Fighting With the Screaming Eagles: With the 101st Airborne from Normandy to Bastogne [Hardcover]

Robert Bowen (Author), Christopher J. Anderson (Author, Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2001

Robert Bowen found himself drafted into Company C, 401st Glider Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, as World War II broke out, and had his first experience of war as he stormed ashore on to the Normandy beaches. He was wounded during the Normandy campaign but went on to fight in Holland and the Ardennes before being captured v and mistreated v and finishing the war as a POW. Written shortly after the war, Bowen's narrative is immediate, direct and compelling. His account, one of the few by a member of a glider regiment, is a brutal insight into the battlefields of World War II and a vivid recreation of just what life was like in an elite unit. From the horror of D-Day and the despair of captivity, to the taste of C Rations and the fear of soldiers under fire, this memoir tells the full story of one man's total war.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1853674656
• ISBN-13: 978-1853674655
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #779,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Detailed observations of a glider trooper, June 29, 2009

By 

John E. Larsen "Larso" (Brisbane, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Fighting with the Screaming Eagles: With the 101st Airborne Division from Normandy to Bastogne (Greenhill Military Paperback) (Paperback)

The author served with the usually rarely mentioned 401st Glider Regt (formerly a Bn of the 327th). Somewhat ironically though, his unit entered Normandy across the beachhead and not by air. Bowen's Normandy is somewhat short lived but his descriptions are some of the best I have ever read. He could see bodies floating beneath the water and some of the sights on land, particularly the destroyed German column are very vivid and quite awful.

The unit suffers many casualties to the point that Bowen writes it was never the same again. Bowen does not shy away from describing these. Some are the results of mistakes and foolishness. Regardless, few veterans have addressed this aspect of the war so graphically. Bowen often writes of a fellow soldier, giving a personal connection, perhaps recounting a conversation or some shared moment, before describing their eventual terrible fate on the battlefield. This device serves to both emphasize the humanity of each and the tragedy of their death, often after suffering horrific wounds and sometimes being abandoned screaming on the field. Some of this is delivered very bluntly, almost brutally. Bowen reveals how the war changed him. His wounds and subsequent treatment left him with health concerns for his whole life. He suffered personality problems, which is a confronting and stark admission.

As for combat, aside from Normandy, Bowen fights in Holland (on The Island) and outside Bastogne. He sees futile deaths, some through souvenir hunting and poor field craft. He writes a fair bit about being in combat but it is mostly of what he directs and observes, without revealing too much about his personal deeds. He does write briefly about wounding one German soldier though. He sees quite a bit of combat all together.

Bowen's style is very readable. He has an interesting turn of phrase and he is very good at describing what he sees. This brings home very graphically, aside from combat, his awful sea trip to England and the hellish conditions of his time as a POW. It also reveals his fascination with wartime England and his observations on this are very interesting. He is honest about his fears and doesn't try to gloss things over. He is critical of events and his fellow soldiers at times. His recounting of his experiences as an injured POW and repatriation and ongoing treatment is very eye opening. Overall, this is a good combat memoir. Recommended plus

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping, First-hand Account, November 10, 2007

By 

Emme's Mommy (Manchester, CT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fighting With the Screaming Eagles: With the 101st Airborne from Normandy to Bastogne (Hardcover)

My grandfather is pictured on the cover with Sgt. Bowen, at the bottom left. The vivid details in Sgt. Bowen's book make you feel like you are in 1944, watching all of the action! His book brought to life my grandfather's experiences. I still cannot comprehend what these soldiers endured, and I am so grateful that my grandfather made it back to Maine to start a family and a new life, after seeing so many friends perish. So, I am pestering him to write a book about his experiences now!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent WWII Airborne Memoir, January 29, 2006

By 

Avid Reader (Northern NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fighting With the Screaming Eagles: With the 101st Airborne from Normandy to Bastogne (Hardcover)

Sgt Bowen's account of his time in the 101st during WWII is excellently written and includes much of what is missing in other 101st Airborne histories/memoirs. Veterans recollections of war are those of a war fought locally next to your closest friends; Sgt Bowen's is very much in this vein. Sgt Bowen is an astute observer and reporter of his wartime activity in Normandy, Holland, and Germany. His inclusion of being wounded, captured and subsequent interment in medical units, POW camps, and release provide a unique glimpse into this aspect of WWII veterans.
Sgt Bowen has produced a book which is a thoughtful addition to the 101st Airborne's WWII history; definitely one not to be missed.