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About the Author At the beginning of April 1945, with the end of WWII obviously only days away, the 5th Ranger Battalion settled into Reid, Austria, following its last mission. Lt. Col. Richard P. Sullivan, commanding officer of the 5th Ranger Bn. Gave Sgt. Henry S. Glassman the project to compose a history of the 5th Ranger Bn. In WWII. This was to be done using the After Action reports written up and forwarded to the army command after each Ranger mission. It must be entirely authentic, so that the surviving Rangers and their families could have a record to refer to in later years. It would also be sent to the families of Rangers killed in action and to former Rangers who were no longer in the outfit due to having been wounded in combat. A board of officers was appointed to review each chapter as it was completed and pass or reject it. All chapters were approved without changes. Many years later, because of constant requests for copies of the book by former Rangers and others, Lt. Col. Ronald Lane an officer on duty at the Pentagon in Virginia, requested permission to reprint the book, which was given. For the author, Ranger Glassman, the proudest event of the war was to be allowed to volunteer and be accepted into the Ranger organization. Now with the technology of 1999, a number of surviving Rangers of all six battalions are in touch via the Internet, on the "Old Guys Net", renewing contact with Rangers they haven't seen or heard from since the end of WWII, and we are meeting Rangers from other Battalions. Henry Glassman's granddaughter and her husband were proud to be a part of the project to post this book on the Internet for all interested parties. Hopefully by reading this account other granddaughters and grandsons will gain some insight into the history of the 5th Ranger Battalion and the forging of the Rangers in their lives. |
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