exemplify the time-honored traditions of Duty-Honor-Country. Despite their diverse backgrounds and subsequent achievements, they share a common bond, forged at Fort Benning and strengthened by their long service to our nation and their respective communities, where they continue to serve with distinction. The Boys of Benning is a treasure trove of exemplary leadership that far transcends the military milieu with valuable lessons for all who aspire to pursue excellence in their personal and professional lives. Advance Praise for The Boys of Benning The Boys of Benning is an American story. It captures the experiences of a diversity of Americans who were brought together more than half a century ago by a shared ambition to become commissioned officers in the United States Army. Its pages unveil the greatness of the Vietnam generation. Stories are told with remarkable candor. A deep sense of adventure, dedication to country and duty, bravery in battle, and a contagious sense of humor are found in this book. It was an honor for me to be in the midst of these men more than 50 years ago and their stories fill me with pride. I strongly recommend this book. Powell A. Moore Former OCS Tactical Officer Former Assistant Secretary of Defense
Publisher: Author House
ISBN: 1481717111
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 284
Book Description
The Boys of Benning highlights the lives of fourteen graduates of a 1962 Infantry Officer Candidate School class-before, during, and way after OCS. These men came from all across America to compete for officership in the United States Army. They emerged victorious from the crucible of OCS, and went on to serve our nation-in and out of the Army. Twelve of these fourteen men served combat tours in Vietnam. Most were wounded in action there; some more than once. They were point men in the so-called Cold War. For them, it was often hot war. Beyond the battlefields of Vietnam and the long wars divisive impact on American unity, these Boys of Benning persevered in their patriotic duty. They rose to the challenges and opportunities of higher rank and responsibility with confidence born from competence. Whether they remained in uniform-as most did-or left the Army to pursue civilian careers, the men whose stories leap from the pages of The Boys of Benning exemplify the time-honored traditions of Duty-Honor-Country. Despite their diverse backgrounds and subsequent achievements, they share a common bond, forged at Fort Benning and strengthened by their long service to our nation and their respective communities, where they continue to serve with distinction. The Boys of Benning is a treasure trove of exemplary leadership that far transcends the military milieu with valuable lessons for all who aspire to pursue excellence in their personal and professional lives. Advance Praise for The Boys of Benning The Boys of Benning is an American story. It captures the experiences of a diversity of Americans who were brought together more than half a century ago by a shared ambition to become commissioned officers in the United States Army. Its pages unveil the greatness of the Vietnam generation. Stories are told with remarkable candor. A deep sense of adventure, dedication to country and duty, bravery in battle, and a contagious sense of humor are found in this book. It was an honor for me to be in the midst of these men more than 50 years ago and their stories fill me with pride. I strongly recommend this book. Powell A. Moore Former OCS Tactical Officer Former Assistant Secretary of Defense
The Boys of Chattahoochee: Sons of the Greatest Generation
Author: Darrell S. Mudd
Publisher: America Star Books
ISBN: 1683945980
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 376
Book Description
The Boys of Chattahoochee: Sons of the Greatest Generation are memories recalled through-the-eyes of Cold War era military veterans. Tested up to and including the extremes of combat leadership in Vietnam, they were taught by one of the finest organizations in the world; the U.S. Army Infantry Officer Candidate School, OCS, at Fort Benning, Georgia. Eleven contributors placed their fingerprints upon these pages. From all parts of the USA they came together as classmates for a period of time that 50 years later continues to arouse the most deeply felt of feelings. What some might describe as typical sons of the Greatest Generation, you the readers will turn the pages to stories much more than expected as told by this assembly of young American boys turned into leaders of men.
Publisher: America Star Books
ISBN: 1683945980
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 376
Book Description
The Boys of Chattahoochee: Sons of the Greatest Generation are memories recalled through-the-eyes of Cold War era military veterans. Tested up to and including the extremes of combat leadership in Vietnam, they were taught by one of the finest organizations in the world; the U.S. Army Infantry Officer Candidate School, OCS, at Fort Benning, Georgia. Eleven contributors placed their fingerprints upon these pages. From all parts of the USA they came together as classmates for a period of time that 50 years later continues to arouse the most deeply felt of feelings. What some might describe as typical sons of the Greatest Generation, you the readers will turn the pages to stories much more than expected as told by this assembly of young American boys turned into leaders of men.
