Paratroopers' Odyssey - A History of the 517th Parachute Combat Team

This section will contain a complete, online copy of the Paratroopers' Odyssey book, as published in 1985.  This is the "official" history of the unit, taken directly from the morning reports and other military records, as collected by Clark Archer, as well as from the first-hand accounts of the troopers (See Author's Preface). 

The original publication was "commissioned" by the 517 PRCT Association, and was complied and written by Clark L. Archer - Senior Editor, with help from William J. Lewis - Secretary/Treasurer.  Special mention should also be made to William F. "Monk" Huffman who did all the great maps, and Chris Graves, who did the illustrations.

Several hundred copies of the book were printed in 1985, but are now rare and difficult to find.  To help those doing research on the 517th, we are including here a complete online version of the original publication.  All the text, photos and maps are included as accurately as possible. 

Note:  A few sections are not yet included here:

Photo Essay:  photos are too small to work on the website
Statistics and Organization
Citations and Awards