Author: Jeremy C Holm

Publisher:

Published: 2019-08-03

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 9781087303185

MacArthur's secret weapon and heroes of the Los Baños Raid, the 511th Parachute Infantry Division, the Angels, fought with distinction during the vicious Leyte and Luzon campaigns where many 511th units received Presidential Unit citations. The regiment, led by Colonel Orin "Hard Rock" Haugen helped save the United States Airborne, liberate Manila, rescued 2,147 internees at the Los Baños prison camp, were the first full unit into Japan at the end of World War II, formed General MacArthur's Honor Guard and protected the Allied dignitaries during the surrender ceremony on the USS Missouri.And their average age was 21.The Angels were an exceptionally lethal "secret weapon" according to General Douglas MacArthur. General Walter Krueger, commander of the U.S. Sixth Army during the war said, went one step further, saying that the 511th PIR was "the God-damned fightingest outfit I have ever seen!" After landing on Leyte, the division fought across the island's interior, destroying an estimated 5,760 enemy between November 22-December 23, 1944 with a 45-to-1 kill ratio (on Luzon it was 22-to-1). No Angel ever boasted, just recited the number like it was a baseball statistic. After enduring 204 days of combat and 1,100 casualties, the 511th PIR became the first full regiment to occupy Japan in the country's long history, The Angels took 13 Unit Citations with them, as well as two Medals of Honor, 9 Distinguished Service Crosses, 432 Silver Stars, 10 Legions of Merit, 56 Soldiers Medals, 1,515 Bronze Stars and 41 Air Medals. Several elements within the 511th PIR received the Presidential Unit Citation and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation as they earned Campaign Streamers inscribed with New Guinea, Leyte and Luzon with an Assault Arrowhead. No wonder General Robert L. Eichelberger, commander of the U.S. Eighth Army, declared "No one could have asked for finer fighting men."In this book you will learn about one of America's most elite fighting forces and one of the only parachute units to fight in the Pacific Theater. Their loyalty to each other, ability to endure combat's harsh realities and the emotional struggles they faced to help win the war has earned the 511th PIR the nickname, "The Band of Brothers of the Pacific."Utilizing firsthand experiences and interviews with members of the 511th PIR, including his grandfather 1st Lieutenant Andrew Carrico of Company D, Jeremy tells the full story of this historic regiment. From Camp Toccoa to Tokyo, and the training grounds of Camp Mackall and New Guinea to the nightmarish combat of the Leyte and Luzon campaigns, When Angels Falls is a masterful narrative by a former journalist and historian who here tells the full story of a group of America's heroes, the elite paratroopers Angels in World War II.