On Time, On Target: The World War II Memoir of a Paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne

by John McKenzie

A fomer field artillery paratrooper stationed to the 82nd Airborne during World War II shares his memories of life in combat, from the waiting game in the vast holding depots of England to the mountains of Sicily and eventually, the lethal hedgerow warfare of Normandy.

Genres: Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published April 11, 2000

Reviews

[skid · Rating 4 out of 5]

My grandfather served in the 456th PFAB, 505th RCT, 82nd Airborne Division during World War II, and while much has been written about the 82nd and certainly the 505th, I’ve been able to find so little about the experience of the 456th. It was pure serendipity that brought this book to my attention, and I’m now confident that my grandfather and the author probably knew each other - as they were a part of the same Battery, with the same Commander.

John McKenzie was an engineering student at Purdue prior to the conflict, and participated in Normandy, Market Garden the Battle of the Bulge, the breach of the Siegfried Line, and the crossing of the Rhine, same as my grandfather. It was amazing to be able to follow along, as this is the closest thing to his war experience as I’ve ever found.

[Iain · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written account of a member of the 82nd airborne from D-Day to the end of the war. Full of interesting vignettes and windows into the times. things like civilian life, and nuts and bolts of daily army life.