More than courage : Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Anzio, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe : the combat history of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II

Drawing on many oral and unpublished written accounts from veterans of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Phil Nordyke brings the history of the regiment to life, conveying with remarkable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.

The World War II combat record of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment was incredible. Its 3rd Battalion jumped into Sicily, spearheading the invasion. It was the first to jump at Salerno, which stabilized and saved the beachhead there. Company H was awarded the first of four Presidential Unit Citations that units of the regiment would be awarded during the war for its defense of the Chiunzi Pass area outside Naples as part of the Ranger Force. The 504th Regimental Combat Team (RCT) went on to fight in the Italian mountains, then came ashore at Anzio, where the 3rd Battalion stopped the breakthrough by the Hermann Göring Panzer Division and was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. The regiment jumped into Holland in a daring daylight operation, capturing the Grave bridge and the bridge over the Maas-Waal Canal. Three days later, in one of the greatest feats of arms of the war, it made an assault crossing of the Waal River to capture the north ends of the two huge bridges at Nijmegen. In Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge it fought side-by-side with its sister regiments of the 82nd Airborne Division, stopping the three best-equipped and most powerful SS Panzer divisions in the entire German Army. Together with the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, it cracked the Siegfried Line, then defended the western side of the Rhine River, ultimately pushing east of the Elbe River where it met soldiers from the Soviet Union’s Red Army.

Ross Carter spoke for all 504th RCT combat veterans when he described the dead comrades and friends he had left behind in those cemeteries: “tough-fibered, hard-living, and reckless; but no braver, more loyal, or better fighting men ever lived.”

Drawing on personal interviews, oral histories, and unpublished written accounts of veterans of the 504th RCT, More Than Courage brings the history of the parachute regiment and the associated units of the regimental combat team to life, conveying with remarkable immediacy and power what it was like to be there. This is history as it was lived by these intrepid paratroopers, from their prewar coming of age as young men new to soldiering, through the end of World War II, when they marched in the Victory Parade up Fifth Avenue in New York.

 

 

"Drawing on oral and unpublished written accounts from over 300 veterans of the 505th 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.nbsp; This is history as it was lived by the men of the 505th, 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 505th is the only regiment tonbsp; have earned four gold stars for their parachute wings, one for each of their four combat jumps"--Global Books in Print Drawing upon personal interviews, oral histories, and unpublished written accounts of veterans of the 504th Regimental Combat Team (RCT), More than courage brings the history of the parachute regiment and the associated units of the regimental combat team to life, conveying with remarkable immediacy and power what it was like to be there. This is history as it was lived by these intrepid paratroopers, from their prewar coming of age as young men to soldiering, through the end of World War II, when they marched in the Victory Parade up Fifth Avenue in New York