Publisher's Synopsis
Silk Chutes and Hard Fighting: US. Marine Corps Parachute Units in World War II is a brief narrative of the development, deployment, and eventual demise of Marine parachute units during World War II. It is published to honor the veterans of these special units and for the information of those interested in Marine parachutists and the events in which they participated. This covers the Marine Corps' flirtation with airborne operations during World War II. The various offices of the Marine Corps Historical Center yielded additional primary materials. The Reference Section holds biographical data on most key individuals, as well as files on specific units. The Oral History Section has a number of pertinent interviews, the most significant being Lieutenant General Joseph C. Burger, Major General Marion L. Dawson, General Gerald C. Thomas, and Brigadier General Robert H. Williams. The Personal Papers Section has several collections pertaining to the parachute program. Among the most useful were the papers of Eldon C.Anderson, Eric Hammel, Nolen Marbrey, John C. McQueen, Peter Ortiz, and George R. Stallings. A number of secondary sources proved helpful. Marine Corps publications include Charles L. Updegraph, Jr's. U.S. Marine Corps Special Units of World War II, Major John L. Zimmerman's The Guadalcanal Campaign, Major John N. Rentz's Bougainville and the Northern Solomons, and Isolation of Rabaul by Henry I.Shaw, Jr. and Major DouglasT. Kane. A valuable work on the overall American parachute program during the war is William B. Breuer's Geronimo! The Marine Corps Gazette and Leatherneck contain a number of articles describing the parachute units and their campaigns. Ken Haney's An Annotated Bibliography of USMC Paratroopers in World War II provides a detailed listing of sources, to include Haney's own extensive list of publications on the subject. Many Marine parachutists graciously provided interviews, news clippings, photographs, and other sources for this work. Colonel Dave E. Severance, secretary/treasurer of the Association of Survivors, was especially obliging in culling material from his extensive files.
