Well my husband read it first and now I am almost done reading it. I have to say I am enjoying it very much, even though as my husband says, most of it is a re-hash of the Band of Brothers book (then movie), but obviously it does cover more regarding Dick Winters during the war and beforehand.
I did learn a lot and I can see why Dick Winters is such a well-respected man to this very day. It is sad to think that his health is so fragile as of late. I certainly hope that he will live the rest of his time is spent in peace and quiet.
There is one thing that did irk me though and I know that Joe and Russ from the 3rd Inf Div will get riled up too. Here's what is stated in the book on pages 193 and 194.
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Rolling south toward Austria, Winters and his battalion left Berchtesgaden behind, but sixty years after the war controversy still rages over who was first into that jewel of Nazism. In their history of the 101st Airborne, Rendevous with Destiny, authors Leonard Rappaport and Arthur Norwood Jr. substantiates a claim by veterans of the 7th Regiment of the 3rd Division that they first had the honor of taking the town. Winters has always contested that view, drawing on this own memories, a journal kept without his knowledge by Lieutenant Staplefeld, and Krochka's photographs.
"If they were the first ones there, where'd they go?" Winters said during an interview with this author. "It was a small town and, aside from service personnel at the hotel and few civilians, we didn't see anyone else."
If the old military adage is true that the British fight for King and Country, the Russians fight for Mother Russia, the Germans fight for the Fatherland and the Americans fight for souvenirs, then Winter's claim carries much validity, When they arrived, the posh Berchtesgaden Hof was unlooted, the German staff cars untouched and Goering's wine cellar was intact, a condition all but implausible had any American troops gotten there ahead of Winters and his men.
"As it stands in Rendevous with Destiny we were latecomers." Winters said. "But I assure you, members of the 2nd Battalion and the 506th have different memories and pictures to prove that we didn't do too badly in getting our share of the loot at Berchtesgaden during the last days of the war."
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Now while I cannot personally fault Dick Winters, for what one man sees or what one battalion experiences, is only the story from their perspective, not the whole picture. He did not see the 3rd, so he assumed that they weren't there. That is all a part of the "fog of war". Most men only knew what went on in their battalions.
But, people do have to be careful about making assumptions. I could very well say, "I went to the dinner party last night and Sue was not there." It may have been true that she was not in attendance while I was there, but to say that she never showed up would be an assumption on my part. Sue could very well have arrived before or after my visit.
Someone once told me that a certain unit WAS NOT AT ANZIO. I told them that they were mistaken and that I knew men from this unit that were there. I also took quotes from books, etc. and showed him the evidence. He had based his conclusions from one book he read. That particular book did not mention this unit, therefore he assumed they weren't there. A very dangerous thing for an historian or writer to do.
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
