Of all the books written about World War II, few if any have told the story of the valiant fighting men of the 82nd Airborne Division's Glider Infantry. These men of the 325th Glider Infantry were as battle scarred as any regiment that fought in Europe. Riding to combat in the flimsy canvas or plywood covered cargo gliders the glider infantrymen gave no quarter in fighting from Salerno in Italy to the Ardennes forest of Belgium.
Let's Go! is not a nostalgic review of the past. Rather it is a vivid, true-to-life, highly detailed account of the training and innumerable battles fought by the glider soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division.
This account is perhaps more remarkable because it was written by a soldier who was there, a soldier who describes what he and others personally saw, felt, heard and thought during the heat of battle and the boredom of training.
The men of the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, riding in fifteen or thirty place gliders, were towed into combat behind a C-47 twin engine plane. They approached their landing zone behind enemy lines flying at 600 to 800 feet. Once the glider cut loose from the tow plane there were only a few short minutes before the glider touched ground.
The advantage of the glider over parachute was that the glider came to a halt, the men came out organized as a squad, equipped and ready to fight. The German glider and parachute assault on the Island of Crete established this concept.
Let's Go! is not a nostalgic review of the past. Rather it is a vivid, true-to-life, highly detailed account of the training and innumerable battles fought by the glider soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division.
This account is perhaps more remarkable because it was written by a soldier who was there, a soldier who describes what he and others personally saw, felt, heard and thought during the heat of battle and the boredom of training.
The men of the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, riding in fifteen or thirty place gliders, were towed into combat behind a C-47 twin engine plane. They approached their landing zone behind enemy lines flying at 600 to 800 feet. Once the glider cut loose from the tow plane there were only a few short minutes before the glider touched ground.
The advantage of the glider over parachute was that the glider came to a halt, the men came out organized as a squad, equipped and ready to fight. The German glider and parachute assault on the Island of Crete established this concept.
