  THE 508th Connection
is the latest book by Zig Boroughs, himself once a member of
the 508th's HQ-HQ Company and who saw action in Holland, Belgium and
Germany.
Library of Congress # 2004113512
ISBN: 0-09720657-1-7
Published by the author.
NOTE: This book is being republished and
can be ordered by emailing, Zig's daughter, Helen Kellogg at
hbkellogg@gmail.com
Price: $23.99 for paperback; $34.99 for hardcover, plus
shipping. The book will be also be available in July/Aug 2013 at
Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. |
Book Reviews
Following his earlier hit The Devils Tale. Zig Boroughs has penned The 508th Connection. And it's another surefire hit.
Once again Boroughs has demonstrated his ability to weave together a fabric built on historic facts and personal experiences - his own and others as well. The 508th Connection is a highly entertaining read that belongs in the collection of anyone with a 508th Parachute Infantry connection or the library of any military buff.
Whether uproarious tales in the pubs or glorious feats on the battlefield, the stories in The 508th Connection all serve to bring the exploits of the men of the 508th FIR to life in Borough's own compelling style. Plan on spending many enjoyable hours with this entertaining book.
Richard J. O'Donnell
Jumpmaster of Web Site
www.508PIR.org ~ ~ ~ *** ~ ~ ~ Ralph (Zig) Boroughs has done more to preserve the history of the 508th PIR than anyone I know. In The 508th Connection. Boroughs enlightens, entertains and educates the reader about one of the finest airborne units in World War II.
Bill Nation
Editor of "News From the 508"
column in The Static Line ~ ~ ~ *** ~ ~ ~ Zig Boroughs' third book about the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, describes the many connections of the men with whom he served in WWII. We readers also make our own connections. We cannot truly be "embedded in the 508th", but in a sense we become an integral part of the paratrooper's lives, as the author fires our imaginations and our emotions.
Reader connections abound: We connect with the officers and FiCOs who truly lead. We connect with local people who risk their lives to save the lives of the troopers; We connect with the enemy prisoners of war, as they share Holy Communion with the troopers; Most of all we connect with the rambunctious paratroopers, relying on each other for survival and maintaining sanity with humor.
We expect the strongest connection to be among the men of 508th themselves, annealed in training, cemented in combat, confirmed in reunions, bound together in their recollections. Imagine the excitement of Joe Bonvillian in California, former jeep driver for Colonel Louis Mendez, when he saw his Colonel fifty years later on television.
Imagine the thrill of Bonvillian and Mendez, when through the efforts of the television network, they talked with each other by phone across the continent.
Dr. James Pence
Retired Professor of Communication,
University of North Carolina |
About the Author
The 508th Connection is Zig Boroughs' third book about the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. A Private's Eye View of World War II, was published in 1989. The Devil's Tale,
stories of the 508th Red Devils, was published in 1992.
As a member of the Enlisted Reserve Corps at The Citadel, Zig Boroughs witnessed a demonstration parachute jump by airborne soldiers. When inducted into the Army Boroughs immediately volunteered for the paratroopers.
After Basic training. Boroughs completed Parachute and Demolition training at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Boroughs arrived in England June 6,1944, which was D-Day of the Normandy invasion. He was assigned as a replacement to the 508th Parachute Infantry, taking the place of a Normandy casualty of war.
Zig Boroughs served throughout Operation Market Garden in Holland, the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium and in the Roer Valley of Germany with the Demolition Platoon of Regimental Headquarters Company, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
After V-E Day, Victory in Europe, Boroughs taught Algebra in a regimental school for his fellow paratroopers.
Boroughs was discharged at Fort Bragg, North Carolina on November 7, 1945. The next day he accepted a job as teacher of math and science and coach of the boys' and girls' basketball teams at his Alma Mater, Pickens High School.
At the conclusion of the school year. Boroughs interrupted his teaching to finish his Bachelor's degree.
Later Boroughs served twelve years as a Baptist minister. He earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree. Master of Science Education degree and Doctor of Science Education
degree. He is retired from Lander University, where he taught in the School of Education for twenty-two years.
Zig Boroughs and his wife live in Pickens, South Carolina.
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