WWII 82nd - Eugene Levine - Grey Beret Association

HomeWWII 82nd - Eugene Levine

Eugene Levine
11 January 1925 - 28 July 2017

GBA-Eugene-Levine-One_Day_At_Normandy_Sent_Ripples_Across_Two_Veterans_Lives.png

Corporal Eugene Levine, US Army Air Force

WWII Service Summary (mostly taken from his first-person account written on 11 Aug 2003)

Entered the Army Air Forces in 1943, completing basic training and weather observer training
In April 1944, shipped to England and assigned to the 21st Weather Squadron, which was activated in support of Army ground units as part of the European continent invasion buildup
One of two 21st Weather Squadron weather observers assigned to 9th Tactical Air Command's 11th Air Support Party (ASP) in support of the 82nd Airborne Division
- The second Observer, S/Sgt Bob Dodson, infiltrated via parachute
- Two additional 21st Weather Squadron Observers were assigned to support the 101st Airborne Division
- The Air Support Parties provided locations of enemy targets and weather from forward locations to close air support aircraft
Trained for 6 weeks on WACO glider operations in England earning the glider badge
- In addition to his weather duties, due to his rank, Corporal Levine was assigned as the glider commander and assisted with navigation, equipped with photos, to find the landing zone after the glider was released from the tow plane
Well after most of the 82nd and the first ASP landed by parachute, Corporal Levine and his glider-borne ASP infiltrated France as part of Mission ELMIRA on the evening of D-Day 6 Jun 44 via two gliders: one with a jeep, the other with a radio kit trailer
Landing safely in a field about 1.5 miles from Ste Mere Eglise, Corporal Levine attended to a wounded soldier from a nearby crashed glider while his teammate looked for the ASP glider with the jeep, only to find it was believed to have been shot down over Utah beach
After obtaining a jeep from a MP, Corporal Levine’s team headed to the 82nd HQ where the radio was used after some tinkering to support the 82nd’s Commander, Major General Ridgeway
Received Bronze Star for reporting first weather observation from France at 11pm, 6 Jun 44
Early on 7 Jun 44, Corporal Levine was engaged in a battle near St. Mere Eglise with German troops retreating from the coast
- Levine said it lasted only 15 minutes, but he survived unscathed
Was nearly killed when a Luftwaffe plane saw his ceilometer light and dropped a bomb nearby
- Again, he survived unscathed
Continued to take and transmit weather observations till mid-July, sometimes under sniper and artillery fire, when the 82nd Airborne Division was relieved and sent back to England
Corporal Levine was not sent back to England with the 82nd but was reassigned within the 21st Weather Squadron to 1st Army HQ and it’s ASP which he stayed a part of, moving through France, Belgium and into Germany until the end of the way in May 1945
Assigned to Fritzlar Airbase near Kassel, Germany where he served until returning home for discharge on Dec 4, 1945

CG-4A "Waco" Glider on display at the Airborne Museum in Sainte Mere Eglise, Normandy, France

Source/Credit:

Airborne Museum, Sainte Mere Eglise

https://airborne-museum.org/en/collection/the-waco-glider/

Visit Eugene Levine's Find a Grave site here.

The story of WWII Weather Gliderman

Eugene Levine

In his own words (for pdf text only version click here)

"I entered the U.S. Army in April 1943.

After receiving basic military training in Fort Dix and Atlantic City, New Jersey, I was sent to Chanute Field, Illinois, operated by the U.S. Army Air Corps for training as a military weather observer.

On April 6, 1944 I left for England from New York City on the SS Aquitania, a former lavish passenger ship owned by the Cunard Line, converted into a troopship for the U.S. Army.

The Atlantic crossing was still dangerous at that time because of German submarines.

But since the Aquitania was fast and could outrun submarines we didn't travel in a convoy nor did we have to zigzag to avoid presenting an easy target for subs.

The actual crossing took less than 7 days but another 2 days had to be added to the trip for loading and unloading.

As we approached the United Kingdom we were told that we were part of the buildup for the invasion of Europe.

No further details were given and we all had our own scenarios of how the invasion would take place.

The troopship landed in Glasgow, Scotland on 15 April 1944."

Aquitania painted grey during World War II.

Photo Source/Credit:

Imperial War Museum, Royal Navy official photographer, Public Domain

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205022818

WWII 9th Air Force Patch

Graphic Source/Credit:

Public Domain

"From there those of us on the troopship in the Air Corps were taken by rail to Lakenheath AFB in east central England.

I remained there for about three days in which we given our assignments.

The cushiest assignment was to be stationed in the weather department, made up of observers and forecasters, of an 8th Air Force base.

The 8th Air Force was responsible for strategic bombing with large planes---B17, B24---and an assignment at one of those bases was almost like being in the States.

The 9th Air Force was responsible for fighter planes, and the 9th Tactical Air Command (TAC) was the unit that was to give close-up bombing and strafing support to infantry divisions, somewhat like an artillery unit, thus, their bases were to be set up close to the front.

A component of 9th TAC was the Air Support Party made up of radiomen and weather observers whose job it was to provide linkage between the infantry division and 9th TAC.

The air support party was attached to the infantry division and served, essentially, as artillery spotters, informing 9th TAC of targets that needed to be strafed or bombed, giving exact locations and weather conditions.

There were 12 air support parties, assigned to the infantry divisions that would lead the invasion of Europe, including the five divisions that would spearhead the invasion by landing in France on D-Day, the day the invasion of Europe would begin.