The Boys of Milo
Author: Michael Williams
Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
ISBN: 1638144338
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 432
Book Description
Kids that grew up in the small southern Iowa town of Milo truly had a walk in the park during their childhood. There was so much to enjoy during those tender years as Little Leaguers, Boy Scouts, high school athletes, or members of the school band. Hunting and fishing with friends occupied nearly every weekend and filled those treasured moments with unforgettable memories. That all changed when America became involved in the Vietnam War, and the boys of Milo were called to join the military. Soon to be lost would be the innocence of their youth. From 1960 to 1975, nearly two-thirds of the young men from this tightly knit community departed their tranquil town and became soldiers. Many served overseas to include Southeast Asia. Some did not return home. Many came back with visible battle scars and Purple Hearts pinned on their chest. Many returned with hidden wounds, buried deep within their soul that haunted them for years. The Boys of Milo is a true account of the events that impacted these young men on their journey to far-flung parts of the United States and the world during an exceedingly difficult time in American history. Some of their stories are humorous, others are so gripping they defy believability. All, however, are true accounts as now told by old men. Their stories allow those who knew them to remember and for all to understand them. Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? When times are good, be happy: but when times are bad, consider God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future. — Ecclesiastes 7:13–15
Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
ISBN: 1638144338
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 432
Book Description
Kids that grew up in the small southern Iowa town of Milo truly had a walk in the park during their childhood. There was so much to enjoy during those tender years as Little Leaguers, Boy Scouts, high school athletes, or members of the school band. Hunting and fishing with friends occupied nearly every weekend and filled those treasured moments with unforgettable memories. That all changed when America became involved in the Vietnam War, and the boys of Milo were called to join the military. Soon to be lost would be the innocence of their youth. From 1960 to 1975, nearly two-thirds of the young men from this tightly knit community departed their tranquil town and became soldiers. Many served overseas to include Southeast Asia. Some did not return home. Many came back with visible battle scars and Purple Hearts pinned on their chest. Many returned with hidden wounds, buried deep within their soul that haunted them for years. The Boys of Milo is a true account of the events that impacted these young men on their journey to far-flung parts of the United States and the world during an exceedingly difficult time in American history. Some of their stories are humorous, others are so gripping they defy believability. All, however, are true accounts as now told by old men. Their stories allow those who knew them to remember and for all to understand them. Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? When times are good, be happy: but when times are bad, consider God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future. — Ecclesiastes 7:13–15
The Five Sutherland Boys
Author: Peter Sutherland Jr.
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1477163050
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 171
Book Description
This book, The Five Sutherland Boys To God -Through Hell -To Glory, is a fictional family saga, is based on true life stories gleaned from my father Peter, and my four unclesLouis (Fat), Willie, Luther, and Johnny. This book reads like (Forrest Gump, meets Private Ryan, Afro Style). The book tells the life stories of the five young black men that grew up during the Great Depression, trying to make ends meet, while hanging on to family, and Godly values, in the midst of a World at War. A war that was thrust upon them and the United States by the unprovoked Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, on Dec.7th 1941. In the process of surviving the depression and fighting a war, they meet and rub elbows with some incredibly unique individuals. Some were famous, and some would later become famous. Travel With them on their heroic journeys, as the boys realize there is no place like home, no love like family, and both are worth fighting for.
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1477163050
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 171
Book Description
This book, The Five Sutherland Boys To God -Through Hell -To Glory, is a fictional family saga, is based on true life stories gleaned from my father Peter, and my four unclesLouis (Fat), Willie, Luther, and Johnny. This book reads like (Forrest Gump, meets Private Ryan, Afro Style). The book tells the life stories of the five young black men that grew up during the Great Depression, trying to make ends meet, while hanging on to family, and Godly values, in the midst of a World at War. A war that was thrust upon them and the United States by the unprovoked Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, on Dec.7th 1941. In the process of surviving the depression and fighting a war, they meet and rub elbows with some incredibly unique individuals. Some were famous, and some would later become famous. Travel With them on their heroic journeys, as the boys realize there is no place like home, no love like family, and both are worth fighting for.
