The Resource Whatever it took : an American paratrooper's extraordinary memoir of escape, survival, and heroism in the last days of World War II, Henry Langrehr and Jim DeFelice
Whatever it took : an American paratrooper's extraordinary memoir of escape, survival, and heroism in the last days of World War II, Henry Langrehr and Jim DeFelice
Resource Information
The item Whatever it took : an American paratrooper's extraordinary memoir of escape, survival, and heroism in the last days of World War II, Henry Langrehr and Jim DeFelice represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Thunder Bay Public Library.This item is available to borrow from 1 library branch.
Resource Information
The item Whatever it took : an American paratrooper's extraordinary memoir of escape, survival, and heroism in the last days of World War II, Henry Langrehr and Jim DeFelice represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Thunder Bay Public Library.
This item is available to borrow from 1 library branch.
- Summary
- Now at 95, one of the few living members of the Greatest Generation shares his experiences at last in one of the most remarkable World War II stories ever told. As the Allied Invasion of Normandy launched in the pre-dawn hours of June 6, 1944, Henry Langrehr, an American paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne, was among the thousands of Allies who parachuted into occupied France. Surviving heavy anti-aircraft fire, he crashed through the glass roof of a greenhouse in Sainte-Mère-Église. While many of the soldiers in his unit died, Henry and other surviving troops valiantly battled enemy tanks to a standstill. Then, on June 29th, Henry was captured by the Nazis. The next phase of his incredible journey was beginning. Kept for a week in the outer ring of a death camp, Henry witnessed the Nazis' unspeakable brutality--the so-called Final Solution, with people marched to their deaths, their bodies discarded like cords of wood. Transported to a work camp, he endured horrors of his own when he was forced to live in unbelievable squalor and labor in a coal mine with other POWs. Knowing they would be worked to death, he and a friend made a desperate escape. When a German soldier cornered them in a barn, the friend was fatally shot; Henry struggled with the soldier, killing him and taking his gun. Perilously traveling westward toward Allied controlled land on foot, Henry faced the great ethical and moral dilemmas of war firsthand, needing to do whatever it took to survive. Finally, after two weeks behind enemy lines, he found an American unit and was rescued. Awaiting him at home was Arlene, who, like millions of other American women, went to work in factories and offices to build the armaments Henry and the Allies needed for victory. Whatever It Took is her story, too, bringing to life the hopes and fears of those on the homefront awaiting their loved ones to return. A tale of heroism, hope, and survival featuring 30 photographs, Whatever It Took is a timely reminder of the human cost of freedom and a tribute to unbreakable human courage and spirit in the darkest of times
- Language
- eng
- Edition
- First edition.
- Extent
- 272 pages, [16] unnumbered pages of plates
- Isbn
- 9780063027428
- Label
- Whatever it took : an American paratrooper's extraordinary memoir of escape, survival, and heroism in the last days of World War II
- Title
- Whatever it took
- Title remainder
- an American paratrooper's extraordinary memoir of escape, survival, and heroism in the last days of World War II
- Statement of responsibility
- Henry Langrehr and Jim DeFelice
- Subject
-
- Langrehr, Henry
- United States, Army -- Parachute troops -- Biography
- United States, Army | Airborne Division, 82nd -- Biography
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- France | Normandy -- Biography
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American
- Autobiographies
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, American
- Language
- eng
- Summary
- Now at 95, one of the few living members of the Greatest Generation shares his experiences at last in one of the most remarkable World War II stories ever told. As the Allied Invasion of Normandy launched in the pre-dawn hours of June 6, 1944, Henry Langrehr, an American paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne, was among the thousands of Allies who parachuted into occupied France. Surviving heavy anti-aircraft fire, he crashed through the glass roof of a greenhouse in Sainte-Mère-Église. While many of the soldiers in his unit died, Henry and other surviving troops valiantly battled enemy tanks to a standstill. Then, on June 29th, Henry was captured by the Nazis. The next phase of his incredible journey was beginning. Kept for a week in the outer ring of a death camp, Henry witnessed the Nazis' unspeakable brutality--the so-called Final Solution, with people marched to their deaths, their bodies discarded like cords of wood. Transported to a work camp, he endured horrors of his own when he was forced to live in unbelievable squalor and labor in a coal mine with other POWs. Knowing they would be worked to death, he and a friend made a desperate escape. When a German soldier cornered them in a barn, the friend was fatally shot; Henry struggled with the soldier, killing him and taking his gun. Perilously traveling westward toward Allied controlled land on foot, Henry faced the great ethical and moral dilemmas of war firsthand, needing to do whatever it took to survive. Finally, after two weeks behind enemy lines, he found an American unit and was rescued. Awaiting him at home was Arlene, who, like millions of other American women, went to work in factories and offices to build the armaments Henry and the Allies needed for victory. Whatever It Took is her story, too, bringing to life the hopes and fears of those on the homefront awaiting their loved ones to return. A tale of heroism, hope, and survival featuring 30 photographs, Whatever It Took is a timely reminder of the human cost of freedom and a tribute to unbreakable human courage and spirit in the darkest of times
- Biography type
- autobiography
- Cataloging source
- NjBwBT
- http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
- Langrehr, Henry
- Illustrations
-
- illustrations
- maps
- plates
- Index
- no index present
- Literary form
- non fiction
- Nature of contents
- bibliography
- http://library.link/vocab/relatedWorkOrContributorDate
- 1956-
- http://library.link/vocab/relatedWorkOrContributorName
- DeFelice, Jim
- http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
-
- Langrehr, Henry
- United States
- United States
- World War, 1939-1945
- World War, 1939-1945
- World War, 1939-1945
- Label
- Whatever it took : an American paratrooper's extraordinary memoir of escape, survival, and heroism in the last days of World War II, Henry Langrehr and Jim DeFelice
- Bibliography note
- Includes bibliographical references
- Control code
- on1155202870
- Dimensions
- 24 cm
- Edition
- First edition.
- Extent
- 272 pages, [16] unnumbered pages of plates
- Isbn
- 9780063027428
- Other physical details
- illustrations, map
- Label
- Whatever it took : an American paratrooper's extraordinary memoir of escape, survival, and heroism in the last days of World War II, Henry Langrehr and Jim DeFelice
- Bibliography note
- Includes bibliographical references
- Control code
- on1155202870
- Dimensions
- 24 cm
- Edition
- First edition.
- Extent
- 272 pages, [16] unnumbered pages of plates
- Isbn
- 9780063027428
- Other physical details
- illustrations, map
Subject
- Langrehr, Henry
- United States, Army -- Parachute troops -- Biography
- United States, Army | Airborne Division, 82nd -- Biography
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- France | Normandy -- Biography
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American
- Autobiographies
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, American
Genre
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<div class="citation" vocab="http://schema.org/"><i class="fa fa-external-link-square fa-fw"></i> Data from <span resource="http://link.tbpl.ca/portal/Whatever-it-took--an-American-paratroopers/tP1i_erZerg/" typeof="Book http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/Item"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a href="http://link.tbpl.ca/portal/Whatever-it-took--an-American-paratroopers/tP1i_erZerg/">Whatever it took : an American paratrooper's extraordinary memoir of escape, survival, and heroism in the last days of World War II, Henry Langrehr and Jim DeFelice</a></span> - <span property="potentialAction" typeOf="OrganizeAction"><span property="agent" typeof="LibrarySystem http://library.link/vocab/LibrarySystem" resource="http://link.tbpl.ca/"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a property="url" href="http://link.tbpl.ca/">Thunder Bay Public Library</a></span></span></span></span></div>
