Download or read book First In The Airborne Pathfinders written by Ron Kent and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2015-10-30 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The First World War as a living history is to all intents and purposes over. As of today February 2005, there are only twelve veterans from six million alive who served on the Western Front. Richard has spent the last 20 years interviewing and carefully recording the memories of over 270 veterans and this book is a culmination of his 20 years of work.The book will be an extraordinary collection of stories told by the veterans themselves but also through the author's memories of them: the remarkable, the sad, the funny, the moving. It will also feature an outstanding collection of photographs taken of the veterans as they were, as soldiers during the war together with recent images of almost all of these men, taken at home, back on the Western Front, at the final veterans' reunion, and at various investitures. Britain's Last Tommies will also offer a unique list of veterans, all of who individually hold the poignant title of being the last Gallipoli veteran, the last Royal Flying Corps veteran, the last Distinguished Conduct Medal holder, the last cavalryman, the last Prisoner of War.
Download or read book Pathfinder written by Richard R. Burns and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2002-02-26 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: December 1967: Richard Burns had just arrived in Vietnam as part of the fourteen-man 101st Pathfinder Detachment. Within just one month, during a holiday called Tet, the Communists would launch the largest single attack of the war--and he would be right in the thick of it. . . . In Vietnam, Richard Burns operated in live-or-die situations, risking his life so that other men could keep theirs. As a Pathfinder--all too often alone in the middle of a hot LZ--he guided in helicopters disembarking troops, directed medevacs to retrieve the wounded, and organized extractions. As well as parachuting into areas and supervising the clearing of landing zones, Pathfinders acted as air-traffic controllers, keeping call signs, frequencies, and aircraft locations in their heads as they orchestrated takeoffs and landings, often under heavy enemy fire. From Bien Hoa to Song Be to the deadly A Shau Valley, Burns recounts the battles that won him the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and numerous other decorations. This is the first and only book by a Pathfinder in Vietnam . . . or anywhere else.
Download or read book Paratrooper My Life with the 101st Airborne Division written by Michael B. Kitz-Miller and published by Page Publishing Inc. This book was released on 2015-08-17 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Paratrooper is the autobiography of a young man’s time with the famed 101st Airborne Division “Screaming Eagles.” With not the finances to finish his senior year in college and a looming draft, it leads to his enlisting in the U.S. Army. With thoughts of Officer’s Candidate School, Private Michael B. Kitz-Miller heads for a newly designed Basic Training course for soldiers planning to attend Airborne School. High performance results in Leadership School and Acting Sergeant in Advanced Infantry School. At Airborne School he is a runner-up for Honor Graduate from his original class of 1,000 soldiers. Finally, the new paratrooper boards a bus for Ft. Campbell and the 101st. His first job is as an M-60 machine gunner, scoring expert his first time on the weapons range. Numerous operations follow – Cold Eagle, Swift Strike II, Desert Strike and the surprise Operation Delawar, jumping into Iran in 1964 as part of the U.S. STRIKE Command. All produce commendations and after winning the Division Soldier-of-the-Month competition a promotion to Sergeant. He soon becomes part of the Battalion Mountaineering cadre. The rigors of Recondo School and its incredible 35 percent graduation rate follow, offering a shot at Honor Graduate. Having won Battalion and Brigade competitions, the young paratrooper enters and finds himself a finalist in the Division’s Soldier-of-the-Year competition. Tough career decisions follow. The story ends with Sergeant Kitz-Miller’s opportunity, 50 years later to compare key issues that confronted him as a soldier with those of today. The evaluation of Officers and NCOs, leadership and mentoring are but a few. His final chapters on Just War Theory and current Rules of Engagement provide provocative ideas about how to address our current policies on terrorist states. Above all, it is the story of a very successful Paratrooper that loved the Airborne Infantry.
