Customer Reviews

Strike and Hold: A Memoir of the 82nd Airborne in World War II

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I found Mr. Burriss' book to be very compelling. His book gives the reader background information regarding the circumstances that led to the writing of this book. He gives his perspective then and now regarding his participation in some of history's greatest battles and the 504th PIR's greatest feats of arms. He gives the reader who is not intimately familiar with military history an overview of the campaigns of the 82nd Airborne in Sicily, Italy, Holland, Belgium, and Germany. But, in order to give the reader a picture of what life was like as a platoon and company commander with arguably the best division in World War II, he relates his first hand experiences and those of others who fought with him in a very well written manner.

Unlike Mr. Gudmens, I found Mr. Burriss' combination of his first hand experiences along with that of others, his perspectives then and now, and an overall picture of campaigns to be very useful in getting a fuller picture of what happened during combat against German forces.

Every combat veteran will remember certain aspects of a firefight, artillery barrage, attack, etc., while another who was there will remember things differently. Mr. Burriss' is thoughtful enough to include the accounts of others who were there in order to give the reader the benefit of multiple perspectives.

His book begins with his journey after 50 years to the battlefields of his youth. There he visits the places where he and his men fought with incredible bravery against, in many cases, overwhelming odds. Mr. Burriss visits the graves of his men in Italy, Holland, and Belgium, whose bravery still serve to inspire him today. He tells of the poignant reenactment of the crossing of the Waal River in Holland and the appreciation of the Dutch people who, even today are extremely grateful for what the Americans sacrificed so that they could be free of German oppression. It makes one wonder about why there is not a similiar feeling among Americans regarding our freedom and the price paid in blood to maintain it.

Mr. Burriss gives the reader his background before the war, the training as an original member of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, the journey to North Africa, and the subsequent campaigns in Sicily, Italy, Holland, Belgium, and Germany.

His first hand description of the battle at Anzio when his battalion stopped a German Panzer breakthrough that threatened to push the Allies into the sea, the courageous assault crossing of the Waal River to capture the railroad and highway bridges in Nijmegen in arguably the greatest feat of arms in WWII, and the clash with the 1st SS Panzer Division in the Battle of the Bulge are priceless. Mr. Burriss tells of how his lightly armed men fought and destroyed superior numbers of German infantry and armor time and time again, but at a very heavy loss of some of the best men that America has ever produced.

The last page of the book, which is very poignant, reveals the real reason why Mr. Burriss wrote it. Any citizen that wants their children to know the real price of freedom should buy this book.

I purchased additional copies for my sons and my brother, and intend to purchase additional copies for the town's library and high school.

Strike and Hold follows the author and his unit in the 82nd Airborne from the invasion of Sicily to Italy, to Operation Market Garden in Holland, to the Battle of the Bulge, and the conquest of Germany and Berlin. It is a personal account of the day to day battles fought by Captain Burriss and his comrades in the foxholes. His memories of each battle are detailed and vivid, and he supplements them with extended passages written by other soldiers who fought by his side. Each major battle is covered extensively, and the book ends with his return to Holland in 1994 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the crossing of the Waal River.

The book has a very personal feel to it, as Burriss holds very little back. He doesn't say much about high level strategy, but tells the story of the everyday foot soldier slugging it out with the Germans under the most miserable conditions imaginable. His story reads very much like Stephen Ambrose's Citizen Soldier, except that Burriss was there himself, and all of the contributors whom he quotes at length were there with him. I cannot emphasize enough what an excellent personal account this is.

This book is about the missions of the 82d though out Operation Market Garden and other battles of the war. It follows a Plt. Leader, Burris on his accounts. The book had a very different feel than other war books. Burris gives accounts that he remembers and he also gives accounts of what other parratoopers saw, giving a true and honest approach. The book covers a small part of Operation Market, remember it is just following a plt. leader and his men.
The letters he puts in the book shed a new light on things. I like the fact that the letters where not cut down and where printed in their true form.
I liked the book very much and have great respect for Mr. Burris. The book is very easy to read it is not full of all that military jargon like other books.

One of the best WW2 books I have ever read. Could not put it down. It is real. It is unique, not a re-hash of all the other books out there. You are there with the author. You can tell it is written from experience. GLad I ran across it!!

This is a no frills history of the Third Battalion 504th. Written by a contributor to Cornelius Ryan's "A Bridge Too Far". T. Moffatt Burriss took part in every major campaign the 504th was in from Sicily,Salerno,Volturno River,Anzio,Holland,Belgium and finally Germany. If you are interested in the history of one of the premier battalions in one of the best airborne regiments in WWII I recommend this book. This is a nice tribute to "Those Devils in Baggy Pants".

In his personal memoir, Strike and Hold, L. Moffatt Burriss relates an account of his World War II experiences as a platoon leader, then company commander in the 504th PIR of the 82nd AD. After a brief introduction describing his training and shipment oversees, Capt. Burriss describes three important engagements, which he participated in. The first was a drop into Sicily, the second was the struggle to maintain the beachhead at Anzio, and the third was the drop into Grave, Holland as part of the Market-Garden operation. Of the three, the operation at Grave, the crossing of the Waal River, and the subsequent capture of the Nijmegen bridge strikes me as the most traumatic of Burriss' combat experiences. The Waal crossing and attack were sheer hell and Burriss' account describes it in agonizing detail. Especially distressing to this reader was the account of the stalled British armored column, under General Horrocks. As their paratrooper comrades were being slaughtered at Arnhem, Captain Carrington (subsequently Lord Carrington) was brewing tea and waiting for orders to advance. This after the 504th had fought and died to gain the bridgehead to allow the Brits to advance.

