All American, All the Way: The Combat History of the 82nd Airborne Division in World War II [Hardcover]

Phil Nordyke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 19, 2005

The 82nd Airborne Division - known as the "All-Americans" - parachuted into history as America’s first airborne division to see combat. Always at the forefront of some of the heaviest fighting in WWII, the 82nd helped spearhead the Allied drive to victory. This book is the first to tell the full combat history of these gallant All-Americans -- from their first perilous night drop into Sicily to their acclaimed victory parade up New York's 5th Avenue in 1946. Currently, the 82nd remains the only active American parachute division. The 82nd Airborne Division — dubbed the All-Americans during WWI, when Sgt. Alvin York was among its soldiers — parachuted into history on July, 9, 1943, as the opening salvo in Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. This book, the first to tell the full story of the 82nd — America’s first airborne division to see combat, and the only American parachute division still active today — follows these all-Americans from their first perilous drop to their victory parade up 5th Avenue in January 1946. From the shore of Sicily to the beaches of Normandy, from the Rhine to the Elbe to the German surrender and the U.S. occupation of Berlin, this is military history at its best, often told in the words of the soldiers themselves. It is a fitting — and long overdue — tribute to the valorous service of one of America’s most celebrated fighting divisions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Phil Nordyke has written a remarkable book about the 82d Airborne Division that captures the experience of the men who did the fighting. The author does an excellent job of piecing together the various personal accounts into a coherent, readable story. The author's research is well documented, with much of it from primary sources. - On Point

Military Trader Magazine, November 2006

“’I can’t believe I read the whole thing!’ That was the second thought that crossed this reviewer’s mind as he closed the cover on the 2 ½”-volume. The first was, ‘This is the best-researched, most engagingly written, and beautifully edited book I have read about the 82nd.’ The author has skillfully woven after-action reports and unit histories with various veteran interviews to tell the entire story of the 82nd Airborne in WWII. Thankfully, a complete bibliography and detailed index have been included, thereby insuring that this book will become a standard history of the 82nd. At $35, it is a bargain for all the well-organized information it contains. The engaging writing is simply an added bonus. Nordyke has told the story in such a way that honors vets of the 82nd and will keep WWII aficionados glued to each of the 700+ pages of narrative.”

Leicester Mercury, Dec. 17, 2005

“This definitive work tells in a breathtaking 776 pages the complete history of the US 82nd paratroop division during the war years. Obviously a labor of love, the book is a fitting tribute to the brave, young American troops. The author’s in-depth research also makes fascinating and revealing reading.”

About the Author

Phil Nordyke was voted in as official historian of the 505th Regimental Combat Team (RCT)at the annual reunion of the 505th's veterans association in Colorado Springs in 2003. His first book, All American, All the Way: The Combat History of the 82nd Airborne Division in World War II, was published in May 2005 by Zenith Press to wide critical and popular acclaim. Mr. Nordyke lives in McKinney, Texas.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 880 pages
• Publisher: Zenith Press; 1st edition (May 19, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760322015
• ISBN-13: 978-0760322017
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 2.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #499,101 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Destined to Become a Classic, December 6, 2005

By 

Gregory Canellis "Student of military history... (Tuckerton, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: All American, All the Way: The Combat History of the 82nd Airborne Division in World War II (Hardcover)

As the fortieth and fiftieth anniversaries of the climatic D-Day invasion graced our television screens with dedications, speeches by honored dignitaries, and surviving veterans gathered on once blood soaked battlefields, serious efforts were already being undertaken to tell their stories, in their own words. Teams of academic historians and their assistants embarked upon immense oral history projects, combed the nation, for World War II veterans, conducted extensive interviews, recorded and transcribed their testimonies, and housed them in various university archival depositories. Soon places like the National D-Day Museum and Eisenhower Center in New Orleans, U.S. Army Military History Institute at Carlisle Barracks, Ohio State University, and Rutgers University in New Jersey, just to name a few, were stacked with thousands of oral histories of members of the "greatest generation" who fought and survived in the bloodiest war of the twentieth century.

And there they sit. Ordinary readers are not usually apt to travel to one of these great archival houses to delve into these oral histories. It takes the diligent and time consuming work of historians to compile and assimilate this vast storehouse of individual experiences into a readable format, and pass it on to the general reader. This is exactly what Phil Nordyke has done in _All American All the Way: The Combat History of the 82nd Airborne Division in World War II_.

At first sight, this massive book, 776 pages of written narrative, with over sixty pages of notes is impressive. An unknown author, and publishing house, for this reviewer, usually sends red flags flying as to the quality of its content, however. Not so in the case of this masterfully written chronicle. Nordyke's work is sure to take its rightful place alongside the classic unit and D-Day histories of World War II.