Download or read book First to Jump written by Jerome Preisler and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2015-09-01 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With firsthand accounts of WWII heroism from the US Army Pathfinders, New York Times bestselling author Jerome Priesler chronicles their escapades scouting behind enemy lines ahead of the Band of Brothers. “When you land in Normandy, you will have only one friend: God.” —General “Jumpin’” Jim Gavin to the Pathfinders of the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions before D-Day, June 1944 When the invasion of Sicily almost ended in disaster, General Jim Gavin was determined to form a unit of special operations commandos who would jump ahead of the airborne forces—including the now legendary Easy Company—stealing across enemy terrain to scout and mark out drop zones with a unique array of homing equipment. The first into combat and the last out, their advance jumps were considered suicide missions by those who sent them into action. Sporting Mohawk haircuts and war paint, they were the best of the best. Their heroic feats behind enemy lines were critical to nearly all of the Allies’ major victories from Normandy to Bastogne—where they saved the day for thousands of American troops in an operation almost forgotten by history—to the attack on the Ruhr Valley in Germany. This is the story of the U.S. Army Pathfinders—their training, bonding, and battlefield exploits—told from the perspectives of the men who jumped, and those who risked everything to fly them into action. INCLUDES PHOTOS
Download or read book D Day June 6 1944 written by Stephen E. Ambrose and published by Turtleback. This book was released on 1995-06-01 with total page 655 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chronicles the events, politics, and personalities of this pivotal day in World War II, shedding light on the strategies of commanders on both sides and the ramifications of the battle
Download or read book The First Wave written by Alex Kershaw and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-05-05 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Alex Kershaw, New York Times bestselling author of Against All Odds, returns with an utterly immersive, adrenaline-driven account of D-Day combat. “Meet the assaulters: pathfinders plunging from the black, coxswains plowing the whitecaps, bareknuckle Rangers scaling sheer rock . . . Fast-paced and up close, this is history’s greatest story reinvigorated as only Alex Kershaw can.”—Adam Makos, New York Times bestselling author of Spearhead and A Higher Call Beginning in the predawn darkness of June 6, 1944, The First Wave follows the remarkable men who carried out D-Day’s most perilous missions. The charismatic, unforgettable cast includes the first American paratrooper to touch down on Normandy soil; the glider pilot who braved antiaircraft fire to crash-land mere yards from the vital Pegasus Bridge; the brothers who led their troops onto Juno Beach under withering fire; as well as a French commando, returning to his native land, who fought to destroy German strongholds on Sword Beach and beyond. Readers will experience the sheer grit of the Rangers who scaled Pointe du Hoc and the astonishing courage of the airborne soldiers who captured the Merville Gun Battery in the face of devastating enemy counterattacks. The first to fight when the stakes were highest and the odds longest, these men would determine the fate of the invasion of Hitler’s fortress Europe—and the very history of the twentieth century. The result is an epic of close combat and extraordinary heroism. It is the capstone Alex Kershaw’s remarkable career, built on his close friendships with D-Day survivors and his intimate understanding of the Normandy battlefield. For the seventy-fifth anniversary, here is a fresh take on World War II's longest day. Praise for The First Wave: “Masterful... readers will feel the sting of the cold surf, smell the acrid cordite that hung in the air, and duck the zing of machine-gun bullets whizzing overhead. The First Wave is an absolute triumph.”—James M. Scott, bestselling author of Target Tokyo “These pages ooze with the unforgettable human drama of history's most consequential invasion.”—John C. McManus, author of The Dead and Those About to Die
Download or read book X Platoon written by Steve Heaney, MC and published by Orion. This book was released on 2015-09-24 with total page 441 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For three decades one of the most secretive units in the British military has been a mystery force known as X Platoon. Officially there was no X Platoon. The forty men in its elite number were specially selected from across the Armed Forces, at which point they simply ceased to exist. X Platoon had no budget, no weaponry, no vehicles and no kit - apart from what its men could beg, borrow or steal from other military units. For the first time a highly decorated veteran of this specialised force - otherwise known as the Pathfinders - reveals its unique story. Steve Heaney became one of the youngest ever to pass Selection, the gruelling trial of elite forces, and was at the cutting edge of X Platoon operations - serving on anti-narcotics operations in the Central American jungles, on missions hunting war criminals in the Balkans, and being sent to spy on and wage war against the Russians. The first non-officer in the unit's history to be award the Military Cross, Steve Heaney reveals the extraordinary work undertaken by this secret band of brothers.
