RECENT ARTICLES
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The Last Jump: Chapter 71
Chapter Seventy-One Joigny, France – August 15, 1945 “Only the dead have seen the end of war.” Plato (c. 428 BC – c. 347 BC) Finally, there was something to celebrate. July had been a depressing and frustrating month for | Read More »
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The Last Jump: Chapter 70
Chapter Seventy Washington, D.C. – June 1, 2004 Rest easy, sleep well my brothers. Know the line has held, your job is done. Rest easy, sleep well. Others have taken up where you fell, the line has held. Peace, peace, | Read More »
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The Last Jump: Chapter 69
Occupation duty was fine with Johnny. But high-strung paratroopers used to a steady adrenaline rush became bored and susceptible to mischief. There were accidents, brawls and all sorts of troublesome behavior. Captain Frank West worked equally hard to get both the civilian population and his own men under control. He relied heavily on both of the boys, especially Johnny and his language skills.
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The Last Jump: Chapter 68
Looking up from the beach toward the heights, one could see three more Rangers in bronze laboring mightily to gain the summit. Taut ropes, dangling feet and joined hands testified to the strain and struggle to breach the cliff.
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The Last Jump: Chapter 67
As the orders for carriers dried up, workers were furloughed. The frenetic pace of construction in 1942 and 1943 had slowed to a more methodical tempo. It was clear America would eventually win the War. There was no longer a desperate need to build any more of these majestic behemoths.
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The Last Jump: Chapter 66
At dawn on 19 December, General der Panzertruppen Hasso Eccard von Manteuffel’s XLVII Panzer Corps, having clawed its way out of the deep ravines and steep river valleys, was finally in open tank country. Three German divisions were now bearing down on Bastogne.
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The Last Jump: Chapter 65
Cynthia Powers walked into the condo after a long day of work to find J.P. sitting at the kitchen table staring blankly at his flowchart. He normally got home before she did and usually started dinner by the time she walked in. The two customary glasses of wine on the table were also missing. He was drinking Chivas Regal on the rocks. Something was wrong.
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The Last Jump: Chapter 64
Dawn broke nearly invisible on the morning of 19 December. Only the shift of color to a paler gray gave a hint the sun had risen beyond the impenetrable blanket of fog enveloping the eastern sky. The overnight trip from Mourmelon took place under a misty rain with the temperature hovering at forty degrees. The Screaming Eagles were transported packed tightly together in open trailers. If they slept at all, it was standing upright.
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The Last Jump: Chapter 63
Derek, this is the best job I ever had. I even got to fly a Jap Zero and an early-version Bf-109 Messerschmitt. Who else could ever get a chance to do that? Right now we fly three-quarters of the planes ferried in the States with a lower accident rate than the men. We also do other jobs the guys won’t do.
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The Last Jump: Chapter 62
More than any other ground campaign in the War, the Battle of the Bulge was a battle for roads. It was about securing and moving rapidly along the few usable roads and denying them to the enemy. Whoever controlled the roads controlled the fight. In this fluid struggle for force mobility, the crossroad villages and road hub cities became the most important real estate in the Ardennes Forest.
