Occasionally, in the publishing business—at intervals that
I have never been able to measure—there is a spate of books
written in the “I-was-there” perspective. Perhaps it
is the season.
“Beyond Valor: World War II’s Ranger and Airborne Veterans,”
by Patrick K. O’Donnell, published by Free Press, of New York.
Cost: $25.50. The voices of America’s World War II rangers
and airborne troops reveal personal stories that, over the years,
have never been told.
With that generation slipping away, the author interviewed more
than 600 veterans over a nine-year period, to preserve their experiences
and memories. Much of this is also available from an unusual Web
site called The Drop Zone (www.thedropzone.org) that leads to a
unique oral “e-history” that allows you to expand the
boundaries of this book.
Each story has been verified by the author for authenticity. The
stories appear as a seamless narrative of the ETO (European Theater
of Operations). The book probes the depths of personal emotions—fear,
sacrifice, courage and even cruelty. A unique perspective is that
of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (Triple Nickel), with
the African-American Experimental Test Platoon and its struggle
against racism and segregation.
If you are one of the commuters with time “in travel,”
BDD Audio has the book in abridged form (four cassettes, six hours,
$25.95), narrated by Ron McLarty, #BDDAP 1136.
“The Sky Men: A Parachute Rifle Company’s Story of
the Battle of the Bulge and the Jump Across the Rhine,” by
Kirk B. Ross. This book was published by Schiffer Military History,
in Atglen, Pa., selling for $35 per copy. The story is a personal
view of men of the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 17th Airborne
Division. The 513th was the school regiment of the parachute academy,
comprised of select volunteers—the best of the best.
The unit’s first taste of combat was the Battle of the Bulge,
west of Bastogne, in Belgium. Throughout the book, you are part
and parcel of F Company. The tactical commitments of this elite
group during the battle—and the resulting high casualties—are
surprising revelations in a battle that was crucial to the final
defeat of the enemy in Europe.
Operation Varsity, in March of 1945, sends F Company parachuting
over the Rhine for the final battle of the war. This operation seems
to have had limited goals and never really supported the amphibious
assault of which it was meant to be a part.
This book seems to go hand in hand with stories of “The Greatest
Generation Speaks: Letters and Reflections” by Tom Brokaw.
Random House Audio Books, of New York, publishes an abridged version,
read by the author. It comes in three Cassettes, with four hours
of playing time, at a cost of $25.
One recent book tackles a subject that the military services need
to address—”The Jewish Threat: Anti-Semitic Politics
of the U.S. Army,” by Joseph W. Bendersky. Published by Basic
Books, of New York City, at $30 per copy, this book sheds new, well-documented
light on the attitudes of America’s military officers toward
Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, the Holocaust and Jewish refugees.
Broad archival research has revealed a long shadow cast throughout
the highest levels of U.S. military leadership by the association
of Jews with communism. Letters, diary entries and transcripts of
actual dialogue reveal that many key military leaders were convinced
of the racial, physical, intellectual and moral inferiority of Jews.
Officers of the U.S. military “warned” of the Jewish
conspiracy from Jewish world finance, Zionism and Jewish-supported
communism that they said threatened American culture, the gene pool,
government and military interests. This took place not just in the
period before and during World War II, but well into the 1970’s
and ‘80’s. Some went so far as to treat Henry Kissenger
as a KGB spy and tool of Zionism.
This volume is obviously very controversial, raising more questions
than it answers. Army Gen. George Patton’s views—always
colorful and forceful—reflect a prejudice that one hopes has
disappeared or at least dissipated. But the author of this book
fears that it has just gone underground, out of sight, but not out
of mind.
“The Road to Victory: The Untold Story of Race and World
War II’s Red Ball Express,” by David P. Colley, is published
in paperback by Brassey’s, of Dulles, Va. This book examines
that unique invention—the Red Ball Express—that kept
the allies moving in the critical days after Normandy, transporting
a tidal wave of fuel, ammunition, troops and equipment.
African-American soldiers comprised three-quarters of the Red Ball
personnel. Personal interviews with veterans of the Red Ball add
a unique level to the eyewitness stories coming out of the war,
struggling to overcome racism and accomplish their mission. This
story is not about a routine trucking operation, but a chronicle
of a crucial military event that contributed significantly to the
Allied victory—a salute to the men that made it possible.
Personal stories of wartime events lost in the flurry of monumental
battles are epitomized in two new, paperback books from The Lyons
Press, both by the same author—David Howarth (who wrote “We
Die Alone,” a saga of survival against impossible odds). “The
Sledge Patrol” is the story of a handful of hunters and trappers
who vowed to keep the Nazis from invading Greenland in 1943. “The
Shetland Bus” is the story of a small fleet of fishing boats
that ran secret missions for the Allies during the German occupation
of Scandinavia. I equate this book to the story of the brave Norwegian
resistance fighters who helped destroy the Norsk Hydro project,
curtailing the Nazi production of heavy water. Remember that great
movie, with Kirk Douglas, “The Heroes of Telemark?”
Both books provide easy, enjoyable reading. Each is available for
$14.94.
On the other side of the war, Da Capo Press, of Cambridge, Mass.,
recently printed a paperback version of Erich Raeder’s “The
Grand Admiral: The Personal Memoir of the Commander-in-Chief of
the German Navy.” Selling for $18.50, this is the story of
the man who spearheaded the rebuilding of the German Navy after
World War I, broke with Hitler over tactical disagreements in 1943,
and was charged with war crimes at Nuremberg.
To your reading list, add “The Bunker,” by James P.
O’Donnell, another paperback from Da Capo Press at the same
price. Since the original printing, the author has added new facts
to the last days of the Third Reich in the Führer Bunker. What
is most revealing is that 90 percent of the people in the bunker
survived its fall, and more than 50 years later, described events
that were previously unknown to the public. Some of the new revelations
came from recently opened Russian archives, others from personal
interviews of the men and women who were part of this Faustian drama.