Author: Ross S. Carter
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781954978232
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Book Description
Story of an group of airmen of the 82nd Airborne Divison.

Author: Ross S. Carter
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1786257467
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 349

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Book Description
“THE GLORY AND SHAME OF WAR, VIVIDLY PORTRAYED IN A BOOK THAT IS ‘ONE OF THE VERY BEST’”—F. Van Wyck Mason Suicide Squad Ross Carter was one of three men who survived the suicide stands of his platoon of paratroopers. They had a three-way destiny—to be wounded, killed, or captured. But bound together by deep comradeship and extraordinary daring, the twelve men in his unit set incredible records of heroism. Here are the unvarnished stories of ordinary men faced with the reality of death at any moment. They beef, get drunk, quarrel violently, take their women where they find them, and yet achieve an epic grandeur in their deeds. “Every level of society had its representation among us. Senators’ sons rubbed shoulders with ex-cowboys. Steel workers chummed up with tough guys from city slums. Farm boys, millionaires’ spoiled brats, white-collar men, factory workers, ex-convicts, jailbirds, and hoboes joined for the thrill and adventure of parachute jumping. And so the army’s largest collection of adventurous men congregated in the parachute troops.” From their first jumps in Africa through the Battle of the Bulge, this is their story—a story filled with breathtaking suspense and inspiring gallantry.

Author: Frank van Lunteren
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 1612004288
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 361

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Book Description
“An excellent read for anyone interested in men at war, as well as for students of the airborne operations, the Italian Campaign, and the war in Europe” (The NYMAS Review). Upon the completion of the Sicily and Salerno Campaigns in 1943, the paratroopers of Col. Reuben Tucker’s 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment were among the first Allied troops to enter Naples—a ghost town at first sight. The residents soon expressed their joy at being liberated. Four weeks later, the 504th—upon the special request of Gen. Mark Clark—spearheaded Fifth Army’s drive through the notorious Volturno Valley—the Germans’ next stand. January 1944 seemed to promise a period of rest, but the landing at Anzio meant deployment for the paratroopers again, this time by ship. A bombing raid during their beach landing was a forecast of eight weeks of bitter fighting. Holding the right flank of the beachhead along the Mussolini Canal, the paratroopers earned their nickname “Devils in Baggy Pants” for their frontline incursions into enemy lines, as well as their stubborn defense of the Allied salient. In this work, H Company’s attachment to the British 5th Grenadier Guards—and the Victoria Cross action of Maj. William Sidney—are painted in comprehensive light for the first time. The story of honorary member of the 504th PIR, Italian veteran Antonio Taurelli, is also included. Using war diaries, personal journals, letters, and interviews with nearly eighty veterans, an up-close view of the 504th PIR in the Fifth Army’s Italy Campaign is here in unsurpassed detail. From the author of two previous works on the 504th PIR, The Battle of the Bridges and Blocking Kampfgruppe Peiper, this book shows that the Italian theater was second to none in terms of grueling combat, courage against formidable odds, and an extremely expert enemy.

Author: Phil Nordyke
Publisher: Zenith Press
ISBN: 9780760333136
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 500

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Book Description
Drawing on many oral and unpublished written accounts from veterans of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Phil Nordyke brings the history of the regiment to life, conveying with remarkable immediacy and power what it was like to be there. This is history as it was lived by the men of the 504th, from their pre-war coming of age in the regiment, through the end of World War II, when they marched in the Victory Parade down Fifth Avenue in New York. The 504th earned three bronze stars for their parachute wings, one for each of their combat jumps.

Author: James Megellas
Publisher: Presidio Press
ISBN: 0307414485
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description
In mid-1943 James Megellas, known as “Maggie” to his fellow paratroopers, joined the 82d Airborne Division, his new “home” for the duration. His first taste of combat was in the rugged mountains outside Naples. In October 1943, when most of the 82d departed Italy to prepare for the D-Day invasion of France, Lt. Gen. Mark Clark, the Fifth Army commander, requested that the division’s 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Maggie’s outfit, stay behind for a daring new operation that would outflank the Nazis’ stubborn defensive lines and open the road to Rome. On 22 January 1944, Megellas and the rest of the 504th landed across the beach at Anzio. Following initial success, Fifth Army’s amphibious assault, Operation Shingle, bogged down in the face of heavy German counterattacks that threatened to drive the Allies into the Tyrrhenian Sea. Anzio turned into a fiasco, one of the bloodiest Allied operations of the war. Not until April were the remnants of the regiment withdrawn and shipped to England to recover, reorganize, refit, and train for their next mission. In September, Megellas parachuted into Holland along with the rest of the 82d Airborne as part of another star-crossed mission, Field Marshal Montgomery’s vainglorious Operation Market Garden. Months of hard combat in Holland were followed by the Battle of the Bulge, and the long hard road across Germany to Berlin. Megellas was the most decorated officer of the 82d Airborne Division and saw more action during the war than most. Yet All the Way to Berlin is more than just Maggie’s World War II memoir. Throughout his narrative, he skillfully interweaves stories of the other paratroopers of H Company, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The result is a remarkable account of men at war.

