Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Jump: Into the Valley of the Shadow: The War Memories of Dwayne Burns Communications Sergeant—508th P.I.R.
    Unavailable
    Jump: Into the Valley of the Shadow: The War Memories of Dwayne Burns Communications Sergeant—508th P.I.R.
    Unavailable
    Jump: Into the Valley of the Shadow: The War Memories of Dwayne Burns Communications Sergeant—508th P.I.R.
    Ebook353 pages5 hours

    Jump: Into the Valley of the Shadow: The War Memories of Dwayne Burns Communications Sergeant—508th P.I.R.

    By Dwayne Burns

    5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    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 82nd 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 82nd’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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCasemate
    Release dateSep 20, 2006
    ISBN9781935149941
    Unavailable
    Jump: Into the Valley of the Shadow: The War Memories of Dwayne Burns Communications Sergeant—508th P.I.R.
    Author

    Dwayne Burns

    Dwayne Burns is a veteran and author.

    Related to Jump

    Related ebooks

    Wars & Military For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Craftsman

      May 16, 2019

      The Craftsman
      8 min read

    • Article

      An American In Europe

      Oct 3, 2019

      An American In Europe
      14 min read

    • Article

      Risinger raid

      Aug 9, 2022

      Risinger raid
      8 min read

    • Article

      Lightning ACE!

      Nov 17, 2020

      Lightning ACE!
      11 min read

    • Article

      Killer Corsair

      Oct 17, 2023

      Killer Corsair
      11 min read

    • Article

      Digging Into The Past

      Jul 31, 2018

      Digging Into The Past
      10 min read

    • Article

      These Final Days

      Apr 2, 2019

      These Final Days
      10 min read

    • Article

      “Always Be Strong” Interview With Mervyn Kersh

      Feb 18, 2021

      Bergen-Belsen concentration camp was one of the most horrendous discoveries made by British armed forces during WWII. Approximately 60,000 people, the majority of them Jews, were found in starving and mortally ill conditions while thousands more bodi

      16 min read

    • Article

      Night Jump Into Normandy

      Jan 10, 2023

      Night Jump Into Normandy
      7 min read

    • Article

      “You’re Just The Guy We’re Looking For”

      Feb 20, 2024

      AS ALLAN W. OSTAR approaches his 100th birthday, he can look back with pride on a career as an academic administrator and education consultant. For many years, Allan was president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. But, a

      4 min read

    • Article

      Attacking The Cliffs

      Sep 1, 2021

      Attacking The Cliffs
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Sapper

      May 16, 2019

      The Sapper
      8 min read

    • Article

      Army Flash!

      Oct 5, 2021

      The neighbors must have been peeking out from behind their curtains because Johnny and I hadn’t seen anyone watching as the Chester, Pa., police escorted us into the back of their cruiser. The police had been picking us up every Tuesday evening for a

      2 min read

    • Article

      Fast Fingers cause Disasters

      Apr 14, 2022

      Fast Fingers cause Disasters
      10 min read

    • Article

      Lost Opportunity

      Aug 22, 2023

      Lost Opportunity
      4 min read

    • Article

      Crapshoot In Cassino

      Dec 29, 2020

      Crapshoot In Cassino
      16 min read

    • Article

      Surviving The Siege

      Nov 29, 2018

      Surviving The Siege
      13 min read

    • Article

      Need Some Help?

      Oct 2, 2018

      Some old memories are rather difficult to recall, while a few can be etched within our minds to such a degree that after 50 years they bring tears to our eyes and make us shake. Your article in the August issue (“Catkillers Over Con Thien,” by Paul X

      1 min read

    • Article

      Due Credit

      Oct 23, 2018

      Due Credit
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Immortal Mel Brooks

      Jun 9, 2023

      The Immortal Mel Brooks
      21 min read

    • Article

      The End Of The End

      Aug 5, 2020

      The End Of The End
      3 min read

    • Article

      Following In Their Footsteps

      Feb 15, 2023

      Following In Their Footsteps
      5 min read

    • Article

      Tom Landry’s Touchdown

      Dec 21, 2021

      Tom Landry’s Touchdown
      9 min read

    • Article

      Tom Landry’s Touchdown

      Dec 21, 2021

      Tom Landry’s Touchdown
      9 min read

    • Article

      Gettysburg

      Oct 27, 2021

      Gettysburg
      16 min read

    • Article

      From Waodanis to Weapons

      Dec 15, 2022

      From Waodanis to Weapons
      9 min read

    • Article

      Time Traveller

      May 26, 2022

      Time Traveller
      4 min read

    Reviews for Jump

    5/5

    1 rating0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words