There are countless pitfalls that an author/historian can easily get swallowed into when undertaking such a project. Oral histories, though significant, are not the most enthralling testimonies going. It is amazing the peculiarities and incidentals a soldier focuses on and finds interesting in his small place of history, while an all-important battle rages all around him. And he is usually the only participant in that particular locale, and his input is sorely needed, and all he can do is complain about the contents of a K-ration box. They can bore the reader to death quickly. Nordyke has skillfully avoided these pitfalls, and weaved a captivating story together like a delicate ancient Norman tapestry. From recruitment and training; painful early lessons in North Africa, debacle at Sicily, near defeat at Salerno, and Anzio; the scattered night drop in Normandy to spearhead the invasion of France; the massive daylight drop in Holland opening "Operation Market-Garden;" to the Huertgen Forest, Battle of the Bulge, and the link-up with the Russians, Nordyke utilizes the skills of a veteran military historian, introduces the operations, and places the veteran's testimonies in proper perspective. Nordyke appreciates the value of good quality maps, and has sprinkled a generous amount of them throughout the book. Good quality glossy photographs are also present, reminiscent of older days, when publishing was taken more seriously.

This work is not for the faint of heart (over 200 pages cover the first week of June 1944 alone). Yet when I find myself wanting to read a few pages before bedtime, and two hours later I cannot put it down, says something about the content of this awesome unit history. The author has provided a valuable service to the veterans, their families, and World War II readers in general. There are tons of marginal quality military history books out there; this one is destined to become a classic. I cannot recommend it enough.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Aren't You Glad Gen. Gavin & His Boys Were On Our Side?, November 11, 2005

By 

Lawrence E. Carlson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: All American, All the Way: The Combat History of the 82nd Airborne Division in World War II (Hardcover)

If you were an American or British soldier, this is the infantry division you wanted in front of you and on your flank (that's right, after airborne troops land, they're infantry). After moving the front lines in Normandy for 33 days Gen. Gavin said of his men "The troopers had been splendid; resourceful and courageous in the attack, resolute in the defense, they fought superbly".

Phil Nordyke, in what was obviously a labor of love, painstakingly collected and corroborated oral histories and consolidated and interwove them with many existing written sources to be presented in this SUPERBLY organized and highly engrossing book. The situation maps in particular are better than any I've seen,including official U.S. Army maps (you can thank modern printing techniques for the subtle shadings).

I've walked through the woods, fields and towns of Cheneux, Trois Ponts, Baraque-de-Fraiture, Reharmont, Fosse, Goronne and Thier-du-Mont, Belgium. In Holland: Grave, Groesbeek, Beek, Mook, Plasmolen/Riethorst, Hunner Park, the Waaldyke and Oosterhout. Normandy contributed such towns as St.-Mere-Eglise, Chef-du-Pont, La Fiere Manoir, Cauquigny, Amfreville, Pont l'Abbe, Les Rosiers and St.-Sauveur-le-Vicomte. These places will live forever in the annals of WWII warfare and are a testament to the bravery and resolve of the men from this legendary airborne division who contributed so much to the final Allied victory in Europe.

Finally, we can thank recent movies and a TV miniseries for giving us a realistic visual glimpse of close quarters-no quarter airborne infantry combat in the towns and woods of Europe during WWII. Nordyke's book brings alive the voices, thoughts and experiences (some humerous) of those men. Every front line infantry division of WWII wishes they had a permanent document of their exploits as exceptional as this.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best., July 25, 2005

By 

Gregory L. Henesy - See all my reviews
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This review is from: All American, All the Way: The Combat History of the 82nd Airborne Division in World War II (Hardcover)

I met Phil Nordyke in Reading, PA, in early June 2005 at a book signing with 82nd Airborne Vets. I looked at the thick, 800 + page book and thought, like I always do with books this big, "It has to be filled with a lot of B.S." When I had the chance, I asked 2 of the vets what they thought of the book. One said "someone finally got it right", the other said "it's our complete story and it's all true". I bought the book and was not disappointed. In fact, it's better than any book I've read on WW2, Stephen Ambrose books included. Phil obviously spent an enormous amount of time collecting the facts, double checking the facts, and having the vets re-check what he had written before releasing this book. It full of facts and stories from vets like no other WW2 book I've read.
Phil told me in Reading, "it's their story, I just wrote it down". He did more than write it down, he organized it and put it down in a fashion so that the events flow perfectly and the book reads easily. When you are done, you'll swear it was only 200 pages. It's how a book like this should be written.
If you are a WW2 buff, get this book. You'll fall in love with the 82nd Airborne, which is tough for me to say since I'm a 101st re-enactor.