Airborne: The Combat Story of Ed Shames of Easy Company

by Ian Gardner, Ed Shames (Foreword by)

Overview

With an incredible World War II combat record that includes parachuting into Normandy on D-Day and service during Operation Market Garden, at Bastogne and in Germany itself, Ed Shames was involved in some of the most important battles of the war. A member of the legendary Band of Brothers, Shames offers his own words and recollections that fuel a searing account, giving a soldier's glimpse into the ferocity of the fighting on the ground and the close fellowship that developed between the men in Easy Company. The first member of the 101st to enter Dachau concentration camp just days after its liberation, Shames ended the war in the bombed-out shell of Hitler's Eagle's Nest, surrounded by his comrades in arms.

In this paperback edition by the author of Tonight We Die As Men is the phenomenal story of a remarkable young lieutenant during World War II, from the grueling training at Toccoa right through to the eventual collapse of the Third Reich.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472819383
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	04/18/2017
Pages:	328
Sales rank:	275,092
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Colonel Ed Shames is a Band of Brothers veteran. He received a battlefield commission into E (“Easy”) Company of the 506th PIR on June 13, 1944, in Carentan, France. He retired as a colonel and is a member of veterans' societies.

Ian Gardner served five years in Support Company, 10th Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, as a medic before leaving in 1993. His interest in the 101st Airborne Division led to the critically acclaimed Tonight We Die As Men, co-written with Roger Day. He lives in Hampshire, UK.

Table of Contents

Foreword James C. Roberts 9

Introduction 11

Acknowledgments 15

1 "Take the A train" 19

2 "Beyond golden fields" Ramsbury, England 46

3 "The other side of tomorrow" The marshaling area, Exeter 58

4 "The river runs red" D-Day, the wooden bridges at Brevands 70

5 "Five seconds to forget" England, August 1944 99

6 "Bullets from the sun" The invasion of the Netherlands 111

7 "Dead men's shoes" Zeeland and Tilburg 124

8 "The bucket list" The Island - Fall 1944 132

9 "The rain drank champagne" Mourmelon-le-Grand, France 158

10 "Faith and justice" The Battle of tire Bulge - Bastogne 163

11 "Northwind" Haguenau and the Colmar Pocket 219

12 "Ruhr Pocket" Western Germany, April 3-24, 1945 232

13 "Last stand" Berchtesgaden and Austria 247

14 "Ameritocracy" Life after war 266

Epilogue Ed Shames 277

Bibliography 282

Glossary 286

Index 288