These accolades were well earned. Paratroopers proved themselves as aggressive, resilient, tenacious fighters capable of overcoming adversity. For example Cornelius Ryan wrote, “When tracer bullets began ripping through his canopy, Private Edwin C. Raub became so enraged that he deliberately side-slipped his chute so as to land next to the anti-aircraft gun. Without removing his harness, and dragging his parachute behind him, Raub rushed the Germans with his Tommy gun. He killed one, captured the others, and then, with plastic explosives destroyed the flak-gun barrels.”

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In another example of tenacity over adversity, Sergeant Bullock, from the British 9th Parachute Battalion, and a handful of others were dropped almost thirty miles inland in Normandy. They reported to their units four days later with evidence to show that they had killed numerous enemy troops, including twenty senior German officers. Yet another example of the airborne spirit is the famous incident of Royal Engineer Captain Eric Mackay relaying his CO’s refusal at Arnhem to surrender despite the fact they were cut off, completely surrounded, and had suffered horrendous casualties. “Get the hell out of here,” he yelled at the German Waffen SS soldier who had come forward to offer terms. “We’re not taking any prisoners.”

The prowess of airborne forces lay in their ability to transcend the brutality and unforgiving nature of the airborne battlefield. “The mainspring of these forces,” insisted renowned American soldier and military historian S.L.A. Marshall, “lay in the spirit of the men. They moved and hit like light infantry and what they achieved in surprise more than compensated for what they lacked in fire power.”

General Richard Gale came to the same conclusion. “In the end,” he extolled, “it all boils down to the individual and it is he that counts. Be alert, be vigilant and be resourceful. What you get by stealth and by guts you must hold with skill and determination.”

Military historian Clay Blair wrote that the 82nd Airborne Division emerged from Normandy with the reputation of being “a pack of jackals; the toughest, most resourceful and bloodthirsty infantry in the ETO [European Theater of Operations].”

It was their ability to overcome their daunting environment that set parachutists apart. “Their duty lies in the van of the battle; they are proud of this honour and have never failed in any task,” wrote Field Marshal Montgomery. “They have the highest standards in all things…[and] they have shown themselves to be as tenacious and determined in defence as they are courageous in attack.” They are, he concluded, “men apart—every man an Emperor.”

Only those hardened to adversity, resilient to the stress of the unknown, and capable of adapting to ever-changing circumstances could survive in the devil’s cauldron that was the airborne battlefield.

This article by Bernd Horn was originally published in the Summer 2006 issue of MHQ Magazine. For more great articles, subscribe to MHQ magazine today!

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