ORANGE IS THE COLOR OF THE DAY PICTORIAL HISTORY OF THE 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION DURING THE LIBERATION OF HOLLAND

Book Type: C,O

by Peter Hendrikx and Michel De Trez, 560 pages.

The most complete pictorial history of the 101st Airborne Division in the liberation of Holland with 1,250 photographs, of which the great majority has never been published before. All photos are identified either by date, location, name of individual soldiers, equipment or historical context. Often all these leads have been identified. This resulted in very informative and extensive captions. Rare airborne equipment, documents and artifacts from the d-Day Paratroopers Historical Center and the Adennes44 museums collections are spread throughout the book where it is relevant. Like a kite string, the complete story of the employment of the 101st Airborne Division is told in photographs and elaborate captions. No single major action has been omitted. And where no photographs or stills were available to complete the story, new chapters were written based on prime sources such as after action reports, combat interviews and veterans' stories. For this pictorial history, special attention was given to the quality of the photographs... and like you have come to expect from D-Day Publishing's books: "No Small Photograph Prints." Furthermore, the great majority of the photos are digital copies of the first, original print. The density and contrast have been digitally improved, so in many cases the quality is even better than the original print. The book is a valuable addition to the existing literature about Operation Market Garden and the 101st Airborne Division, because no other unit in any given battle in any war received such extensive coverage as the 101st gets in this book. The second volume is titled "Orange is the Color of the Day" and continues where the first volume, titled "D-Day Minus - 17 September 1944" stops. The introduction addresses the combat role of just the 101st Airborne Division within Operation Market Garden. The first two chapters show the most extensive photo coverage of any airborne operation ever of the drop zones and landing. The introduction addresses the combat role of just the 101st Airborne Division within Operation Market Garden. The first two chapters show the most extensive photo coverage of any airborne operation ever of the drop zones and landing zone near Heeswijk, Eerde and Son. Both the parachute drop and glider landings are well documented. Next, all combat operations are divided by the geography of the towns and combat areas instead of by chronological sequence. Immediately after the landing, the next chapter is about Son and the Division Service Area. The capture of the Son Bridge and the activities of the glider pilots in the Division Service Area are dealt with in this chapter. The following and largest chapter is about the 506th PIR and the liberation of Eindhoven. In great detail the fight for the German 88 mm. guns in the north, the capture of the Dommel bridges and the celebrations by the happy Dutch are shown. Also the actions of the reinforced 506th RCT east of Eindhoven are shown and described for the first time. "Band of Brothers" fans will love this chapter as the authors uncovered many new photographs of the men of Easy Company in Eindhoven. The next chapter is about the heavy fighting in Best and the Son Forest, where the 101st fought one of the heaviest battles of the entire war. The 502nd PIR and the 327th GIR in the Son Forest, the POW's and the amazing story of Medal of Honor recipient Joe Mann is well described. The next chapter follows Hell s Highway into St.-Oedenrode. The actions of the 502 in St.-Oedenrode and the road cut by the Germans will be discussed in this chapter. The following chapter is about the heavy fighting by the 501st Regiment in Eerde and Schijndel. Thanks to the regimental photographer, Eerde is well covered for such a small village. Next in line is Veghel.