The Day the Thunderbird Cried: Untold Stories of World War II

by David L. Israel

World War II comes alive through the eyes of combat infantrymen. From Anzio to the Dachau Concentration Camp, the reader shares moments of fear, shock, and grief, destroying the myths of the deniers while honoring the memories of The Righteous Among the Nations. These are the true stories told to me by the infantrymen who were at the wall in Dachau that historical day in 1945. 18 years have been spent in the research of this book. The Day the Thunderbird Cried primarily emphasizes the actions of the 45th Infantry Division, known as the Thunderbirds; as well as those in the 42nd, 99th, and 106th Infantry Division. World War II Historian, and author, David L Israel, entered the army in May 1945 in New York City. Took infantry basic training in August, Georgia, (Camp Gordon). Trained as a demolition man in Germany, and later transferred to the Military Intelligence outfit. When the war ended German prisoners of war were incarcerated in quarters that were formerly used to hold concentration camp prisoners. My unit was assigned to the Dachau concentration camp to interrogate and seek out high ranking War Criminals who tried to hide among the throngs of lower ranking German soldiers. I was the only American born member in my unit. When the GIs went into Dachau they were completely overcome by what they saw, heard and smelled. With tears in their eyes they wanted to apologize to these shapeless beings in front of their men, women and children. Their minds boiled over from the inhumanity. No one would ever be able to explain what they felt in those first few minutes of liberation. It was just too much for a human mind to accept, which is exactly why they cracked and rounded up the German guards who had perpetrated these unimaginable horrors. President Roosevelt did not even believe the intelligence reports he had been getting about the mass killings taking place in Europe at the hand of the Germans. In truth, no one could have believed that human beings could act against other human beings in such an inhuman way until seeing the horrors with their own eyes. When the GIs went into Dachau and saw what they saw, they cracked. Today, we face a different problem with Revisionists and Deniers, who for their own reasons spread stories about the Holocaust being nothing more than a myth. Seeing this with my own eyes at UC Davis, where speakers would show up on a weekly basis denying the Holocaust, prompted me to set down the facts as I had witnessed them. The most positive comments received on, The Day the Thunderbird Cried , came from combat veterans who often bought several books because they wanted all members of their families to know 'what it was all about,' but could not find their own words to describe it.

308 pages, Paperback

First published February 25, 2005

Reviews

[Kilian Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an excellent collection of short and emotion filled stories all about the common theme of the Holocaust. The stories may jump around a lot but stay true to the common theme. It also manages to combine the heroic stories of the liberation of the camps, while also retelling the tragic stories of what the troops discovered. Altogether the authors point was a good one but because of the lack of structure the book became a little confusing, but because of the detail of the individual stories it remains a must read for all history fans.

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

The day the the Thunderbird cried was a very good book. The book goes over many different stories of service men who where involved in world war 2. I would definitly recomend this book for any historian that enjoys hearing about the tragity. As a history enthusist I really enjoyed hearing the storys of those brave service men.

[Josh Grover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book! Full of information and stories that aren't as well known from the war. Great attention to detail was given to stories from Dachau. One of my favorite WW2 books I've read.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is very interesting but I was torn between 2 and 3 stars because there was much repetition and I would've liked more one on one stories re once the camps were liberated. It's written in a couple of styles from straight history stating to interview and just wasn't the best put together book ever but the content is still very interesting. I don't regret the time to read it but can think of other books I'd more highly recommend on the topic.

[Sam Fink · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a little redundant at times and not as god as others on the Thunderbirds. BUt the story is timeless and should never be forgotten.

[Donald Ball · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the author's heart was in the right place, the book jumps around between times and fails to lead us to climatic moment when the troops saw the horror of the Nazi death camps.