D-Day +60 Years by Jerome J Mclaughlin

This unique account of D-Dayhistory provides an unusual look into the US Army's preparation of a new typeof World War II warfare, that of airborne operations. The book describes, usingpersonal interviews with the veterans involved, how young men who had nevereven flown in an airplane before the war were trained to fly into combat, or toparachute into the dark of night. Thenarrative personalizes the events of D-Day for a small group of men of the 77thTroop Carrier Squadron and G Company of the 501st Parachute InfantryRegiment. Most, including the author'suncle, did not survive to see the dawn on D-Day morning. The story then moves forward more than half acentury, when research to find out what happened to his uncle led the author tomeet some of the survivors of that night, resulting in what is believed to bethe first reunion of a D-Day pilot with the men he dropped on that fatefulmorning, 56 years earlier. Many childrenof the "next generation" are making efforts to find out what happened to theirfathers and uncles in World War II. Thisstory is a classic example of the joy and heartbreak that can result from thesuccess of such a search.