History Camp Discussions
Thursday,  January 2, 2025 @ 8 pm Eastern
Ben Powers
Never A Dull Moment: The 80th Airborne Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion in World War II

From the Publisher:

Most modern books and films glamorize World War II airborne soldiers as troopers leaping into the night to descend by parachute into combat. Much less often considered is the role of glider forces. Glider troops lacked the panache and special distinctions of paratroopers, despite their critical role in airborne warfare. Likewise, World War II ground combat is characterized as a combined arms fight of infantry and armor, backed up with field artillery; by comparison the role played by specialized, supporting arms has received scant attention.

The 80th AAA Battalion was a glider outfit, providing antiaircraft defense and antitank capability to the division’s three infantry regiments as battlefield conditions dictated. Elements of the battalion fought in Italy, Normandy, Holland and the Battle of the Bulge, making combat glider assaults during both Operation Neptune and Operation Market Garden. The exploits of the men of the 80th tend to be obscured as commanders maneuvered the batteries wherever their special skills were needed on the battlefield, with no regiment to call a permanent home.

The 80th AAA battalion was a hybrid unit. While its members were considered Coast Artillery (the branch responsible for defending ground formations from air attack during WWII), they fought alongside parachute and glider infantry, most often providing direct fire, anti-armor support with 57mm/6 pounder cannons. While field artillery, both parachute and glider, established their gunlines some distance behind infantry units to provide indirect fire support, the men of the 80th fought face to face with the enemy, alongside their infantry brothers.

Reviews:

“Just when you thought everything about the 82nd Airborne Division in World War II had been published, author Ben Powers delivers Never a Dull Moment, The 80th Airborne Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion in World War II. Excellently researched and written, this powerful book fills a critical void about a lesser known, but so very important unit in the 82nd.”
Colonel Mark C. “Plug” Vlahos, USAF-Retired, USAAF Troop Carrier and Glider Operations Historian and Author

“The 80th AAA Battalion has lacked a detailed, personalized unit history for some time. Ben Powers has filled that historical gap in fine fashion. Meticulously researched, Never a Dull Moment takes the reader through the development, manning and combat deployments of one of the 82nd Airborne Division’s critical subunits. In a few scant years, the 80th built up an enviable combat record, and Powers crafts that record into a highly readable, well-documented story, and does it using the words of the men that served in that fine unit.”
Joe Muccia, Marine combat veteran and co-author of “Cry Havoc: An Untold Story of Rangers at War”

“Ben Powers’s Never a Dull Moment delivers a comprehensive WWII history of the 80th Airborne Anti-Aircraft Battalion. These unsung glider-men of the famed 82nd Airborne punched above their weight with heavy machine guns and anti-tank guns to make an indelible contribution to the division’s storied combat record. Powers’s book carries the reader along with the 80th on their courageous odyssey from training in the States through the invasions of Sicily, Italy, Normandy, Holland and the final battles in Germany. Never a Dull Moment is an overdue exploration of an airborne unit whose role has too often been overlooked.”
James M. Fenelon, author of “Four Hours of Fury” and “Angels Against the Sun”

“Powers comes across as the ideal writer for this book. His enthusiasm for the topic, and meticulous attention to detail, is evident throughout, with care taken to name every division, group, and battalion that the 80th encounters or works with on joint operations.”
The Journal of America’s Military Past

“Never a Dull Moment” offers a captivating and informative account of the 80th AAA Battalion’s experiences during World War II. Through vivid storytelling and meticulous research, Ben Powers brings to life the unique challenges, triumphs, and sacrifices of these brave soldiers. By highlighting the often-overlooked contributions of glider-borne units, Powers sheds light on a crucial aspect of the Allied war effort.”
ARGunners.com

“The book is very easy to read in a flowing narrative and has mountains of first person observations that explain why soldiers do what they do and how they do it. This is a valuable narration of an important but largely unrecognized cog in the 82nd’s story.”
Col (Ret) Keith M. Nightingale

Join us at HistoryCamp.org/discussions for this free event and watch replays of earlier interviews, presentations, and discussions.