Robert Bowen was drafted into Company C, 401st Glider Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, as World War II broke out, and soon afterwards found himself storming ashore amid the chaos on Utah Beach, through unfamiliar terrain littered with minefields and hidden snipers. He was wounded during the Normandy campaign but went on to fight in Holland and the Ardennes where he was captured and his "trip through hell" truly began.

In each of Bowen’s campaigns, the 101st “Screaming Eagles” spearheaded the Allied effort against ferocious German resistance or, as at Bastogne, stood nearly alone against the onslaught of enemy panzers and grenadiers. His insights into life behind German lines, after his capture, provide as much fascination as his exploits on the battlefield. An introduction by the world’s foremost historian of the 101st Airborne, George Koskimaki, further enhances this classic work.

Written shortly after the war, Bowen's narrative is immediate, direct and compelling. His account, one of the few by a member of a glider regiment, provides a brutal insight into the battlefields of World War II and a vivid recreation of just what life was like in an elite unit. From the horror of D-Day and the despair of captivity, to the taste of C Rations and the fear of soldiers under fire, this memoir tells the full story of one man's total war.

Reviews

"The understated heroism of Bowen and his comrades shines through his humility and candour ... a valuable contribution to the growing body of works that cover the Allied invasion of Western Europe in World War II"

AIR AND SPACE MAGAZINE, 2010-05-01

“… one of the few accounts by a member of the Glider Infantry, contains realistic details of the horror of D-Day and the despair of captivity.”

BOOK NEWS, 2010-10-19