In the tradition of Band of Brothers, historian and former
paratrooper James M. Fenelon offers a grunt's-eye view of the 11th
Airborne's heroic campaign to liberate the Philippines in World War II.
A soldier's history at its best.
The Pacific War in World War II pitted American fighting men against two
merciless enemies: the relentless Japanese army and the combined forces
of monsoons, swamps, mud, privation, and disease. The rowdy paratroopers
of the 11th Airborne Division--nicknamed "The Angels"--answered the call
and fought in some of World War II's most dramatic campaigns, ranging
from bloody skirmishes in Leyte's unforgiving rainforests to the
ferocious battles on Luzon, including the hellscape urban combat of
Manila. General Joseph Swing's men were trained as elite shock troops,
but high American casualties often forced them into action as
ground-pounding infantrymen. Swing kept them supplied by airdropping
food, ammunition, medical teams, and reinforcements over nearly
impassable terrain, and the Angels fought on, emerging as one of the
most lethal units in the Pacific War. Their final task was the
occupation of Japan, where they were the first American boots on the
ground. Angels Against the Sun provides an unforgettable soldiers'
perspective of America's hard-won victory in the Pacific.
