BATTERY!

[Greg Sebring]

This book was just released this week. I have known the author for some time and helped in a small way with this project. I supplied Joe with photographs and original maps which helped him in writing it.

 

Joe has interviewed as many surviving veterans as he could find, (over 20). He has taken their stories and blended them together to give an accurate, varied opinion of the activities of this decorated unit. Joe's father and my father became good friends while both serving in this Battery. His father was one of the NCO's and when he was sent home after the surrender, my father took his place.

 

I have included the link to order with more information for those interested:

 

https://www.createspace.com/3627671

 

For obvious reason I enjoyed it and for those interested in Artillery or the day by day soldiers life, I think most would too.

 

Greg

[Bill47]

This book was just released this week. I have known the author for some time and helped in a small way with this project. I supplied Joe with photographs and original maps which helped him in writing it.

 

Joe has interviewed as many surviving veterans as he could find, (over 20). He has taken their stories and blended them together to give an accurate, varied opinion of the activities of this decorated unit. Joe's father and my father became good friends while both serving in this Battery. His father was one of the NCO's and when he was sent home after the surrender, my father took his place.

 

I have included the link to order with more information for those interested:

 

https://www.createspace.com/3627671

 

For obvious reason I enjoyed it and for those interested in Artillery or the day by day soldiers life, I think most would too.

 

Greg[/quote

 

Look forward to reading it.

Bill

[Shanghai Jack]

The 319th GFA has fallen through the cracks while other units such as the 506th PIR and 509th PIB get all the attention. Thanks Greg for posting this notice on BATTERY!

[Greg Sebring]

Here is a video trailer about the book that will "wet your appetite"

 

http://www.pdastage.com/vbt/assets/1317138916.mov

 

 

Greg

[jagjetta]

This is the review that will run in Military Trader:

BATTERY! C. Lenton Sartain and the Airborne G.I.’s of the 319th Glider Field Artillery, by Joseph S. Covais (ISBN 13-978-1463578312, Andy Red Enterprises, Winooksi, Vermont. Available through Amazon.com. Softcover, 6” x 9”, 586 pages, more than 175 black-and-white images, 2011, $19.95).

 

BATTERY! is the story of “A” Battery, 319th Glider Field Artillery Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division during WWII. The book is based on in-depth interviews conducted by the author with twenty surviving members of this unit, and is centered on the experiences of their Battery Commander, Captain Charles Lenton Sartain of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

 

The author used a combination of skills to produce one of the most engaging accounts of an 82nd Division unit to date. Covais’ background in clinical psychology helped the veterans to talk about their experiences in a candid, direct manner, relating many aspects of their service previously left unspoken. A lifetime collector of militaria and antique photography, Covais coaxed memories from the veterans about their equipment, uniforms and insignia to create one of the best WWII Airborne reads that collectors, in particular, will enjoy.

 

Covais carefully coerced the Glider veterans to recall, not only their service, but often painful or even repressed memories. The author’s psychology background helped him to recognize that time sometimes alters memories, so he as knitted the memories with unit after-action reports and archival records to corroborate or repudiate the veterans’ recollections.

 

BATTERY! is not a history of the 319th Glider Field Artillery, per se, though the story of the unit from its formation as a pack field artillery unit, through its conversion to glider-borne artillery and campaigns in North Africa, Sicley, Italy, France and Germany is recounted. Covais conducted interviews with 20 members of the unit while creating the book, the backbone of the work are the experiences of the unit’s Captain, retired Louisiana judge C. Lenton Sartain. Covais’ personal friendship with Sartain is evident in the thoughtful, respectful and sometimes brutally honest book that resulted.—JAG

[USAFnav]

Jag,

Good review; I'll put this book on my list. May I make a small suggestion? In the third paragraph you use the term "carefully coerced"; perhaps, "carefully coaxed" would better describe what the author did?

Pete

[jagjetta]

Jag,

Good review; I'll put this book on my list. May I make a small suggestion? In the third paragraph you use the term "carefully coerced"; perhaps, "carefully coaxed" would better describe what the author did?

Pete

 

Thanks Pete! Every editor could use some editing, for sure!

 

Cheers,

JAG

[Charlie Flick]

Gentlemen:

 

I bought and have now just finished "Battery". I enjoyed it and am glad to have it as part of my library on US airborne subjects. It fills a need by providing a very detailed picture of the operations of the 319th GFA, a unit that has received scant attention from others. I will confess that before reading this account I was not aware that the 319th was the recipient of two Presidential Unit Citations. Pretty impressive. It was a bunch that was in the thick of things in North Africa, Italy, Normandy and Arnhem, and even had some occupation duty in Berlin. All in all, a worthwhile read and one that I commend to other members here.

 

Under the heading of minor criticisms, I would also say that the book could have benefited from the services of a professional editor. Some events are described through the eyes of numerous participants, whose accounts don't differ that much. A good editor can deal with that and would have been able to pare this book down from 500+ pages to something more manageable without losing any of the flavor or desirable details. Spell checking would have been a plus as well as there are a lot of simple spelling errors. Some avoidable mistakes are made, such as a photo caption identifying a 75mm Pack Howitzer as a 105mm howitzer, an error that just should not occur in a book about an artillery unit. The author's background as a psychologist also allowed him to expend unnecessary text on descriptions of psychological conditions of unit members, something that I found jarring and out of place.

 

The book is enhanced with many photos, although their reproduction is somewhat muddy. The maps are adequate but often appeared many pages from where the action is described in the text.

 

The descriptions of flying into combat in gliders are, simply put, harrowing. The losses sustained in landing accidents alone were staggering. That these men would get back into a glider again after the experience in Normandy is a real tribute to their courage and devotion to duty. On reading it more than once I found my self shaking my head and marveling at the accomplishments of these men.

 

Anyone with an interest in the US WW2 airborne operations, or even just ETO combat, will find this to be a useful addition to their library, as I did.

 

Regards,

Charlie

[Greg Sebring]

Charlie, I'm glad you enjoyed the book. My dad is featured in it from 1943 on. He did pull occupation duty in Berlin and did tour the Reich Chancellory actually standing next to Hitler's massive desk. Dad is 90 yes old and in remarkable health for his age.

 

The book itself was a massive project for Joe. I even played a minor role in some of the proof reading and supplied many photos for him to use from dad's photo album. If by chance you use "Facebook",... Search for the "319th Glider Field Artillery" . I am a co admin and have posted a lot of photographs and items of interest.

 

Up until this book and one by the Nigl brothers (Silent Wings Savage Death), little could be found on the 319th GFA. Now all we need is a movie...

 

Greg