Capt. Burriss was also present at Cheneux, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge. Unfortunately for this reviewer, he says little about it. The reason is unknown. Either he had little recollection of the event, or there wasn't a great deal to tell. In any case, Capt. Burriss has written a moving and poignant remembrance of the Second World War, and his reasons for fighting the war, and his speculation on whether today's generation could make such a sacrifice make this book a "should read" for any reader interested in why we fought.

There are a lot of details and stories in this book that I have not found anywhere else. I really enjoyed the personal touches. The additional perspectives from other paratroopers was appreciated.

My uncle (S/Sgt David "Rosie" Rosenkrantz, MIA 9/28/44 Holland) was in H Company, 504. He was in some of the same battles and it sounds like they fought side-by-side at times.

Burriss is assigned to the 3rd Battalion of the 504th Para Regt as platoon and later company commander. He reveals a lot about his early days in training and his concurrent marriage. There is also a reasonable bit about being based in Africa prior to Sicily. His unit suffers quite a lot during their first jump. They encounter heavy flak and he and his men are badly scattered. He actively seeks combat and even joins up with a British unit to continue the battle. What he sees of British practices though does not impress him. This theme is returned to at Anzio and during Market Garden.

Following Sicily he is brought in at Salerno and more interestingly at Anzio. This was new to me. In both cases he reveals a few of his personal experiences. At one point a Tiger tank took pot shots at him when he went to the toilet! He has several other close calls too. To me though he doesn't reveal enough, instead including accounts of others who were with him - some of which admittedly are quite dramatic. Again he has problems with the British and his unit is forced to fight very hard to hold the line. Due to their involvement here, they are spared Normandy so Burriss' next battle is the capture of the Grave Bridge during Market Garden. Here he is part of the epic crossing of the Waal to capture the North end of the Nijmegen Bridge and Burriss really lets go! Their success though is wasted when the British tanks that subsequently cross refuse to continue on to Arnhem. Burriss really has a go at their commander and even draws his weapon on him! I think this is a fairly famous event and the other accounts mention it in awed tones. It makes no difference though. Finally Burriss spends time in the Ardennes and later the advance towards Berlin. It is quite a journey.

Burriss is clearly a fighter, yet he is a bit coy on details. It is almost out of character when he reveals he threw a bomb into a house, killing a large number of Germans. Later, in his epilogue, he briefly addresses his feelings on having killed. He was a soldier and he did what he had to do.

The device of including other soldiers account left me with mixed feelings. Some were quite lengthy and had some very interesting passages. At times though their inclusion really did serve to break up the narrative and leave me adrift. I suppose to people who are looking for first hand accounts they are in themselves useful source material. I do think some editing was warranted as, for instance, the four or five other accounts of the Waal crossing, all include the same thing about only 11 of the 26 boats being able to make the return crossing. At times these additional accounts contradict what Burriss recalls. This is not surprising given the nature of battle and Burriss discusses this. It does though detract from the integrity of the central story - Burriss'. This said, it is his book and he is entitled to put his friend's stories in if he wants to. In some places though, it reads more like a unit history. To summarise, sometimes these third party accounts enhance the story, at other times they have a discordant affect. All these though well reveal the fighting nature of the airborne.
Quite a number of times outnumbered paratroopers defeat superior German forces. It says something about the quality of some German troops of course but it says more about the spirit of the paratroopers. The revealing of this is a strength of the book.

In some ways this book is difficult to measure against other memoirs. It is well written and engaging enough. The prologue about Burriss' trip to Europe revisiting his old battlefields with his son is quite moving and it really had me looking forward to reading the rest of his story. His account of his pre-war life is quite interesting and gives a good picture of the man he is. But following Sicily it becomes less his story and more the stories of his comrades. This was clearly Burriss' intention. He valued his fellow soldiers highly and is at pains to ensure they are given due credit. However to me this was done at the cost of his own story. I note that Mark Bando wrote, "A book like this has long been hoped for by Airborne history buffs..." and it does have a lot to offer in this general sense. Yet as a memoir it is not quite what it could have been - and that is a shame. This guy had a sensational story to tell and where he does so things are quite good (his crossing of the Waal is gripping!) Here though he shares the spotlight. This is worthy of course but he had a heck of a solo in him and it would've been great to see him really let go! Still, a fair read. Recommended plus

This is an outstanding memoir written by a true citizen soldier concerning his involvement in the 82nd PIR during WWII. The prose is straight to the point and gives a first hand account of the battles of Anzio, Market Garden, and the Bulge. The description of the crossing of the Waal River is outstanding . Any WWII buff wil enjoy this book. It shows again why Mr. Burriss and his generation are truly the greatest.

Well written by a man who was there and saw first hand. A great addition to any collection of WWII history.