The Boys of ’67
Author: Andrew Wiest
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1780968949
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 576
Book Description
Following on from the stunning success of the novel Matterhorn as well as Osprey's own Tonight We Die as Men, this book follows the trials and tribulations of a group of Vietnam draftees from basic training to the rice paddies of Vietnam. In the spring of 1966 the Vietnam War was intensifying, driven by the US military build up, under which the 9th Infantry Division was reactivated. Charlie Company was part of the 9th and representative of the melting pot of America. But, unlike the vast majority of other companies in the US Army, the men of Charlie Company were a close-knit family. They joined up together, trained together, and were deployed together. This is their story. From the joker who roller-skated into the Company First Sergeant's office wearing a dress, to the nerdy guy with two left feet who would rather be off somewhere inventing computers, and the everyman who just wanted to keep his head down and get through un-noticed and preferably unscathed. Written by leading Vietnam expert Dr Andrew Wiest, The Boys of '67 tells the unvarnished truth about the war in Vietnam, recounting the fear of death and the horrors of battle through the recollections of the young men themselves. America doesn't know their names or their story, the story of the boys of Charlie, young draftees who had done everything that their nation had asked of them and received so little in return – lost faces and silent voices of a distant war.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1780968949
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 576
Book Description
Following on from the stunning success of the novel Matterhorn as well as Osprey's own Tonight We Die as Men, this book follows the trials and tribulations of a group of Vietnam draftees from basic training to the rice paddies of Vietnam. In the spring of 1966 the Vietnam War was intensifying, driven by the US military build up, under which the 9th Infantry Division was reactivated. Charlie Company was part of the 9th and representative of the melting pot of America. But, unlike the vast majority of other companies in the US Army, the men of Charlie Company were a close-knit family. They joined up together, trained together, and were deployed together. This is their story. From the joker who roller-skated into the Company First Sergeant's office wearing a dress, to the nerdy guy with two left feet who would rather be off somewhere inventing computers, and the everyman who just wanted to keep his head down and get through un-noticed and preferably unscathed. Written by leading Vietnam expert Dr Andrew Wiest, The Boys of '67 tells the unvarnished truth about the war in Vietnam, recounting the fear of death and the horrors of battle through the recollections of the young men themselves. America doesn't know their names or their story, the story of the boys of Charlie, young draftees who had done everything that their nation had asked of them and received so little in return – lost faces and silent voices of a distant war.
Home of the Infantry
Author: Peggy A. Stelpflug
Publisher: Mercer University Press
ISBN: 9780881460872
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 672
Book Description
"Fort Benning's history tells the story of the US infantry. For most of a century, Fort Benning's infantry school has graduated the soldiers who lead as well as the fighting foot soldiers in the dirt and mud. Founded on farm land in Georgia, it has been one of the US Army's premier installations from the days of the Doughboys to a more modern era where Rangers proudly wear their Ranger berets." "Fort Benning's long history has produced an impressive alumni list. Eisenhower coached its football team. Marshall rewrote the curriculum. Patton pushed men to prepare for battle. Bradley organized its Officer Candidate School, a source for men of rank in World War II. Powell and Schwarzkopf were honor graduates, as were Eaton and Freakley and other heroes from the sands of Iraq." "Fort Benning trained soldiers in the art of the bayonet. It prepared them to jump out of airplanes. It discovered the mobility and power of helicopters. It honed the technology of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. It has set the table for war in the trenches, war on the ground, war in the air, and war in the desert. Infantry has led the way and so has Fort Benning. It truly is the Home of the Infantry."--BOOK JACKET.
Publisher: Mercer University Press
ISBN: 9780881460872
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 672
Book Description
"Fort Benning's history tells the story of the US infantry. For most of a century, Fort Benning's infantry school has graduated the soldiers who lead as well as the fighting foot soldiers in the dirt and mud. Founded on farm land in Georgia, it has been one of the US Army's premier installations from the days of the Doughboys to a more modern era where Rangers proudly wear their Ranger berets." "Fort Benning's long history has produced an impressive alumni list. Eisenhower coached its football team. Marshall rewrote the curriculum. Patton pushed men to prepare for battle. Bradley organized its Officer Candidate School, a source for men of rank in World War II. Powell and Schwarzkopf were honor graduates, as were Eaton and Freakley and other heroes from the sands of Iraq." "Fort Benning trained soldiers in the art of the bayonet. It prepared them to jump out of airplanes. It discovered the mobility and power of helicopters. It honed the technology of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. It has set the table for war in the trenches, war on the ground, war in the air, and war in the desert. Infantry has led the way and so has Fort Benning. It truly is the Home of the Infantry."--BOOK JACKET.
