Edwin Raub military branch 82nd Airborne Division
During the Second World War, as a radio operator with the 82nd Airborne Division's 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment Raub participated in D-Day and Operation Market Garden. According to author Cornelius Ryan's best-selling account of the battle, A Bridge Too Far: "When tracer bullets began ripping through his canopy, Private Edwin Raub became so enraged that he deliberately side-slipped his chute so as to land next to the anti-aircraft gun. Without removing his harness, and dragging his parachute behind him, Raub rushed the Germans with his Tommy gun. He killed one, captured the others, and then, with plastic explosives destroyed the flak-gun barrels."A few days later during a German artillery barrage Pvt. Raub was severely burned on both of his hands when some gasoline cans near him exploded when hit; he later received two Purple Hearts. Raub was always humble about his wartime service and tended to downplay his efforts. In 1977 he told The Scranton Times, "I was in the paratroopers because it meant an additional $50 a month in pay. When I jumped from the plane, my main concern was just to get to the ground in one piece. Sure, I saw the shells' effects, but if I had had my choice, I wouldn't have landed right in the middle of the gun emplacement!"
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