Paratrooper! The Saga of U.S. Army and Marine Parachute and Glider Combat Troops During World War II

xvii, 717 pp. Paratroopers have always had that extra flair, the extra dash that distinguishes adventurers and heroes—and that special daring is captured in these pages. Filled with fascinating anecdotes and personal stories, this mammoth history presents for the first time in a single volume detailed accounts of every air assault or land battle fought in Europe and the Pacific during World War II by American airborne troops. British, German, Japanese, Italian, and French parachute operations are also covered in great detail. Combining extensive research with a stirring narrative, Paratrooper! vividly recreates the American airborne legend from its trouble-filled days of infancy in 1940 to its predominance during World War II as the most powerful airborne force in the world. Readers will discover how American strategists planned to use airborne troops early in the 1940's in Central American countries threatened with takeover by German influenced dissident groups. The book also reveals a plan made by the United States to invade the French owned island of Martinique prior to the giant Normandy invasion. Author Gerard M. Devlin brings to this extraordinary account not only 13 years of meticulous research, but a genuine understanding of the subject based upon his 20 years of military service during which he was a parachutist in the Korean War. While researching Paratrooper! the author conducted thousands of interviews, including personal conversations with such American airborne leaders as U.S. Army Generals Gavin, Ridgway, Swing, Yarborough, Miley, and the U.S. Marine Corps' General Williams. Lavishly illustrated with 20 maps and over 200 photographs, this incredible book is sure to stand for many years as a classic in its field.