The Boys from New Jersey
Author: Tom Kindre
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 1412025923
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 355
Book Description
Tales of love, fear, bravery and survival, from one of the world's most acclaimed archives of World War II.
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 1412025923
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 355
Book Description
Tales of love, fear, bravery and survival, from one of the world's most acclaimed archives of World War II.
Veterans' Journeys Home
Author: Lori Holyfield
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317249666
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 279
Book Description
Veterans' Journeys Home is a vivid portrayal of military life and its aftermath for US troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Highlighting the challenges US veterans face in today's changing military culture, the book depicts the haunting and visceral memories of returning soldiers, conversations with mental health providers, and offers an alternative approach to healing the emotional wounds of war. For anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the human costs of recent wars this book is invaluable. It combines a moving narrative with a penetrating analysis of the welfare and post-conflict treatment of veterans.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317249666
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 279
Book Description
Veterans' Journeys Home is a vivid portrayal of military life and its aftermath for US troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Highlighting the challenges US veterans face in today's changing military culture, the book depicts the haunting and visceral memories of returning soldiers, conversations with mental health providers, and offers an alternative approach to healing the emotional wounds of war. For anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the human costs of recent wars this book is invaluable. It combines a moving narrative with a penetrating analysis of the welfare and post-conflict treatment of veterans.
Wartime
Author: Paul Fussell
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199763313
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 345
Book Description
Winner of both the National Book Award for Arts and Letters and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism, Paul Fussell's The Great War and Modern Memory was one of the most original and gripping volumes ever written about the First World War. Frank Kermode, in The New York Times Book Review, hailed it as "an important contribution to our understanding of how we came to make World War I part of our minds," and Lionel Trilling called it simply "one of the most deeply moving books I have read in a long time." In its panaramic scope and poetic intensity, it illuminated a war that changed a generation and revolutionized the way we see the world. Now, in Wartime, Fussell turns to the Second World War, the conflict he himself fought in, to weave a narrative that is both more intensely personal and more wide-ranging. Whereas his former book focused primarily on literary figures, on the image of the Great War in literature, here Fussell examines the immediate impact of the war on common soldiers and civilians. He describes the psychological and emotional atmosphere of World War II. He analyzes the euphemisms people needed to deal with unacceptable reality (the early belief, for instance, that the war could be won by "precision bombing," that is, by long distance); he describes the abnormally intense frustration of desire and some of the means by which desire was satisfied; and, most important, he emphasizes the damage the war did to intellect, discrimination, honesty, individuality, complexity, ambiguity and wit. Of course, no Fussell book would be complete without some serious discussion of the literature of the time. He examines, for instance, how the great privations of wartime (when oranges would be raffled off as valued prizes) resulted in roccoco prose styles that dwelt longingly on lavish dinners, and how the "high-mindedness" of the era and the almost pathological need to "accentuate the positive" led to the downfall of the acerbic H.L. Mencken and the ascent of E.B. White. He also offers astute commentary on Edmund Wilson's argument with Archibald MacLeish, Cyril Connolly's Horizon magazine, the war poetry of Randall Jarrell and Louis Simpson, and many other aspects of the wartime literary world. Fussell conveys the essence of that wartime as no other writer before him. For the past fifty years, the Allied War has been sanitized and romanticized almost beyond recognition by "the sentimental, the loony patriotic, the ignorant, and the bloodthirsty." Americans, he says, have never understood what the Second World War was really like. In this stunning volume, he offers such an understanding.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199763313
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 345
Book Description
Winner of both the National Book Award for Arts and Letters and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism, Paul Fussell's The Great War and Modern Memory was one of the most original and gripping volumes ever written about the First World War. Frank Kermode, in The New York Times Book Review, hailed it as "an important contribution to our understanding of how we came to make World War I part of our minds," and Lionel Trilling called it simply "one of the most deeply moving books I have read in a long time." In its panaramic scope and poetic intensity, it illuminated a war that changed a generation and revolutionized the way we see the world. Now, in Wartime, Fussell turns to the Second World War, the conflict he himself fought in, to weave a narrative that is both more intensely personal and more wide-ranging. Whereas his former book focused primarily on literary figures, on the image of the Great War in literature, here Fussell examines the immediate impact of the war on common soldiers and civilians. He describes the psychological and emotional atmosphere of World War II. He analyzes the euphemisms people needed to deal with unacceptable reality (the early belief, for instance, that the war could be won by "precision bombing," that is, by long distance); he describes the abnormally intense frustration of desire and some of the means by which desire was satisfied; and, most important, he emphasizes the damage the war did to intellect, discrimination, honesty, individuality, complexity, ambiguity and wit. Of course, no Fussell book would be complete without some serious discussion of the literature of the time. He examines, for instance, how the great privations of wartime (when oranges would be raffled off as valued prizes) resulted in roccoco prose styles that dwelt longingly on lavish dinners, and how the "high-mindedness" of the era and the almost pathological need to "accentuate the positive" led to the downfall of the acerbic H.L. Mencken and the ascent of E.B. White. He also offers astute commentary on Edmund Wilson's argument with Archibald MacLeish, Cyril Connolly's Horizon magazine, the war poetry of Randall Jarrell and Louis Simpson, and many other aspects of the wartime literary world. Fussell conveys the essence of that wartime as no other writer before him. For the past fifty years, the Allied War has been sanitized and romanticized almost beyond recognition by "the sentimental, the loony patriotic, the ignorant, and the bloodthirsty." Americans, he says, have never understood what the Second World War was really like. In this stunning volume, he offers such an understanding.
