About The Roving Historian

Jim T. Broumley aka The Roving Historian

I was turned on to history as early as I can remember. My dad used to tell me stories about my relatives and their service in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. My uncles would return the favor and tell me stories about what my dad did in Korea. In my house growing up, we watched the television news every night; so I grew up with history as it happened, like Vietnam, the moon landings, and the assassinations of RFK and Martin Luther King. When we took those road trip vacations in the '60s we always went to several historic sites. I remember sitting in the back seat as we drove into Fort Sumner and my dad announcing "this is where Billy the Kid was killed" and proceeded to tell the story all over again.

1LT Jim Broumley at Fulda Germany

Now the particulars: I was born in Fort Worth, Texas but raised in the California desert. After earning a Bachelor's degree at Cal State Fresno, I served for ten years in the United States Army as a commissioned officer and helicopter pilot. That service included patrolling the East German Border with the 11th Armored Cavalry during the Cold War, working as a scout helicopter instructor pilot at Fort Rucker, Alabama, and serving as a full-time operations officer and company commander for the California National Guard at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Los Alamitos.

After I left the service, my wife Sheila and I owned and operated a successful computer consulting business in the Seattle area for about twenty years. When we were able, we went walkabout. That included getting my Master's degree in Applied History at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. I also put that knowledge of history to work as a high school history teacher. In 2011 I completed a lifelong goal of becoming a writer of history when I published my first book, "The Boldest Plan is the Best: The Combat History of the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion during WWII."  I've even tried my hand at writing some historical fiction.

My areas of interest are U.S. Military History and Western Frontier History. But this blog is called "The Roving Historian" for a reason. We like to travel to different places and study different subjects and different historical eras. So you just never know what you are going to find on the blog. I hope you'll check back often, follow our page on Facebook, or signup for our newsletter so you'll receive a notice when we post a new article.

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Book Trailer Video for The Boldest Plan is The Best

In WW2, the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion made the first combat jump in American airborne history during Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. The 509th, nicknamed "the Geronimos" and later "Gingerbread Men" for the stick figure on their unit patch, would stay an independent battalion for the rest of the war. They parachuted behind enemy lines at Salerno during the Avellino jump. They would also fight at Anzio, jump into Southern France during Operation Dragoon, and win a Presidential Unit Citation during the Battle of the Bulge. When they were disbanded during the Battle of the Bulge, there were only 55 Gingerbread Men left standing. "The Boldest Plan is the Best: The Combat History of the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion During WWII" by Jim Broumley tells their story.

Books by Jim T. Broumley

The Boldest Plan is the Best - The combat history of the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion WWII

The Bridge at El Djem - A Jack Bell WWII novel

The Avellino Jump - A Jack Bell WWII novel

The War in Venafro - A Jack Bell WWII novel

Anzio - A Jack Bell WWII novel

Operation Dragoon - A Jack Bell WWII novel