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Passing Through: The 82nd Airborne Divison in Northern Ireland 1943-44

Category: Military

On 9 December 1943 the first men of the United States 82nd Airborne Division set foot on Northern Irish soil. By the end of that day 12,000 of them had been disembarked from their ships and were being transported to camps throughout the Province. By March the following year, however, they had all moved on again, to England and  something bigger - the final preparations for the invasion of Europe.

As a child growing up in the small County Derry town of Castledawson, John McCann  uncovered many ‘treasures’ in the family garden - an occasional tin can, the odd leather boot, an embossed button, a large buckle, the odd glass bottle, a few cooking pots of various sizes and bullets, yes bullets! These discoveries led him, in later years, to question their source and this book is the result of that questioning and four years hard research.

In these pages John looks not just at the 82nd’s short stay in Northern Ireland but also its service in North Africa, Sicily and Italy and later the missions in France, Holland, Belgium and Germany beginning with D-Day on 6 June 1944, all told using the reminiscences of the men who proudly served with the 82nd Airborne Division.

About the Author

John P McCann was born in Castledawson, Northern Ireland, on 9 July 1964.
His interest in the United States 82nd Airborne Division developed over many years from hearing stories of when the ‘Yanks’ were stationed in and around his hometown.

This, his first book, is the culmination of almost four years research and writing. In that time, he has travelled to Normandy in France, Fort Bragg, North Carolina and Washington DC in the United States of America. He shares a rich relationship with many of the 82nd veterans who contributed to this work, and plays an active part in the conservation of the division’s history through a close affiliation with its associations, families and friends.

 ©2008 Colourpoint Books