wow...thanx for doing the research i should have done.
<> <> <> wow...thanx for doing the research i should have done. <> <> <>
No worries-
I enjoy learning and if I did not conduct the search I would not have known about General Gavin’s promotion to the two star general rank, and therefore, in being promoted, made him the youngest two star in WWII. I always thought that he was the youngest one star general in WWII. He carried an M1 Garand (long version) just the same as the grunts, and was first out of the lead plane whenever he jumped AND the general made four combat jumps in WWII. That right there is Valhalla worthy in this paratroopers eyes.
My former boss’s father in law (deceased) had also made four combat jumps in WWII. My former boss’s wife researched her father’s military life and became a surrogate mom for the airborne unit that her dad served with, and for that she earned the nickname Panther Mom. I would have to check to verify, but I think it’s the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
She began to amass so much information that she wrote a book, but being a neophyte author, failed to keep sufficient footnotes to satisfy herself and any publisher she approached. Undaunted she began anew, and through her research of her father’s military service and his time in the airborne unit(s) that he jumped with, she met General Gavin’s daughter (Barbara- I think) and they became good friends, due in part to the fact that both of their father’s had made four combat jumps in WWII, and this distinction put the men and their daughters in a very small and unique fraternity. So, the last I heard from my former boss about his wife was that she and General Gavin’s daughter were co-authoring a book about their fathers, one famous, and one not so famous.
My modest effort in searching Gen. Gavin’s background has been a serendipitous experience and it gave me the opportunity to reminisce about a connection to “Jumpin Jim” Gavin, that I had almost forgotten about, so thank you for participating in the find. AIRBORBNE!