Download or read book American Airborne Pathfinders in World War II written by Jeff Moran and published by Schiffer Publishing. This book was released on 2004-05 with total page 127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Trained in the use of the Eureka radar, holophan lights, and colored ground panels, the pathfinders dropped thirty minutes before the main airborne landing to provide ground guidance for successive airborne jumps. The concept of the pathfinders proved successful and they were used during the remainder of World War II. The story of the airborne pathfinders and the vital part they played in airborne operations during the Second World War has rarely been told. In this new book, Jeff Moran tells the story of the operations they led, the equipment used much of it unique to the pathfinders and has memorialized them by noting, in many cases, the individual teams of pathfinders.
Download or read book Utah Beach written by Joseph Balkoski and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2006 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The attack on Utah Beach during the Normandy invasion was one of the most successful military operations ever undertaken, especially bearing in mind the complexities of such a massive air & seaborne assault. Joseph Balkoski describes the unfolding drama.
Download or read book U S Marines In Vietnam The Landing And The Buildup 1965 written by Dr. Jack Shulimson and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2016-08-09 with total page 666 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the second volume in a series of chronological histories prepared by the Marine Corps History and Museums Division to cover the entire span of Marine Corps involvement in the Vietnam War. This volume details the Marine activities during 1965, the year the war escalated and major American combat units were committed to the conflict. The narrative traces the landing of the nearly 5,000-man 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade and its transformation into the ΙII Marine Amphibious Force, which by the end of the year contained over 38,000 Marines. During this period, the Marines established three enclaves in South Vietnam’s northernmost corps area, I Corps, and their mission expanded from defense of the Da Nang Airbase to a balanced strategy involving base defense, offensive operations, and pacification. This volume continues to treat the activities of Marine advisors to the South Vietnamese armed forces but in less detail than its predecessor volume, U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1954-1964; The Advisory and Combat Assistance Era.
Download or read book Brothers in Berets written by Forrest L. Marion and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) special tactics community is a small, tight-knit brotherhood of proficient and committed warriors, consisting of special tactics officers and combat controllers, combat rescue officers and pararescuemen, and officer and enlisted special operations weathermen. These warriors have consistently proven themselves to be an invaluable force multiplier throughout history in conflicts around the world. This is their story.--Provided by publisher.
Download or read book Maverick One written by David Blakeley and published by Orion. This book was released on 2013-05-23 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The explosive sequel to the bestselling PATHFINDER. For the first time ever an elite British operator tells the gruelling story of his selection into the Pathfinders - Britain's secret soldiers. Pathfinder selection is a brutal physical and psychological trial lasting many weeks. It rivals that of the SAS and takes place over the same spine-crushing terrain, in the rain-and-snow-lashed wastes of the Welsh Mountains. For two decades no one has been able to relate the extraordinary trials of British elite forces selection - until now. Captain David Blakeley goes on from completing selection to serve with the Pathfinders in Afghanistan post 9/11, where he had a gun held to his head by Al Qaeda fighters. From there he deploys to Iraq, on a series of dramatic behind- enemy-lines missions - wherein he and his tiny elite patrol are outnumbered, outgunned and trapped. Maverick One is unique and extraordinary, chronicling the making of a warrior. It culminates in Blakeley fighting back to full recovery from horrific injuries suffered whilst on operations in Iraq, to go on to face SAS selection.
