The first is what i guess can only be considered a rant, or at least some serious venting, in the tank destroyer board documentation from january 1945, given that i think it unlikely that the note would ever had made it to the person being talked about. Belton youngblood cooper cooper, belton youngblood, age 89, of birmingham, died may 26, 2007. His laments about shermans being no good against tigers and panthers are questionable, as his unit did not encounter tigers and panthers when he. Sign up for news about books, authors, and more from penguin random house. Police said nancy cooper was at the hospital thursday recovering from. Found deceased mo meshon cooper, 43, johnson county, 6. Fourth suspect held in connection with murder of daniel. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii, published in 1998. Aug 28, 2000 as a young ordnance lieutenant in the 3d armor division, it was belton cooper s job to travel with the combat units during the day and assist in coordinating the recovery, repair, and evacuation of the battledamaged tanks. Police identify man shot to death after playing tennis at tulsa park the investigation into cooper s murder is already getting attention from crews producing a national tv.
Losses of us sherman crew in ww2 sat at around 8% while infantry at %. Death traps the survival of an american armored division in. The fourth suspect, said to be a 48yearold man from realize road, barrackpore, was. View michael coopers profile on linkedin, the worlds largest professional community.
Death traps is a very good memoir by belton cooper. He saw a lot of battle damage on american tanks from german guns. The pershings delayed production weapons and warfare. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii is a 1998 memoir by belton y. Later, cooper recalled the experience in a book, death traps. Belton youngblood cooper october 4, 1917 may 26, 2007 served in the reserve. Belton coopers memoir of his world war ii service with the 3rd armored division in europe is a gem.
The survival of an american armored division in world war ii belton y. Aug 18, 2016 cooper s wife, nancy, was also injured as police say she fought to get gutting off of her husband. I would like to know why death traps by belton cooper is considered irrelevant. Doughty rn, gong y, cooperdehoff r, johnson j, scholz m. Gutting murder case moves closer to trial news the. Rants and death traps posted in the chieftains hatch.
Invariably, when this topic is raised in an online forum, someone will bring up the book death traps by belton cooper. Fbi spokeswoman bridget patton confirmed tuesday that the agency was investigating whether coopers death was a hate crime. Belton coopers description of the inadequacies of the m4 sherman tank and the superhuman efforts of maintenance crews to restore damaged ones to combat is very gripping. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii. Death traps the book the true saga of spearhead heroes of a different sort written by 3rd armored world war ii veteran belton cooper of birmingham, alabama, and first published in 1998, death traps has received wide acclaim in military circles. Cooper saw more of the war than most junior officers, and he writes about it better than almost. He was born in huntsville, alabama on october 4, 1917, son of the late jimmie lou youngblood cooper and george price cooper, jr. Coopers book, death traps about americas sherman tanks in wwii, and had brought my copy for him to. According to the probable cause statement, a man later identified by nancy cooper as gutting entered the coopers home through the back door wielding large knife around 7. Belton cooper was a mechanic during the war, and thus lacked a good overall perspective of the shermans performance. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii by benton y. Oct 18, 2014 rants and death traps posted in the chieftains hatch.
Michael cooper assistant production manager nestle purina. Rebecca cooper, a very pretty lady, full of southern charm, answered the door. It started with this press clipping in the san antonio light. Msu instructor charged with murder went to princeton, kept. For the same reason internet hobby historians love to rate the tiger ll as the greatest tank ever the m1 abrams is based off it dontcha know and routinely place rommel at the top of the list of greatest generals ever. Msu instructor charged with murder went to princeton, kept to.
I read this book immediately after reading spearhead. Sep 30, 2016 for the same reason internet hobby historians love to rate the tiger ll as the greatest tank ever the m1 abrams is based off it dontcha know and routinely place rommel at the top of the list of greatest generals ever. The technical inferiority of american to german armor in world war ii is well documented and very familiar to. Cooper is president of the herman williams company in birmingham. Dec 18, 2007 an important contribution to the history of world war ii. Jan 30, 2015 death traps and fury fury is a relentlessly grim world war ii movie, and as the source autobiography death traps makes clear, it should be. Cooper served as an ordnance liaison officer of the us 3rd armored division from the invasion of normandy until the end of the war. Jennifer cooper kansas city, ks has court records at. Patton was primarily responsible for delaying the development and production of the m26. Lacy park murder victim remembered as avid sportsman, family man. Coopers room, where he was confined to a wheelchair due to a leg broken from a household fall.
