| Books |
JUMP INTO THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW
The War Memories of Dwayne Burns Communications Sergeant
508th Parachute Infantry Regiment
Dwayne Burns
When Dwayne Burns turned 18 during World War II, he decided that he
wanted to fight alongside America’s best. He joined the paratroopers
and was assigned to the 508th Regiment of the 82d Airborne Division.
Little did he suspect that a year later he'd be soaring in a flak-riddled C–
47 over Normandy, part of the very spearhead of the Allied drive to
seize back Europe.
Burns landed behind German lines during the dark, early hours of D–
day, and gradually found other survivors of his division. The para-
troopers fought on every side in a confused, running battle through the
hedgerows, finally making a stand in a surrounded farmhouse. With one
room reserved for their growing piles of corpses, the paratroopers held
their ground until finally relieved by infantry advancing from the beaches.
After being pulled out of Normandy, the airborne troops were said to be
“burning a hole in SHAEF’s pocket,” and thus were launched into
Holland as part of Montgomery’s plan to gain a bridgehead across the
Rhine. This daytime jump was less confused than the nocturnal one, but
there were more Germans than expected and fewer Allied forces in
support. It was another maelstrom of pointblank combat in all directions,
and though the 82d achieved its objectives, the campaign as a whole
achieved little but casualties.
The 82d had hardly refilled with replacements when the Germans broke
through the U.S. front in the Ardennes. The 82d’s paratroopers were put
aboard trucks and hastened to stand in the way of the panzer
onslaught. Passing through Bastogne they went farther north to St. Vith,
where the U.S. 7th Armored and other divisions were reeling. The 82nd
held its own with quickly assembled defense perimeters, allowing
other units to escape. After beating off massive attacks by German SS,
the paratroopers were disgusted to hear that they, too, had been
ordered to retreat. They didn’t feel they needed to, but Monty was
determined to “tidy up the battlefield.” On January 3 they counter-
attacked through the freezing hills, sealing off the Bulge and pursuing
the Germans back into the Reich.
In this work, Dwayne Burns, assisted by his son Leland (U.S. Army,
1975–79), not only relates the chaos of combat but the intimate thinking
of a young soldier thrust into the center of several of history’s greatest
battles. His memories provide a fascinating insight into the reality of
close-quarters combat.
Hardcover, 6 x 9, 256 pages, 16 with b/w photos
$32.95
The War Memories of Dwayne Burns Communications Sergeant
508th Parachute Infantry Regiment
Dwayne Burns
When Dwayne Burns turned 18 during World War II, he decided that he
wanted to fight alongside America’s best. He joined the paratroopers
and was assigned to the 508th Regiment of the 82d Airborne Division.
Little did he suspect that a year later he'd be soaring in a flak-riddled C–
47 over Normandy, part of the very spearhead of the Allied drive to
seize back Europe.
Burns landed behind German lines during the dark, early hours of D–
day, and gradually found other survivors of his division. The para-
troopers fought on every side in a confused, running battle through the
hedgerows, finally making a stand in a surrounded farmhouse. With one
room reserved for their growing piles of corpses, the paratroopers held
their ground until finally relieved by infantry advancing from the beaches.
After being pulled out of Normandy, the airborne troops were said to be
“burning a hole in SHAEF’s pocket,” and thus were launched into
Holland as part of Montgomery’s plan to gain a bridgehead across the
Rhine. This daytime jump was less confused than the nocturnal one, but
there were more Germans than expected and fewer Allied forces in
support. It was another maelstrom of pointblank combat in all directions,
and though the 82d achieved its objectives, the campaign as a whole
achieved little but casualties.
The 82d had hardly refilled with replacements when the Germans broke
through the U.S. front in the Ardennes. The 82d’s paratroopers were put
aboard trucks and hastened to stand in the way of the panzer
onslaught. Passing through Bastogne they went farther north to St. Vith,
where the U.S. 7th Armored and other divisions were reeling. The 82nd
held its own with quickly assembled defense perimeters, allowing
other units to escape. After beating off massive attacks by German SS,
the paratroopers were disgusted to hear that they, too, had been
ordered to retreat. They didn’t feel they needed to, but Monty was
determined to “tidy up the battlefield.” On January 3 they counter-
attacked through the freezing hills, sealing off the Bulge and pursuing
the Germans back into the Reich.
In this work, Dwayne Burns, assisted by his son Leland (U.S. Army,
1975–79), not only relates the chaos of combat but the intimate thinking
of a young soldier thrust into the center of several of history’s greatest
battles. His memories provide a fascinating insight into the reality of
close-quarters combat.
Hardcover, 6 x 9, 256 pages, 16 with b/w photos
$32.95
| Videos |
 | |  | |  | |  |