Download or read book Lions of Carentan The written by Volker Griesser and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2011-10-06 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although it is known that Allied airborne forces landed into a German buzzsaw on D-Day, far less is known about the troops they encountered in the dark night of June 6, 1944. One of the formations they encountered was a similarly elite group of paratroopers, who instead of dropping from the skies fought on the defensive, giving their Allied counterparts a tremendous challenge in achieving their objectives. This is the complete wartime history of one of the largest German paratrooper regiments, 6th , from its initial formation in the spring of 1943 to its last day at the end of the war. With numerous firsthand accounts from key members, reporting on their experiences, they describe the events of 1943Ð45 vividly and without compromise. These accounts reveal previously unknown details about important operations in Italy, Russia, on the Normandy Front, Belgium, Holland, the last German Parachute drop in the Ardennes, and the final battle to the end in Germany. With over 220 original photographs, many from private collections and never before published, this book fully illustrates the men, their uniforms, equipment and weapons. Also included is an appendix with maps, battle calendar, staffing plans, a list of field and post-MOB-numbers, and the Knight's Cross recipients of the regiment. Having earned the respect of the Allied forces who fought against it during World War II, this work will inform current readers of the full record of Fallschirmjger Regiment 6, and why the Allied advance into German-held Europe was so painstaking to achieve.
Download or read book Four Stars of Valor written by Phil Nordyke and published by Quarto Publishing Group USA. This book was released on 2010-11-12 with total page 495 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hailing from the big cities and small towns of America, these young men came together to serve their country and the greater good. They were the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division (the All Americans). Phil Nordyke, their official historian, draws on interviews with surviving veterans and oral history recordings as well as official archives and unpublished written accounts from more than three hundred veterans of the 505th PIR and their supporting units. This is history as it was lived by the men of the 505th, from their prewar coming of age in the regiment, through the end of World War II, when they marched in the Victory Parade up Fifth Avenue in New York, to the postwar legacy of having been part of an elite parachute regiment with a record unsurpassed in the annals of combat.
Download or read book Airborne written by E. M. Flanagan and published by Presidio Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 504 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States Army’s experiment with airborne forces started at Fort Benning, Georgia, in early 1940 with a single platoon of paratroopers. From this tiny seed grew the mighty American airborne legion that spearheaded America’s attack against Nazi Germany in Sicily and Normandy. Ultimately this branch included an airborne corps headquarters, five full airborne divisions, and several independent battalions and regiments. On the nights of June 5 and 6, 1944, the parachutes and gliders of six regiments of American airborne infantry filled the dark sky over Normandy. Paratroopers and glidermen of the 101st Airborne Division Screaming Eagles were literally dropping into battle for the first time, harbingers of the vast Allied D-day armada. Moments later, they were joined by the veteran All Americans of the 82d Airborne Division, who had first jumped into combat almost a year earlier in Sicily. For the American airborne troopers, the road to victory in Europe led through the ill-conceived Arnhem campaign and on to the Bulge, where the American paratroopers saved the day for the Allies. The 17th Airborne Division “bounced the Rhine” in the last airborne operation in Europe and fought across Germany until VE Day with their band of brothers. In the Pacific, the Angels of the 11th Airborne Division saw hard combat in the Philippines. The independent 503d Regimental Combat Team fulfilled General MacArthur’s promise to return when it daringly parachuted onto the small area known as Topside on the rocky fortress island of Corregidor. Following World War II, the airborne fought with distinction in Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf War. Along the way American paratroopers have also given yeoman service on smaller battlefields such as the Dominican Republic, Grenada, and Panama. Written by a former paratrooper, Airborne is the definitive combat history of these elite forces.
Download or read book Pathfinder Company written by Graham Gillmore and published by 30 Degrees South Publishers. This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book gives an account of South African parachute battalion which attacked SWAPs plan army in Angola.
Download or read book Pegasus Bridge written by Stephen E. Ambrose and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-04-23 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, a small detachment of British airborne troops stormed the German defense forces and paved the way for the Allied invasion of Europe. Pegasus Bridge was the first engagement of D-Day, the turning point of World War II. This gripping account of it by acclaimed author Stephen Ambrose brings to life a daring mission so crucial that, had it been unsuccessful, the entire Normandy invasion might have failed. Ambrose traces each step of the preparations over many months to the minute-by-minute excitement of the hand-to-hand confrontations on the bridge. This is a story of heroism and cowardice, kindness and brutality—the stuff of all great adventures.
