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On Time, On Target

The World War II Memoir of a Paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne

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Product: Book
ISBN-10: 0-89141-714-1
ISBN-13: 9780891417149
Publisher: Presidio Press
Country:
Year: May 15, 2000
Size: 14.88 x 22.05 x 2.57cm
Number of pages: 304
Weight: 458gr
Binding: Hardcover

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Product Description
The »All Americans« of the 82nd Airborne Division (their distinctive red-white-and-blue shoulder patch featured a stylized double-A representing the fact that their World War I »ancestors,« the 82nd Infantry Division had been frawn from across the United States) participated in some of the toughest fighting of World War II.

reviews

Shy on detail 4 star rating

A good book, an easy read, and informative. It was a bit shy on detail, though, leaving me with a »wanting more« feeling nearly the whole way through. As a first-person account, the text is authoratative and commands the reader's attention. The been-there-done-that texture of the material is unmistakably authentic. My only complaint is that the descriptions of action are very concise, and often left me wondering exactly when/where the action was and, in some cases, what the outcome was. Perhaps this is reminiscent of the author's personal experience at the time (»We don't know who we are shooting at or why.«), but for a retrospective of this type it was somewhat frustrating to me as a reader.

A rich and worthy story 5 star rating

Having been an avid reader of WWII since my boyhood in the 60's, and of late many of the airborne memoirs (I have a first edition of Band of Brothers from 92') I looked forward this book. It is very good, and what makes it good beside the saga is the author's honesty and emotional verve. If you want to read something emotionless in the airbone genre, try Burgett (which are darn good reads anyhow).

Excellent WWII memoir 5 star rating

I liked everything about this book. Well-written, honest, straight-forward. A refreshing perspective from an airborne artillery noncom, rather than a rifleman. A fine balance of combat chronicle and personal reflection.

Well Written Personal History 4 star rating

»On Time, On Target« by John McKenzie

This is another excellent personal memoir, written some 50 years later, by an individual who served in the chaos and destruction that was the Second World War. In this book, John McKenzie traces the advance of the Allied Army from the Normandy Beaches to the capture of Berlin. McKenzie, a chemical engineer in later life (who says engineers can't write!?) describes his efforts as a forward observer with the famous 82nd Airborne. His writing is mater-of-fact , as, on page 23, he states that »(t)here I learned what triage meant«. Priority was given to the seriously wounded who had the best chance of recovery, while the lightly wounded were treated last. His description of the dead is limited to quiet testimony about »even more bodies and carnage than we had seen thus far«. Page 24.

McKenzie has nothing but praise for airborne troopers, who generally had an » … IQ about ten points higher than the army minimum« (P. 39) and were required to be in top-notch physical condition before being accepted as airborne. In many ways, the author echoes writers who have described the obvious effectiveness of elite troops, such as the U.S. Marines. (See »Breakout« by Martin Russ). McKenzie clearly considers the 82nd Airborne to have » … superior efficiency« (p. 39) , performing consistently with excellence.

There are some interesting personal observations such as the size of the German tanks in Normandy , the effects of the »Buzz bombs« on London and the effectiveness of the Sherman tank as compared to the German Panther and Tiger tanks (p. 115). McKenzie sums up the weakness of the Sherman with »Since they usually wound up dead in single tank combat, our tankers developed swarming and flanking tactics that gave them shots against the panzers' more vulnerable side and rear armor« (p. 116) He makes a small comment that epitomizes the lack of understanding of the superiority of the German weapons, »We wondered if our ordnance people had paid any attention at all to the war in North Africa.« » … we figured the state of our arms and ordnance should have been far advanced from what it was in late 1944.« (P. 117). Finally, the author describes the trip home after the war, by train through `Belgium and then by ship across the Atlantic. Typically, this last part is omitted by many others telling their personal memoirs, so McKenzie's story is appreciated. Overall, this book is well written personal history of an important Army unit in the European theatre.

Another Airborne Memoir! 5 star rating

LOOKING FOR A QUICK REVIEW?: Great book, written by an airborne vet that fought in every major 82nd campaign from June 6, 1944 to VE Day. LOOKING FOR DETAIL?: The author was a forward artillery observer whose job it was to hang with an infantry platoon and direct shells into enemy concentrations. He was therefore always in harms way and has many death defying stories to tell. He fought in all of the major campaigns from D-Day to Market Garden to the Bulge to the Rhine, was captured by the SS … and still lived to tell the world what he had seen. This fact alone should justify purchasing this book. But for an added bonus there is more … Not only does McKenzie tell his story but he adds the feelings and sentiments of the times so that the reader gets an idea of what life was like during the 'greatest generation'.

Although the writing style is sometimes laborious and he has a tendency to jump around, this does not take away from the effect of the book. In fact it gives you the feeling that this is just a normal guys story … which is in fact the most important story of all.