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First published 2025 by Cornell University Press

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Williams, Robert F. (Ph. D. in history), author.

Title: The airborne mafia : the paratroopers who shaped America’s Cold War army / Robert F. Williams.

Description: Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2025. | Series: Battlegrounds: Cornell studies in military history | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2024028895 (print) | LCCN 2024028896 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501779824 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781501779831 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501779848 (pdf)

Subjects: LCSH: United States. Army—Parachute troops—History—20th century. | United States. Army—Officers—History—20th century. | Organizational behavior—United States. | Airborne operations (Military science)—History—20th century.

Classification: LCC UG633 .W5676 2025 (print) | LCC UG633 (ebook) | DDC 356/.166097309045— dc23/eng/20240809

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024028895

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024028896

Cover image: U.S. Army photo by Gary l. Kieffer. Courtesy of National Archives Still Pictures Branch.

Cover design by David Rotstein