Author: Ross S. Carter
Publisher: Buccaneer Books
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
"Ross Carter was one of only three men in his platoon of paratroopers to survive the war. From Anzio to the final days of the Nazi juggernaut, he and his comrades in the 504th Parachute Infantry were hurled into one inferno after another, displaying unmatched bravery in the face of death. Now Ross Carter brings these extraordinary men to life, soldiers from all walks of life: farm boys, millionaires' spoiled brats, white-collar men, factory workers, ex-cons and hoboes... all joined together to take supreme risks in a new and unexplored frontier of war. Here is an eyewitness participant's account of men who fought the enemy to a standstill in bloody battles across Europe-- "devils in baggy pants" whose unswerving heroism turned the tide during the darkest days of World War II." -- Back cover.

Author: T. Moffatt Burriss
Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
ISBN: 1597974676
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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Book Description
This fast-moving memoir of T. Moffatt Burriss shows his extraordinary role as a platoon leader and company commander with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Europe and North Africa during World War II. He saw a great deal of combat on Sicily, at Salerno, on Anzio Beach, in Holland during Operation Market Garden, and during the drive into Germany. This book portrays World War II as seen vividly through the eyes of the young American citizen-soldier.

Author: Frank van Lunteren
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 1612002323
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 366

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Book Description
Operation Market Garden has been recorded as a complete Allied failure in World War II, an overreach that resulted in an entire airborne division being destroyed at its apex. However, within that operation were episodes of heroism that still remain unsung. On September, 17, 1944, the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, floated down across the Dutch countryside, in the midst of German forces, and proceeded to fight their way to vital bridges to enable the Allied offensive to go forward. The 101st Airborne was behind them; the British 1st Airbourne was far advanced. In the 82ndÕs sector the crucial conduits needed to be seized. The Germans knew the importance of the bridge over the Waal River at Nijmegen as well as James Gavin and his 82nd troopers did. Thus began a desperate fight for the Americans to seize it, no matter what the cost. The Germans would not give, however, and fought tenaciously in the town and fortified the bridge. On September 20 Gavin turned his paratroopers into sailors and conducted a deadly daylight amphibious assault in small plywood and canvas craft across the Waal River to secure the north end of the highway bridge in Nijmegen. German machine guns and mortars boiled the water on the crossing, but somehow a number of paratroopers made it to the far bank. Their ferocity thence rolled up the German defenses, and by the end of day the bridge had fallen. This book draws on a plethora of previously unpublished sources to shed new light on the exploits of the ÒDevils in Baggy PantsÓ by Dutch author and historian Frank van Lunteren. A native of ArnhemÑthe site of ÒThe Bridge too FarÓÑthe author draws on nearly 130 interviews he personally conducted with veterans of the 504th, plus Dutch civilians and British and German soldiers, who here tell their story for the first time.

Author: Carlos Eire
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 9780743246415
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
A survivor of the Cuban Revolution recounts his pre-war childhood as the religiously devout son of a judge, and describes the conflict's violent and irrevocable impact on his friends, family, and native home.

Author: Phil Rosenkrantz
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781735195025
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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Book Description
Follow the story of Russian Jewish immigrants who sent five sons off to World War II and the Occupation Forces. Four returned. Sadly, their middle son, Army Staff Sergeant David "Rosie" Rosenkrantz, an 82nd Airborne Paratrooper--who served heroically in Sicily, Italy, and Holland--went missing during a German counterattack at the end of Operation Market Garden. This well documented and timely story chronicles the 73-year journey to find Dave and bring him home. This book is special and unique because of the bizarre journey that finally led to identifying his remains in 2018 and richness of dozens of surviving letters he wrote home. Inspired by the movie Saving Private Ryan, Dave's nephew, Phil Rosenkrantz, began a 20-year quest to find out what happened to his uncle. Although he never knew his Uncle Dave personally, Phil got to know him through the letters and conversations with people who knew him. The journey included many trips to Europe to visit the places where his uncle fought and died...and becoming friends with a young Dutchman and others who searched for 35 years to locate Dave's remains. Through 49 surviving letters, you will get to know Dave and enjoy his engaging personality and sense of humor. You will learn about World War II through Dave's story and his family's struggles. This book is more than just a chronicle of war-see how the many dimensions of war intertwine: Using many of his own words, follow the story of a highly regarded paratrooper who served his country heroically. Learn how paratroopers are specially trained and prepared for airborne combat. Learn why Dave and his fellow paratroopers of the 504 Parachute Infantry Regiment earned the name "those Devils in Baggy Pants." Follow the mystery of what happened to S/Sgt David Rosenkrantz as it unfolded over many decades. Appreciate the impact of grief, loss, and the agonizing search for closure when someone is MIA. Appreciate the rich legacy of the American paratrooper in World War II as they established a new kind of soldier-someone who jumps out of a plane at night into the unknown--and to quote one of Dave's letters: "...we are prepared for anything and afraid of nothing." The story is supported by 49 letters, 106 photos/maps/documents, a timeline, references, endnotes, glossary, index, and several appendices.