Left for Dead at Nijmegen
eBook - PDF

Left for Dead at Nijmegen

The True Story of an American Paratrooper in World War II

  1. 256 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Left for Dead at Nijmegen

The True Story of an American Paratrooper in World War II

About this book

Left for Dead at Nijmegen recalls the larger-than-life experiences of an American paratrooper, Gene Metcalfe, who served in the 82nd Airborne during WWII. From his recruitment into the military at Camp Grant to his training with the 501st Paratroop Infantry Regiment at Camp Toccoa, it wasn't until D-Day itself that he first arrived in England to join the 508th PIR. When Metcalfe boarded the C-47 which would drop him at Groesbeek Heights, just outside of Nijmegen, Holland, he was handed a box of twelve dozen condoms by an over-confident British lieutenant. He was to be among the first to jump into what should have been a picture-book meadow, free of German troops. Instead, it was defended by three German anti-aircraft cannon emplacements. As he jumped into a hail of bullets and exploding shells he watched his plane roll over and plummet into the ground. It was at that moment he realized the condoms had either been a bad joke or the planners of Operation Market Garden had seriously underestimated German resistance. Gene was listed as KIA and left for dead by his patrol, who presumed the worst when they saw his injuries from a shell explosion. The rest of his story is equally gripping, as he became a POW held outside Munich, being moved between various camps ridden with disease and a severely undernourished population. Eventually, after making an escape attempt and being captured within sight of the snow-capped Swiss mountains, his camp was liberated by American troops in April 1945.Gene's story is both remarkable for his highly unusual encounter, and his subsequent experiences.

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Yes, you can access Left for Dead at Nijmegen by Marcus A. Nannini in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Military & Maritime History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Prologue
  7. 1 Homework
  8. 2 Camp Grant
  9. 3 Camp Toccoa
  10. 4 Fort McClellan and Buff alo, New York
  11. 5 Fort Benning/Camp Mackall
  12. 6 Camp Shanks—On the Move at Last!
  13. 7 Nottingham, England
  14. 8 Operation Market Garden
  15. 9 Road to Nijmegen
  16. 10 Keizer Karel Plein
  17. 11 Nijmegen
  18. 12 Dinner with “Herr Reichsführer”
  19. 13 Lent, Holland
  20. 14 Stalag XII-A
  21. 15 Five Days in Hell
  22. 16 Stalag VII-A
  23. 17 Hans Schwaniger
  24. 18 Escape!
  25. 19 Recapture
  26. 20 Stalag VII-A, Again!
  27. 21 Liberation
  28. 22 Paris via MĂźnchen
  29. 23 Home at Last
  30. 24 Postwar Life
  31. Afterword: Looking Back in Sketches