FIGHTING WITH THE SCREAMING EAGLES: With the 101st Airborne from Normandy to Bastogne Review

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FIGHTING WITH THE SCREAMING EAGLES: With the 101st Airborne from Normandy to Bastogne ReviewThe author served with the usually rarely mentioned 401st Glider Regt (formerly a Bn of the 327th). Somewhat ironically though, his unit entered Normandy across the beachhead and not by air. Bowen's Normandy is somewhat short lived but his descriptions are some of the best I have ever read. He could see bodies floating beneath the water and some of the sights on land, particularly the destroyed German column are very vivid and quite awful.
The unit suffers many casualties to the point that Bowen writes it was never the same again. Bowen does not shy away from describing these. Some are the results of mistakes and foolishness. Regardless, few veterans have addressed this aspect of the war so graphically. Bowen often writes of a fellow soldier, giving a personal connection, perhaps recounting a conversation or some shared moment, before describing their eventual terrible fate on the battlefield. This device serves to both emphasize the humanity of each and the tragedy of their death, often after suffering horrific wounds and sometimes being abandoned screaming on the field. Some of this is delivered very bluntly, almost brutally. Bowen reveals how the war changed him. His wounds and subsequent treatment left him with health concerns for his whole life. He suffered personality problems, which is a confronting and stark admission.
As for combat, aside from Normandy, Bowen fights in Holland (on The Island) and outside Bastogne. He sees futile deaths, some through souvenir hunting and poor field craft. He writes a fair bit about being in combat but it is mostly of what he directs and observes, without revealing too much about his personal deeds. He does write briefly about wounding one German soldier though. He sees quite a bit of combat all together.
Bowen's style is very readable. He has an interesting turn of phrase and he is very good at describing what he sees. This brings home very graphically, aside from combat, his awful sea trip to England and the hellish conditions of his time as a POW. It also reveals his fascination with wartime England and his observations on this are very interesting. He is honest about his fears and doesn't try to gloss things over. He is critical of events and his fellow soldiers at times. His recounting of his experiences as an injured POW and repatriation and ongoing treatment is very eye opening. Overall, this is a good combat memoir. Recommended plus
FIGHTING WITH THE SCREAMING EAGLES: With the 101st Airborne from Normandy to Bastogne OverviewRobert 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 Power Journal (USA)

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