Book review: Surrounded by Heroes

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The third book on my summer reading list, again about the 82nd Airborne Division. Not the 508th PIR this time, but Division Headquarters. Written by Len Lebenson, who served with the division from the very beginning, but didn’t earn his jump wings until after D-Day. From North Africa, to Sicily, Italy, England, Normandy, Holland, all the way to the Elbe in Germany, we follow his story told from a very different point of view. In his capacity as a typist and draftsman with G-3 (Operations) Lebenson had many encounters with the great leaders of the time, such as generals Gavin, Ridgway and Patton. He was fully ‘bigoted’, so cleared on the operational details, but not a combat soldier like we see in most other books.

I can really recommend this book. Lebenson brings up some interesting details that I hadn’t seen in other books. Such as how after the German capitulation, the high-point men were transferred to the 17th Airborne (they would tear off those Talon patches as soon as they arrived back in the States). Some of them were leaving on a program callled “the Purple Project”. This would take them on a long detour back home via Africa, across the South Atlantic to Brazil and then North to the States.

Book review: Surrounded by Heroes - Len Lebenson
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T-5 Modified Market Garden parachute review

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In the run up to the 80th Anniversary in September, and after a lot of research, I finally did it. I decided to buy this reproduction of the T-5 Modified as used in Operation Market Garden, and I’m very happy with it.

Read all about this beautifully made parachute, but also the history behind its development, use and further evolution after the Holland jump. I also go into how the parachute was typically worn.

Joshua De Jong of The Rigger Depot is well known for his expertise and workmanship, and he provided some insights into aspects I could not find in reference books.

Still, I’m interested in finding out more details about this type of parachute. So have a look at the review and see if there’s anything you’d like to add or ask.

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Book review: Jump into the Valley of the Shadow

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The second book from my summer reading list is another one about the 508th PIR. This book is not as big as the previous one and is told from the perspective of one paratrooper, the author Dwayne T. Burns. He wrote this book with his son Leland Burns.

The title comes from a personal prayer that the author adapted from Psalm 23 […Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…].

A lot of flashbacks interrupt the combat story line and make the book a bit hard to follow at times. But they serve the point of making the story human and relatable. He often tells about his youth in Fort Worth, training in California and Georgia, and his young fiancee Minerva, whom he feels destined to return to after the war to get married. It’s what keeps him going.

There is a lot of soldiers’ humor in it. You will have a good chuckle in every chapter.

One detail that stood out to me is Burns’ description of the modified T-5 parachute for Market Garden. He mentions training with it in England, as well as using the quick release on his combat jump near Nijmegen. It was my understanding that only the 101st Airborne were issued with the modified T-5s, due to insufficient available quantities.

Burns was the only one from his company to come out of the war without a scratch. The other 140 men who had made the Normandy jump had been either killed, wounded or captured.

The next review will be of “Surrounded by Heroes”, by Len Lebenson.

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Book review: Put Us Down In Hell

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Yes, I am actually reading that big stack of books I posted in June.

First is this book by Phil Nordyke about the 508th PIR, all the way from its formation until leaving from Germany at the end of 1945 as the last remaining Parachute Infantry Regiment in Europe.

As you can tell from the many strips of yellow notes, I found a lot of new information for my own research. I was hoping to find information about the 508th regimental surgeon, Maj. David E. Thomas. And I did. It filled some gaps in the bio I had made, but the parts of Nijmegen in Holland and Erria in the Ardennes are still a bit sketchy.

In the notes, the author refers to “Military Career Memoirs of Brigardier General David Edward Thomas, MC”, by Normand E. Thomas. I think this is his son. I have tried to reach out to him to get hold of a copy of these memoirs, but no luck so far. Hopefully some reading this can help me!

Back to the book then: Apart from it being a treasure trove of information about the history and members of the 508th, it is also very enjoyable to read. The index is also practical, as are the many helpful situation maps throughout the chapters.

Next up: “Jump Into The Valley Of The Shadow“, by Dwayne T. Burns, also about the 508th PIR. Coming soon (I’ve almost finished it).

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Visiting The Bridge at Remagen

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On our trip to the Middle Rhine area, we stopped by the remains of the famous Remagen Bridge, or the Ludendorff Bridge, as it was called. The bridge is gone, but the towers are still there, and on the Western bank, they house the Remagen Friedensmuseum.

Fun fact: the museum was financed in the 1970s, largely by selling stones from the bridge. It was built from stone form the hill on the other side, which is a black lava-like stone, as you can seen in the photo gallery.

There isn’t that much to see, but I liked the explanation about how the bridge came to be built, and the exhibit about the making of the 1969 movie ‘The Bridget at Remagen’, which was for the most part filmed in Chzechoslovakia, right until the invasion of the Russians. This meant the crew had to tail out of the country. This story is also explained in detail in the ‘After The Battle’ magazine, number 16.

