Paratrooper!: The Saga of U. S. Army and Marine Parachute and Glider Combat Troops During World War II [Hardcover]

Gerard M. Devlin (Author), William P. Yarborough (Foreword)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 717 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; Deluxe edition (January 1, 1979)
• ISBN-10: 9998875773
• ISBN-13: 978-9998875777
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,099,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book about great men., July 7, 2003

By 

Herman Vaalburg (Amsterdam Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paratrooper!: The Saga of the U. S. Army and Marine Parachute and Glider Combat Troops during World War II (Paperback)

This book of Gerard M. Devlin, the 1st of his 3 books upto now (2003), is superbly written. I tells the reader the full story of the history of the US Paratroopers from the beginning to the end of World War 2. In readable chapters the whole history is covered.
I bought this book in the late 80's and allways take it from the shelf to use it as a referencebook. And even then you are surprised about the information in the book. There is a lot the book offers. Which is understandable as Gerard Devlin is a para-veteran of the Korean war himself (187th Airborne RCT) and a Ranger-vet of Vietnam (serving with the ARVN 44th Ranger Bn as a senior advisor collecting a DSC and 2 Vietnamese Crosses of Gallantry).
Since 1979 several books are written about the same subject, but i consider this as one of the best (perhaps even the best).
A great book, which belongs to every private collection of books covering the paratroopers of the USA.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Definitive History of the American Paratrooper in WWII, September 21, 2007

By 

Tetsu Uma "The 'Iron Horse'" (Illinois Native in Manassas Park, VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Paratrooper!: The Saga of the U. S. Army and Marine Parachute and Glider Combat Troops during World War II (Paperback)

This extensively research volume chronicles the history of American Military parachuting from the Parachute Test Platoon through the end of WWII. It starts with a section on the evolution of the parachute and early deployment by carnival acts as well as military and U.S. Air Mail pilots. The chapter on the effort to create a parachute unit is next where the reader is introduce to Maj (later MajGen) William Lee, the "Father of American Airborne Troops." The section on the Parachute Test Platoon under the command of 1stLt W. T. Ryder is quite fascinating as in many ways, the men had to develop their own training and traditions, some of which survive to this day in at Ft Benning. The book then covers the development of the parachute infantry into larger units, including Marine Parachutists, and their deployment throughout WWII, in both the European (including Africa) and the Pacific.

Published in 1979, the author was able to interview many of the actual players, including LtGen James "Jumpin Jim" Gavin, General Matthew Ridgeway, and LtGen William Yarborough (who wrote the forward and was one of the earliest American Paratroop Officers), which lends the book a sense of realism and familiarity with the subjects.

I enjoyed learning the truth about Paratrooper "lore" including the use of the word "Geronimo!" (really happened, Pvt Aubrey Eberhardt, p. 68-70), among others. I found the book to be a good read and highly informative. I highly recommend it.

4.0 out of 5 stars PARATROOPER! review, March 23, 2010

By 

Mark A. Mccall (Elberton, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Paratrooper!: The Saga of U. S. Army and Marine Parachute and Glider Combat Troops During World War II (Hardcover)

This book was written in the 1970's by a former Army officer, Gerard Devlin, who was an "Airborne Ranger" himself. I thought is very well researched and written. LTC (Ret.) Devlin was able to interview many of the original paratroopers and therefore, many of his sources are primary sources - he recorded their stories before they died and was able to look at original source material and documents.