The Victors: Eisenhower and His Boys : The Men of World War II Read Online Free PDF Page A

battalion would be gliderborne troops. No one was forced to go airborne; every officer and trooper was given a choice. About 40 percent declined the opportunity to wear the red beret. Another 10 percent were weeded out in the physical exam. It was meant to be an elite regiment.
    The sergeant major came to the Ox and Bucks specially posted from the outside.
    Wally Parr made the man’s overpowering personality vivid in a short anecdote.  “That first day,” said Parr, “he called the whole bleeding regiment together on parade. And he looked at us, and we looked at him, and we both knew who was boss.”
    Howard himself had to give up his company and his captaincy to go airborne, but he did not hesitate. He reverted to lieutenant and platoon leader in order to become an airborne officer. In three weeks his colonel promoted him and gave him command of D Company. Shortly after that, in May 1942, he was promoted to major.  By July, Howard was pretty much on his own, allowed by his colonel to set his own training pace and schedule. Initially, he put the emphasis on teaching the men the skills of the light infantryman. He taught them to be marksmen with their rifles, with the light machine gun, with the carbine and the pistol, with the Piat (projector infantry antitank) and other antitank weapons. He instructed them in the many types of grenades, their characteristics and special uses.  Most of all, Howard put the emphasis on learning to think quickly. They were elite, he told the men; they were gliderborne troops, and wherever and whenever it was they attacked the enemy, they could be sure the premium would be on quick thinking and quick response.
    Howard’s emphasis on technical training went a bit beyond what the other company commanders were doing, but only just a bit. All of Howard’s associates were commanding top-quality volunteers, and were volunteers themselves, outstanding officers. What was different about D Company was its commander’s mania for physical fitness. It went beyond anything anyone in the British army had ever seen before. The regiment prided itself on being fit (one officer from B Company described himself as a physical-fitness fanatic), but all were amazed by, and a bit critical of, the way Howard pushed his fitness program.  D Company’s day began with a five-mile cross-country run, done at a seven- or eight-minute-to-the-mile pace. After that the men dressed, policed the area, ate breakfast, and then spent the day on training exercises, usually strenuous. In the late afternoon Howard insisted that everyone engage in some sport or another. His own favorites were the individual endeavors, cross-country running, swimming, and boxing, but he encouraged soccer, rugby, and any sport that would keep his lads active until bedtime.
    Those were regular days. Twice a month Howard would take the whole company out for two or three days, doing field exercises, sleeping rough. He put them through grueling marches, until they became an outstanding marching unit. Wally Parr swore-and a number of his comrades backed him up-that they could do twenty-two miles, in full pack, including the Brens (light machine guns) and the mortars, in five and one-half hours. When they got back from such a march, Parr related, “you would have a foot inspection, get a bite to eat, and then in the afternoon face a choice: either play soccer or go for a cross-country run.” All the officers, including Howard, did everything the men did. All of them had been athletes themselves, and loved sports and competition. The sports and the mutually endured misery on the forced marches were bringing officers and men closer together. Lt. David Wood was exceedingly popular with his platoon, as was Lt. H. J. “Tod” Sweeney, in his own quiet way, with his. But Lt. Den Brotheridge stood out. He played the men’s game, soccer, and as a former corporal himself he had no sense of being ill at ease among the men. He would go into their barracks at