| Into The Valley Site Map |
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Introduction to the book, Into The Valley, and to this Web site. |
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Biographical information on Col. Charles H. Young, including the barnstorming era, the Army Air Corps in the 1930s, the airlines, and the war. Also includes links to a short description of the duties of IX Troop Carrier Command units and a brief profile of the pioneering phase of transport aviation, with emphasis on the Airmail era. |
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The current passage features a description of Normandy from the cockpit of a lead aircraft shortly after midnight on 6 June 1944, as the airborne assault began, spearheading history’s most famous invasion. The current page includes a link to a map of the routes that American and British Troop Carrier serials flew on the Normandy missions. |
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Book reviews of Into The Valley. Includes USAF, WWII scholars, and TC and Airborne authors. Note: At the bottom of the page, click the button to hear the sound of a C-47 engine start. |
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Written by Gen. John R. Galvin, this is the Foreword for Into The Valley. It offers a concise description of the book’s content, and places it in historical context. A short bio of Gen. Galvin is linked to this page. |
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This selection is a story by former C-47 radio operator Wilbur J. Kline, 94th TCS, 439th TCG. Kline was on a C-47 that towed two gliders to LZ S on the Rhine River crossing, 24 March 1945. The 439th Group towed 144 gliders to LZ S in this mission, all on double-tow. The aircraft, No. 43-15092, Blue Moon, flown by 1st Lt. Bill Grieb, was shot down. Grieb, along with his co-pilot, 2nd Lt. Ralph Becker, kept the aircraft in the air long enough to deliver their gliders, and then get past locations of intense German ground fire so that the rest of the crew could bail out. Grieb and Becker did not make it. Kline, who had just turned 20, was captured, and soon found out that the drama was just beginning for him. For additional historical information on this mission, see Historical Overview, Rhine River Crossing—Operation VARSITY. Selections “From the Book” will change periodically to correspond to IX Troop Carrier Command’s major missions, and will feature first-hand accounts of the action from Into The Valley. |
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This is a summary of the evolution and development of Troop Carrier with emphasis on the European theater of war. Written by the editor of Into The Valley, this page includes links to photographs of each Airborne-Troop Carrier operation described. |
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Brief descriptions of major events in the development of Airborne-Troop Carrier, from 1918-1945. This chronology, which is linked to the Historical Overview, covers all theaters of war in WWII and includes the major airborne operations of both Allied and Axis powers. |
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Maps & Photos |
Photographs are displayed on the Home, Author, and in the selection From the Book. In addition, many other photos display from links in the Historical Overview. A number of these photos are rare. The U.S. and British Troop Carrier Normandy route map is linked to the Author’s wartime diary: D-Day, Normandy. A route map of the VARSITY mission (Rhine River crossing) is included in the current selection From the Book. Note: To expand the maps, wait for the map to load. The Expansion icon will then display in the lower right portion of the map; click this icon to display the full-size map. |
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The main body of the 50th TC Wing Field Order No. 1, adapted by Wing from the IX TCC field order of the same name. This document contains at least one surprise in its instructions to pilots who missed the intended DZ or LZ on the initial run-in. Hint: Even Warren, USAF Study No. 97, missed this one. This document is available for viewing in graphic format (jpg files), or as a PDF file. |
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The Bibliography for Into The Valley. The historical narratives in the current selection in From the Book cite sources listed here. |
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The order form for the book, Into The Valley, The Untold Story of USAAF Troop Carrier in World War II, From North Africa Through Europe, by Col. Charles H. Young. |
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A list of sites that may be of value to folks who are interested in the history of USAAF Troop Carrier operations in World War II. |
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News that pertains to USAAF Troop Carrier. Currently this includes information about posting of an original copy of “Field Order No. 1,” an historic document pertaining to the Normandy air assault missions. |
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Audio and video clips of Troop Carrier action from WWII archives and from personal collections. This includes a rare radio recording made by Mutual Correspondent Paul Manning as he crossed the Rhine River in the lead ship of the 439th Troop Carrier Group, which flew 72 C-47s towing 144 CG-4A gliders on this mission. Also see rare color footage of the double-tow formation, in the invasion, enroute to the LZs east of the Rhine. |
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