Currahee: A Screaming Eagle at Normandy

Meet Private Burgett, a Screaming Eagle who jumped with that famed division at Normandy and survived to write the tale. Currahee -- the battle cry and motto of his regiment -- begins with jump training and explodes in drama as the men are parachuted into Normandy. Burgett remembers the day: the men weighted down with equipment like Santa Clauses of death; his solitary walk across a field strewn with the bloated, stinking bodies of friend and foe alike. His almost dispassionate tone hints at the psychological defenses that enabled these men to do their duty and -- for some of them -- survive intact.