The Heroic Exploits of WWII’s Pacific Paratroopers

The Art of Manliness

Society & Culture, Education, Philosophy

4.7 • 14.5K Ratings

🗓️ 24 May 2023

⏱️ 53 minutes

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Summary

When people think of the paratroopers of World War II, they tend to think of the European theater — the 101st Airborne Division and the Band of Brothers. But paratroopers were also deployed in the Pacific, and here to unpack their lesser-known but equally epic and heroic story is James Fenelon, a former paratrooper himself and the author of Angels Against the Sun: A WWII Saga of Grunts, Grit, and Brotherhood. Today on the show, James tells us about the formation, leadership, and training of the 11th Airborne Division, the role they played in the campaigns of the Pacific — which included being dropped one by one out of a tiny plane described as a “lawnmower with wings” —how they built a reputation as one of the war’s most lethal units, and the division’s surprising connection to the creation of the Twilight Zone. At the end of our conversation, James shares what lessons we all can take away from the exploits and spirit of the 11th Airborne.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Brat McKay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness Podcast.
0:11.4	When people think of the Paratroopers World War II, they tend to think of the European
0:14.8	Theater, the 101st Airborne Division and the Band of Brothers.
0:18.8	But Paratroopers were also deployed in the Pacific, and here to impact their lesser known
0:22.7	but equally epic and heroic story is James Finnellon.
0:25.5	A former Paratrooper himself and the author of Angels Against the Sun.
0:29.6	A World War II saga of grunts, grit and brotherhood.
0:33.4	Today on the show, James tells about the formation, leadership and training of the 11th Airborne Division.
0:38.4	The role they played in the campaign's Pacific, which included being dropped one by one out
0:42.4	of a tiny plane described as a lawnmower with wings, how they built the reputation as one
0:47.0	of the war's most lethal units, and the division's surprising connection to the creation
0:51.0	of the Twilight Zone.
0:52.4	At the end of our conversation, James shares what lessons we can all take away from the exploits
0:56.2	and spirit of the 11th Airborne.
0:58.3	Out of the shows over, check out our show notes at a-wim.is-pacific-paratroopers.
1:18.1	James Finnellon, welcome to the show.
1:20.1	Thanks, Brett. I appreciate it. I'm as a fan. It's privileged to be here.
1:23.5	Well, you are a historian that has written two books about paratroopers during World War II.
1:28.7	Your first book was four hours of fury, which is about the largest airborne operation in Europe.
1:34.3	That's with the 17th Airborne Division.
1:36.8	You got a new book out about paratroopers, and that is called Angels Against the Sun,
1:41.3	which is about the 11th Airborne Division in the Pacific.
	...

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