When Dwayne Burns turned 18 during World War II, he decided that he
wanted to fight alongside America's best. He joined the
paratroopers and was assigned to the 508th Regiment of the 82d
Airborne Division. Little did he suspect that a year later he'd be
soaring in a flak-riddled C-47 over Normandy, part of the very
spearhead of the Allied drive to seize back Europe.
Burns landed behind German lines during the dark, early hours of
D-day, and gradually found other survivors of his division. The
paratroopers fought on every side in a confused, running battle
through the hedgerows, finally making a stand in a surrounded
farmhouse. With one room reserved for their growing piles of
corpses, the paratroopers held their ground until finally relieved
by infantry advancing from the beaches.
After being pulled out of Normandy, the airborne troops were
said to be "burning a hole in SHAEF's pocket," and thus were
launched into Holland as part of Montgomery's plan to gain a
bridgehead across the Rhine. This daytime jump was less confused
than the nocturnal one, but there were more Germans than expected
and fewer Allied forces in support. It was another maelstrom of
pointblank combat in all directions, and though the 82d achieved
its objectives, the campaign as a whole achieved little but
casualties.
The 82d had hardly refilled with replacements when the Germans
broke through the U.S. front in the Ardennes. The 82d's
paratroopers were put aboard trucks and hastened to stand in the
way of the panzer onslaught. Passing through Bastogne they went
farther north to St. Vith, where the U.S. 7th Armored and other
divisions were reeling. The 82nd held its own with quickly
assembled defense perimeters, allowing other units to escape. After
beating off massive attacks by German SS, the paratroopers were
disgusted to hear that they, too, had been ordered to retreat. They
didn't feel they needed to, but Monty was determined to "tidy up
the battlefield." On January 3 they counterattacked through the
freezing hills, sealing off the Bulge and pursuing the Germans back
into the Reich.
In this work, Dwayne Burns, assisted by his son Leland (U.S.
Army, 1975-79), not only relates the chaos of combat but the
intimate thinking of a young soldier thrust into the center of
several of history's greatest battles. His memories provide a
fascinating insight into the reality of close-quarters combat.
REVIEWS
" I was glad to see this book...tells his story from the bottom
side. It looked different from a foxhole. The book is told in the
form of a bunch of little stories, not a day by day diary. This
makes it much more interesting, and I recommend it highly.
Books-On-Line,02/2007
..". Sadly Dwayne passed away just hours before the full account
went to press. The BURNS team produced a book that keeps the
reader's interested from cover to cover... As you read Jump into
the Valley of the Shadow, a prominent theme, the Brotherhood of the
paratroopers, is apparent and runs through the whole book: You will
notice their concern for each other and their grief over their
fallen comrades. "The Static Line,02/2007
"Destined to Become a Classic World War II Memoir... a masterful
job of taking the reader along on a compelling journey...It is war,
as seen from the foxhole and is destined to become a classic World
War II memoir."Phil Nordyke ([email protected]), A
reviewer,06/2007
"A true member of the Greatest Generation, Burns' fascinating
story is well worth reading." Flight Journal, 10/2008
..".riveting and insightful...extremely human recollections..."
Air, Power, History, Winter 2009
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