Boys of the Clouds
Author: Gary C. Boegel
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 1412059410
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 456
Book Description
Boys of the Clouds tells the fascinating stories, in their own words, of over seventy veterans of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion during the Second World War. The Battalion, part of the British 6th Airborne Division, was among the very first Allied soldiers to land on French soil on June 6, 1944. Despite a widely scattered drop, they managed to take and hold all their objectives on D-Day, and continued to hold off German counter attacks through that fateful summer. After suffering heavy losses in Normandy, the unit returned to England in September 1944 to refit and train for the next airborne operation. This training was interrupted when they were hastily sent to defend against the German offensive in the Ardennes, commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge. They were the only Canadian unit to take part in this action. After the threat had passed, and the German offensive halted, they once again returned to England to prepare for the next drop. This finally came on March 24, 1945 when the Allies were able to cross the Rhine in a massive combined airborne and river crossing operation, the largest the world has ever seen. Success came quickly on the drop zone and within three days, they embarked on a hectic journey that would take them from the Rhine River all the way to Wismar on the Baltic Sea by May 2nd, where they linked up with Russian forces. This historic meeting signified the end of the war in Europe. The Battalion then had the honour of being the first Canadian unit to return to Canada as a complete group. They landed in Halifax to a tumultuous welcome and were awarded the key to the city. Follow their arduous and often hilarious journey and discover why they joined up, what the parachute training was like, especially their first jump, what it was like jumping into action for the first time in Normandy, the conditions in the Ardennes, crossing the Rhine and the fateful trek to Wismar to end the war. It's all here, in their own words.
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 1412059410
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 456
Book Description
Boys of the Clouds tells the fascinating stories, in their own words, of over seventy veterans of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion during the Second World War. The Battalion, part of the British 6th Airborne Division, was among the very first Allied soldiers to land on French soil on June 6, 1944. Despite a widely scattered drop, they managed to take and hold all their objectives on D-Day, and continued to hold off German counter attacks through that fateful summer. After suffering heavy losses in Normandy, the unit returned to England in September 1944 to refit and train for the next airborne operation. This training was interrupted when they were hastily sent to defend against the German offensive in the Ardennes, commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge. They were the only Canadian unit to take part in this action. After the threat had passed, and the German offensive halted, they once again returned to England to prepare for the next drop. This finally came on March 24, 1945 when the Allies were able to cross the Rhine in a massive combined airborne and river crossing operation, the largest the world has ever seen. Success came quickly on the drop zone and within three days, they embarked on a hectic journey that would take them from the Rhine River all the way to Wismar on the Baltic Sea by May 2nd, where they linked up with Russian forces. This historic meeting signified the end of the war in Europe. The Battalion then had the honour of being the first Canadian unit to return to Canada as a complete group. They landed in Halifax to a tumultuous welcome and were awarded the key to the city. Follow their arduous and often hilarious journey and discover why they joined up, what the parachute training was like, especially their first jump, what it was like jumping into action for the first time in Normandy, the conditions in the Ardennes, crossing the Rhine and the fateful trek to Wismar to end the war. It's all here, in their own words.