Nothing But Courage
James Donovan
Dutton Pub
May 27th, 2025
Nothing But Courage by James Donovan tells the dramatic story of the courageous paratroopers and glidermen of the 82nd Airborne. They risked their lives to seize and secure a small, centuries-old bridge in France that played a pivotal role in the success of D-Day.
The battle for La Fiere was crucial in the Normandy invasion and afterward was led by Matthew Ridgway and James Gavin, two of the most outstanding commanders in American military history. In June 1944, German and American forces converged on an insignificant bridge a few miles inland from the invasion beaches. If taken by the Nazis, the bridge might have gone down in history as the reason the Allies failed on D-Day. Continued Nazi control over the bridge would allow the Germans to reinforce their defenses at Utah Beach, with supporting tanks and other heavy armor. But the 82nd Airborne’s success helped the allies in defeating the Germans on the Normandy beach.
This is a riveting, brilliantly researched account of one of the most overlooked yet heroic actions of WWII.
Elise Cooper: What do you want to say about Memorial Day?
James Donovan: Memorial Day is a time to reflect on those Americans who gave their lives to keep our country free. In writing this book I interviewed twelve men from the 82nd and thought what a great honor. By the time they made it back to England, after D-Day, they had 50% casualties: injured, missing, and dead. One company that originally had about 175 men returned with only 16 men. Memorial Day is not about the most recent war but about the past wars as well.
EC: Why the 82nd Airborne?
JD: It was a dream of mine to write a WWII book. The Airborne troops were considered elite Special Forces. Back then they did not really have Special Forces but had two elite parts of the Army, the Rangers and the Airborne. They were trained to a tee. They were given an assignment that lasted a week at the most and were sent back to regroup.
EC: What can you say about this mission?
JD: They were kept in the field for about 32 days. It was to seize and secure strategically important towns and bridges to keep German reinforcements out. Americans dropped two divisions of paratroopers behind the lines on Utah Beach on the French Coast. They were asked to take strategic towns, one of which was Ste-Mere-Eglise, that was controlled by the Germans. They also had to take two bridges to seal the Germans off from getting more men.
EC: Why were the gliders called in?
JD: They were sent in to take the La Fiere bridgehead on June 6th, 1944. They had to deal with the Germans who had machine guns, mortars, and anti-tank guns, basically well dug in. The paratrooper regiments were dropped all over because they lost their bearings. The idea with glider troops of 20 to 30 men per glider was that they could jump out as a unit. For the most part it worked. After WWII they were not used because they used helicopters.
EC: Describe the leaders Ridgway and Gavin?
JD: General Matthew Ridgway was raised army, went to West Point. He was very inspiring and looked like a Roman Emperor. His deputy commander, Lt. General James Gavin, never went to high school, joined the army when he was 17, and went to West Point with an 8th grade education. He knew a lot about paratroopers. He led by example, very soft spoken. Ridgway was respected but Gavin was loved. These commanders were the first to jump out of the planes to lead their men, instead of how most generals acted, miles from the front. There was an extraordinary collection of men.
EC: Was it a success?
JD: Germans had flooded all these fields. They had to jump in the Swamp Land where dozens of men drowned. Yet, they got the job done because of the leadership, extraordinary training, and courage. After this, Airborne men proved that they could do an astonishing job.
THANK YOU!!