A fourth man is in custody as police continue their inquiries into the murder of 29yearold daniel cooper. Police said nancy cooper was at the hospital thursday recovering from nonlifethreatening injuries. Aug 23, 2016 msu instructor charged with murder went to princeton, kept to himself, colleagues say. His book reflects his frustrations at having to send young, undertrained tank crews out to almost certain death in the face of mark iv, mark v and mark vi german tanks. An important contribution to the history of world war ii. Davila ja, cabral hj, maskay mh, marcus r, yuan y, chisolm n, belton p, mckeithan l. Coopers experiences in the battle to defeat germany. Police identify man shot to death after playing tennis at tulsa park the investigation into coopers murder is already getting attention from crews producing a national tv. In his 1998 book death traps, belton cooper, who was a lieutenant in the 3rd armored division during world war ii, working as a liaison officer for the divisions armor repair units, made the claim that general george s. You can enhance belton coopers memory by upgrading beltons public record with words and pictures, signing beltons memory book, recording an audio memory or lighting a candle. Other names that jennifer uses includes jennifer harman. Read death traps the survival of an american armored division in world war ii by belton y. Particularly notable is his criticism of the sherman tank and ofgeneral patton. Cooper grew up in huntsville and attended the virginia military institute and the university of michigan.
The true saga of spearhead heroes of a different sort. And if he is irrelevant, then why would hunicutts books be considered relevant. The main theme of the book is that m4 sherman was, as the title implies, a death trap to the men that operated them. F, goodarzi mo, grallert h, grarup n, groop l, grove ml, gudnason v.
Death traps the survival of an american armored division. Death traps death traps is easily one of the bestknown memoirs of any us junior officer during world war ii, and certainly so for the us armored forces. Written by 3rd armored world war ii veteran belton cooper of birmingham. The book, commonly found, is wellwritten, an easy read, and provides good insight as to the thinkings and workings of a junior grade ordnance officer in a field unit.
The book relates coopers experiences during world war ii and puts forth an argument against the us armys use of the m4 sherman tank during the war. With a forward by popular historian stephen ambrose and the backing of a major publisher, death traps has become quite well known amongst ww2 history aficionados. Weigley, author of eisenhowers lieutenantscooper saw more of the war than most junior officers. He was a liaison lieutenant in the 3 rd armor division for the maintenance battalion. This was a heavy armored division that was the tip of the spear of the allied advance across europe. The book itself is called death traps and it refers to the thousands of crew members who died or were injured in sherman tanks because the tank was designed by a committee and it was no match for german panzers with far superior armour and firepower. Kidwells estranged daughter and a cousin told the kansas city star that coopers death was likely a hate crime because kidwell was an avowed white supremacist. Prosecutors say knifewielding msu instructor killed. Death traps the survival of an american armored division in world war ii, by belton y cooper. The technical inferiority of american to german armor in world war ii is well documented and very familiar to students of that conflict. Edward gutting is charged with murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of 66yearold marc cooper. Msu instructor charged with murder went to princeton, kept to himself, colleagues say. As a young ordnance lieutenant in the 3d armor division, it was belton coopers job to travel with the combat units during the day and assist in coordinating the recovery, repair, and evacuation of the battledamaged tanks. Death traps and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle.
I have never before been able to learn so much about mai. Kansas city, ks, is where jennifer cooper lives today. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii 9780891418146. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
Belton coopers book death traps is a good book about the sherman. When belton cooper was a young boy growing up in huntsville, he dreamed of building the worlds first unsinkable battleship. Jul 28, 20 please dont use the 5 m4s 1 panther myth. Lacy park murder victim remembered as avid sportsman. As a member of the 3rd armored division maintenance battalion, he had liaison duties that took him far and wide, so he saw more of the war than most junior officers, and he writes about it better than most anyone. Belton was an ordnance officer in the 3rd armored div or spearhead division. I have never before been able to learn so much about maintenance methods of an armored division, with precise details that underline the importance of the work, along with descriptions of how the job was done.
It keeps coming up in forum threads as people keep citing it, so i figured i may as well make my position clear in a more formal manner. Jennifer cooper kansas city, ks has court records at mylife. Jul 06, 2018 the fbi has opened a hate crime investigation into the stabbing death of a kansas woman whose relatives allege the suspect is a white supremacist. Coopers wife, nancy, was also injured as police say she fought to get gutting off of her husband. Death traps and fury fury is a relentlessly grim world war ii movie, and as the source autobiography death traps makes clear, it should be. See the complete profile on linkedin and discover michaels.