Customer Reviews

513th Parachute Infantry History, 1942-1945

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I collect military history on several subjects. The 513th is another of the forgotten units with a unique past and a short existance. It is very hard to find, at a low price, some unit histories. I was thrilled when I saw this offering and having purchased a paperback on the 517th PIR, it seemed that this tretis would be in the same venue. I almost threw it out when I got it being it was not a "paperback" book but a pamphlet that looked like an instruction packet for the computer stuff I ordered and Amazon sent in the same box! I had the Post office check and rifled thru my house several times for the missing book. I was recycleing the shipping box when I found it. It took all of 10 min to read it and even though it was informative, it was not in any form a difinitive history on the 513th. Was it worth the $5, yes, since it was a reprint of a WW2 unit newsletter. It now sits inside a history of the 507th PIR in my library for safe keeping, in honour of a bit of history of the "greatest generation".

Let me start by stating that I am a bit prejudiced. My late father was a soldier in the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment during World War 2 in Europe. I knew a fair amount about the 17th Airborne and, in particular, the 513th before I found this book. I had hoped for a little more general coverage and more information on specific companies and platoons and, yes, I had hoped to find my dad. That was not to be. Failing only in these areas, I found the book to be a fascinating look at a company of citizen soldiers in training and in combat. From my own military experience in the Vietnam war, I know that all is not sweetness and light among comrades in arms during conflict. I found the story presented to be compelling in its realism and feel that I understand a little more of what happened to my dad.

Whether you have a connection to the Airborne Infantry or not and whether you have served in the military or not and lastly; whether you are a war veteran or not, this book offers a look at what all of those things are like. It is not idealized nor bowdlerized, the warts are shown in stark relief and some of it is not pretty. In short, it's a slice of a warrior's reality.