As a first stop that day, we also visited the Arp Museum at Rolandseck, which is nearby. This is a very nice art museum. In case your wife or girlfriend is coming along, I can really recommend it 🙂

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Airborne summer reading list

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And well into the fall too… It’s a big stack of unit history books that landed on my doorstep last week.

It started while looking for a used copy of ‘Put Us Down in Hell’ by Phil Nordyke. I received a tip that it contained new information for me about the 82nd Airborne officer I have been researching: David E. Thomas. He was the 508th PIR regimental surgeon and would later become a general in Vietnam. Sure enough, this book mentions him a number of times and I am thus able to fill some gaps in his WWII period.

The other books are also mostly about the 508th or the 82nd Airborne, but sadly, they don’t all have a decent index, so I may have to actually read these books to find what I’m looking for. Anyway, that’s no punishment.

The books on the Battle of the Bulge and the 17th Airborne Rhine Crossing are a bonus. I already had a quick look in the latter, but I’m afraid there’s nothing in it about ‘our’ Jack Beatty, who was with the 513th.

When I have actually read these books, I will update the Books section, which is very much outdated.

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Alamo in the Ardennes

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This book was originally published in 2007, but I only read it just recently, in preparation of my latest battlefield tour of the Ardennes. I can highly recommend that you read this if you are interested in the Battle of the Bulge. And since you’re on this website, I am assuming you are very interested in this important battle.

I have learned quite a bit from it that I didn’t know yet. In Band of Brothers, you just see those poor infantrymen walking up to the Easy Company guys, dropping all their kit. They are almost written off as inexperienced troops who were expecting some peace and quiet on R&R in the Ardennes, but instead got run over by the Germans.

For sure, the German counter offensive came as a surprise, and indeed these men weren’t considered to be on the front line, but at least in the Bastogne area, the soldiers that were relieved by the 101st had fought long and bravely in bitter conditions. The men of the 28th Infantry Division, whom this book centers on, had first seen hell in the Hürtgen forest, only to be hit again in Luxembourg and Belgium. These brave men held off the Germans long enough for the Allies to get reorganized.

Mc Manus doesn’t focus on the paratroopers in this book, but of course they do play a big part in it. The one surprise for me was that McAuliffe, whose jeep rode well ahead of the column only arrived in Bastogne by chance. And an even bigger surprise is that his unit found him there. Because MPs directing the traffic were not aware of the change of plans. The 101st had originally been assigned to Werbomont, on the North Western side of the Bulge. That is were the 82nd would end up.

So, go ahead and read it for yourself! And stay tuned for more book reviews.

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Gas detection brassards – new markings

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Adrian Davies kindly sent me this photo of 3 gas detection brassards. All came from a British lightweight respirator bag.

On of the markings was already in the list, which is the first time I have come across an identical marking twice.

Please keep sending me the markings of your brassards, so I can add them to the list. Maybe a pattern (other than month/year) emerges that can tell us a bit more.

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Soldier’s Medal for paratroopers – looking for stories

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I’m looking for accounts of US paratroopers who earned the Soldier’s Medal. I recently bought an original WWII slot brooch Soldier’s Medal and case, and I thought it would be interesting to create a kind of ‘hall of fame’ of all paratroopers who received one.

This medal is quite rare compared to all other combat decorations, because it was awarded for heroism not involving combat. For example, in the 508th PIR, only 7 were awarded the Soldier’s Medal.

The Soldier’s Medal was worn after the Medal of Honor (1), the Distinguished Service Cross (14), then the Distinguished Service Medal (0), the Legion of Merit (3), the Silver Star (118), and before the Bronze Star (378). The numbers between brackets are the numbers of awards for the 508th PIR during WWII, in order to give an idea of the rarity of this decoration.

Heroism not involving combat often involved rescuing civilians or other servicemen from fire or drowning, but surely, each citation will be worth reading.

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Updates on John Urbank

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My earlier post about SSgt. John (‘Jack’) Urbank from 2017, and again in 2020 has just been updated with some new (old) information.

The information I received from Gary Grand included some newspaper clippings from Jack’s local newspaper, the Akron Beacon Journal. I completely overlooked the attachments at the time and only noticed them when I was contacted about Jack again.

It includes a piece from 1963 when he attended the première of The Longest Day, an interview from June 1964 about his D-Day experiences 20 years earlier, and an interview with his wife Edna Urbank from 1990 about her wartime job as a riveter at Goodyear Aircraft.

The picture on the right is from the Akron Beacon Journal, June 6, 2014. 

Read more in the full article

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