The General and His Daughter The War Time Letters of General James M. Gavin to his Daughter Barbara

James Maurice Gavin left for war in April, 1943 as a colonel commanding the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division-- America's first airborne division and the first to fight in World War II. In 1944, "Slim Jim" Gavin, as he was known to his troops, at the age of thirty-seven, became the 82nd's commanding general-- the youngest Army officer to become a major general since the Civil War. At war's end, this soldier's soldier had led the 82nd from the front to become one of our greatest generals-and the 82nd's most decorated officer.Now James Gavin's letters home to his nine-year old daughter Barbara provide a uniquely revealing portrait of the American experience in World War II through the eyes of one of its most dynamic officers. Written from ship decks, fox holes, and field tents-and sometimes just before or after a dangerous jump-they vividly capture the day-to-day realities of combat in Europe and Gavin's immediate, personal reactions to the war he helped to win. The letters begin at Fort Bragg in 1943, and continue to December, 1945, just before Gavin returned home to lead the 82nd at the head of the Victory parade in New York. This correspondence constitutes the majority of Gavin's private war-time letters, but has never before been published in its entirety. The more than 200 letters are an invaluable self-portrait of a great general, and a great American in war and peace. Gavin writes with uncommon clarity and grace-about his unique airborne command, about battles from Sicily through Germany, about the fears and hardships he shared with his soldiers, and about America's new responsibility as a world power. Throughout, he speaks to his young daughter with his characteristic intelligence, directness, and honesty. Infused with love and concern for her welfare, his letters also sparkle with humor and attentiveness to the every-day affairs of a precocious little girl. In her Introduction, Epilogue, and Notes, Barbara Gavin Fauntleroy gives a privileged glimpse of the private man. Historical overviews by Starlyn Jorgensen set the letters against the background of the 82nd Airborne Division's campaigns. Edited by Gayle Wurst, the correspondence also includes photographs, a preface by noted historian and Gavin biographer Gerald Devlin, and a foreword by Rufus Broadaway, Gavin's aide de camp.

BARBARA GAVIN FAUNTLEROY is the mother of three children, Barbara, Steven, and Jim. She lives with her husband in Ridgefield, Connecticut.