The general and his daughter : the wartime letters of General James M. Gavin to his daughter Barbara / Barbara Gavin Fauntleroy ; commentary and notes by Starlyn Jorgensen ; edited by Gayle Wurst.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gavin, James M. (James Maurice), 1907-1990.

Contributor:

Wurst, Gayle.

Fauntleroy, Barbara Gavin.

Jorgensen, Starlyn.

Series:

World War II--the global, human, and ethical dimension.

World War II--the global, human, and ethical dimension

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gavin, James M. (James Maurice), 1907-1990--Correspondence.

Gavin, James M.

United States. Army--Biography.

United States.

United States. Army--Airborne troops--History.

Generals--United States--Biography.

Generals.

World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, American.

World War, 1939-1945.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (269 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York : Fordham University Press, 2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

James Maurice Gavin left for war in April 1943 as a colonel commanding the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division?America?s first airborne division and the first to fight in World War II. In 1944, ?Slim Jim? Gavin, as he was known to his troops, at the age of thirty-seven became the 82nd?s commanding general?the youngest Army officer to become a major general since the Civil War. At war?s end, this soldier?s soldier had become one of our greatest generals?and the 82nd?s most decorated officer.Now James Gavin?s letters home to his nine-year-old daughter Barbara provide a revealing portrait of the American experience in World War II through the eyes of one of its most dynamic officers. Written from ship decks, foxholes, and field tents?often just before or after a dangerous jump?they capture the day-to-day realities of combat and Gavin?s personal reactions to the war he helped to win. And provide an invaluable self-portrait of a great general, and a great American, in war and peace.The book?s more than 200 letters begin at Fort Bragg in 1943 and continue to December 1945, as Gavin came home to lead the 82nd at the head of the Victory parade in New York. This correspondence constitutes the majority of Gavin?s private wartime letters, but except for rare appearances in regimental newsletters, it has never before been published. In her Introduction, Epilogue, and Notes, Barbara Gavin Fauntleroy gives a privileged glimpse of the private man. Edited by Gayle Wurst, the book features historical overviews by Starlyn Jorgensen, a preface by noted Gavin biographer Gerard M. Devlin, and a foreword by Rufus Broadaway, Gavin?s aide-de-camp.

Contents:

""Title Page ""; ""Table of Contents ""; ""Acknowledgments ""; ""Editor's Note ""; ""Foreword ""; ""Introduction ""; ""Prologue ""; ""Chapter 1: The Call to War ""; ""Chapter 2: Operation Husky

North Africa ""; ""Chapter 3: Operation Husky

Sicily ""; ""Chapter 4: Operation Avalanche

Italy""; ""Chapter 5: Operation Overlord/Neptune

United Kingdom ""; ""Chapter 6: Operation Neptune

Normandy ""; ""Chapter 7: Command of the 82nd Airborne Division ""; ""Chapter 8: Operation Market-Garden

Holland""; ""Chapter 9: The Battle of the Bulge

Belgium ""

""Chapter 10: Cracking the Siegfried Line

Germany """"Chapter 11: A Brief Respite

France""; ""Chapter 12: Back on the Line

The Final Fight""; ""Chapter 13: Victory, Russian Camaraderie, and a Visit Home ""; ""Chapter 14: Occupation Duty

Berlin ""; ""Chapter 15: The Call Home ""; ""Epilogue ""; ""Notes ""; ""Selected Bibliography ""; ""Index ""; ""Others books in the World War II: The Global, Human, and Ethical Dimension Series ""

Notes:

Color map on lining papers.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [231]-235) and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9780823246915

0823246914

9780823226894

0823226891

OCLC:

808341217