Battling Buzzards: The Odyssey of the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team 1943-1945

by Gerald Astor

Book Overview

The Few and the Brave Convinced by 1943 that the assault upon Nazi-held Europe would yield swiftly to elite troops, the U.S. Army created parachute regimental combat teams. Drawing on daring volunteers willing to hurl themselves from airplanes and hit the ground fighting, the 517th PRCT became one of the most highly trained airborne units in the world. Blooded in northern Italy in 1944, the Battling Buzzards dropped at night in southern France for...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440236932
• ISBN13: 9780440236931
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: Dell
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Quality history of a special unit.

This is an excellent book about one of WWII's special forces-an Airborne Regimental Combat Team. The accounts range from gruesome to humorous, and cover both the combat and the non-combat parts of this unit's history. Military veterans will appreciate the real life view of life in the service, and others will get a look into this unique world. If you read "Band of Brothers" by Stephen Ambrose, you will appreciate the differences. Different places, different units (it includes the engineers, artillery and medical corps for example, not just infantry), and a different style of history. It's very engaging, and you get to know the people in the book. This should have been made into a movie. My dad, Robert Dahlstrom, was a 517th vet. He told very few stories about his experience. This book did a great job of telling the rest of the story, a very unique story in the annals of army history.

Outstanding - Deserves to be republished & re-released

This is a special book about special men. My father was one of them and mentioned in the book. I have met many of the men of the 517th and they are all first class. This unit was overlooked for far too many years. Mr. Astor has truly done this unit the belated justice it richly deserved. This is a great book and deserves another printing.

It was like Dad's old war stories

I grew up listening to the oral history of my Dad's (Don Eugene) experiences in the 517th. From parachuting off course into the vinyards of southern France, to the wild rides on scooters through Rome, Gerald Astor captured, in exqusite detail, every account of the war my father passed on to me. As I reflect on his humble accounts, I now know the significance of the 517th in WWII. Anyone who had a father, son, friend, relative, or interest in WWII must read this book. Anyone who has more information on the 517th and/or knows where to find more copies of the book, pleaseemail me. Thanks!

Looking for a copy of this book

We are anxiously trying to find a copy of this book for my uncle, who was a part of the 517th in France, 1944. Trying to locate members of this unit. Any information would be appreciated.

Battling Buzzards

Gerald Astor has done a marvelous job in detailing the formation, exploits and termination of the 517th. My brother joined the unit in June 1943, and was with them until he was killed in September 1944, when was only 9 years old. Among my mother's possessions I ran across every letter he wrote to our family from the time he was on the train to Georgia until a week before his death. The "Battling Buzzards" gave me a more complete view of what he went through from boot camp to battle. This narration filled in some of the details that my brother couldn't write about. His letters added that personal touch for our family and also complemented the book's story. I highly recommend this book to those who served in the 517th, their families and friends, and history buffs. I treasure my copy.