About The Book & Author


The Memoirs of Captain Richard M. Blackburn. Richard enlisted in the United States Army in 1942 and was assigned to the Army Air Corps after his Basic Training. After serving as a company clerk for approximately a year, then Sergeant Blackburn requested a transfer to the Infantry in order to attend Officer Candidate School. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant after graduation from OCS at Fort Benning, Georgia. On his 23rd Birthday, July 3, 1944, Blackburn sailed from Boston Harbor, destined for Normandy, France as an infantry replacement officer. After entering Normandy through the D-Day beach of Omaha, then 1st Lieutenant Blackburn was assigned as Executive Officer in Company A, 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division. From this point on, his life would be changed forever. Following the death of his company commander only one month after arriving in Normandy, Lieutenant Blackburn assumed command of his company. He fought in Normandy and Brittany, France, as well as in Germany. Wounded by enemy fire four times, he was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Combat Infantry Badge, European Campaign Ribbon with Three Battle Stars, WW II Victory Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Campaign of Service WW II Medal, Jubilee of Liberty Medal from Normandy, France, and the French Legion of Honor Medal.

CLICK HERE to contact Dave Blackburn to order "In The Company of Heroes".

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Hardcover with dust jacket = $29.99
Softcover with dust jacket = $19.99
e-book = $3.99

 

PFC Jerald W. (Jerry) Berry

was originally assigned as a rifleman in Company A, 3rd Battalion, 506th Airborne Infantry, 101st Airborne Division and became the Public Information Officer (PIO) for the Battalion shortly after its arrival in South Vietnam in October of 1967. His task as the Battalion Combat Photographer and Reporter was to chronicle the Battalion’s tour of duty in South Vietnam through pictures and newspaper articles for the period of October 1967 to October 3, 1968.

Berry was wounded at the beginning of the infamous Communist Tet Offensive of 1968 and received the Purple Heart Medal for his wounds in action. A wealth of photographs, newspaper stories, field interview notes, and personal diary entries came home with him from Vietnam and ultimately formed the basis for this book.

After completing his tour of duty in Vietnam, Berry returned home to continue his thirty-plus-year career with the Federal Government--the U.S. Forest Service & U.S. Army Corps of Engineers--retiring as a Staff Wildlife Biologist in 1997.
Jerry Berry (Webmaster) He is the author of numerous articles on the 3-506, as well as the books, "Psychological Warfare Leaflets of the Vietnam War”, "My Gift To You", "Twelve Days in May", and "In The Company of Heroes". He currently resides in Libby, Montana with his wife, Donna, and continues his dedication to the legacy of the 3-506 by maintaining two active Internet websites The Stand Alone Battalion and The Stand Alone Battalion 3-506 & TF 3-506 for his fellow Currahees and the members of Task Force 3-506th Units.