The Making of a Paratrooper: Airborne Training and Combat in World War II

The memoir of paratrooper Kurt Gabel—a German Jew who emigrated to the US in 1938, joined the 513th Regiment of the 17th Airborne Division, and fought against his former countrymen in the Battle of the Bulge.

Gabel conveys with rare immediacy an in-depth look at the training of a paratrooper, the dangers of combat, and his transformation from romantic idealist to warrior. He vividly recounts the fire fights and such episodes as narrow escapes, separation from his battalion and his rescue by another, and the interrogation of prisoners. He tells the full story of his desperate hours on "Dead Man's Ridge" near Bastogne.

William C. Mitchell was professor of political science at the University of Oregon and served in the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment during World War II. Theodore A. Wilson is professor of history emeritus, University of Kansas.