These divisions were the 1st, 4th, 29th, 82nd Airborne and the 101st Airborne."

"When we were given our assignments I learned that I was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division.

On 16 April, 1944 I was sent to the headquarters of the 82nd Division which was located in a park, called Braunstone Park, in Leicester, England.

There I joined up with eight members of two air support parties that were assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division.

The eight air support party personnel consisted of two weather observers, five radiomen, and a driver.

I was assigned to gliders while the other observer was assigned to the paratroops and would land on D-Day in a parachute."

82nd Airborne Division Patch

Graphic Source/Credit:

Public Domain

WACO CG-4A Military Glider

Graphic Source/Credit:

Remix of a graphic from Wikimedia Commons User: Kaboldy

"For the next six weeks I took intensive training in loading and tying down equipment in gliders for which I received the glider badge.

We were introduced to the American made CG4A Waco glider, which was primarily used to carry equipment.

The CG4A was made of canvas on a metal frame and, if used as a personnel transport which it rarely was, could carry about 10 soldiers plus two glider pilots.

The other type of glider was the larger, British made Horsa glider, which was primarily used to carry personnel.

Constructed of plywood it could carry up to 30 soldiers plus the two glider pilots.

It was known as the "flying coffin" because it was difficult to handle and easy to crash and when it crashed it splintered into small pieces that acted like artillery fragments."

* * * * *

Ed. Note ~

Here are some great links to YouTube videos about the CG-4A Glider:

1.  Recognition of the CG-4A Glider

Official training film TF I-3364 produced for the War Department by the First Motion Picture Unit U.S. Army Air Forces. Uses stills and animated diagrams to show the main recognition features of the CG-4A Glider. Includes motion picture film of gliders under tow by Lockheed Hudsons, DC-3 and DC-4 aircraft in single and multiple tow configuration. Shots of wheel jettisons and gliders landing in fields and water.

Credit/Source:

AWM Collection on YouTube

2.  The Allied Assault Gliders in WWII - Airspeed Horsa and Waco CG-4

History of the most numerous allied gliders in WWII the Airpseed Horsa and the Waco CG-4.

Credit/Source:

Look in the Past on YouTube

"Learning how to properly load the CG4A was important for me since we were told that in our glider mission we would be transporting a very important piece of equipment---a large VHF radio transmitter that would be mounted in a jeep trailer.

This precious transmitter, using the latest electronics, would provide communications between 82nd Headquarters and the fighter-bombers of 9th TAC.

The transmitter and the trailer would be loaded into the glider in which I would be located, and a jeep would be loaded in another CG4A glider, and, according to the plans (which like many well-made plans would not work) the two gliders were supposed to land close to each other and after the gliders were unloaded the jeep would pull the radio transmitter to wherever the 82nd Division Headquarters would be established on D-Day."

* * * * *

Ed. Note ~

Here's a great video on Gliders of D-Day taken at the Airborne Museum in Sainte Mere Eglise

AvWeb Normandy Visit: Gliders of D Day

Source/Credit:
AVweb on YouTube

Loading Reference from the Pilot Training Manual for the CG-4A Glider

Graphic Source/Credit:

US Army Air Force, Public Domain

A C-47 towing a CG-4A glider

Photo Source/Credit:

US Army Air Force, Public Domain

"Also included in the glider training were several flights in a glider in which the gliders were towed by the C47 (DC3) transport planes.

I enjoyed the flights since being in a glider while it was being towed felt like floating in air.

The six weeks at Braunstone Park passed very quickly and pleasantly.

The food we were served was quite good and our evenings were free and we had access to jeeps so we drove to a nearby town, Coalville where we were adopted by the residents.

We spent many a free evening in the local pub drinking numerous pints of warm British beer.

Our glider training ended on 28 May 1944."

* * * * *

Ed. Note ~

Here's a great video on showing an Airborne Assault with both Paratroopers and Gliders, that includes interior shots of gliders in flight

Waco CG-4 Gliders, C-47s, and Jumpers

Well-shot AAF footage probably depicts training in North Africa in early 1943 with paratroopers, CG-4A gliders, and C-47s in preparation for the July 1943 invasion of Sicily.

Source/Credit:
airailimages on YouTube

"Several of us acquired girl friends. Mine was a 16 year old (I was 19 years of age), blond and pretty, who had a thick Midlands British accent, and was fun to be with.

I also had an overnight pass to London, which wasn't very enjoyable since the night I was there an air raid took place.

Although I didn't hear any bombs fall, anti-aircraft guns were being fired as German planes flew by and all the pubs shut down even earlier than their usual 10PM closing.

Also a lot of buildings in London were severely damaged by previous air raids, which made a depressing sight.

The only other time I ran into a German air raid in England was one night driving back from Coalville to Braunstone Park when suddenly the sky over Leicester in the distance was lit up with searchlights and I could hear occasional explosions as bombs fell and anti-aircraft guns were fired.

We were told that the mission we had been training for was imminent. We packed up and left Braunstone Park in jeeps and trucks with all our equipment without saying goodbye to our Braunstone friends on 30 May."

82nd Airborne Quonset huts at Braunstone Park, near Leicester

Photo Source/Credit:

The Friends of Braunstone Hall on Facebook

Glider troops in training

Photo Source/Credit:

SPECIAL FORCES HISTORY - The CG-4A Waco Glider

By Troy Sacquety, PHD (From Veritas, Vol 3. No. 2, 2007

"We drove south to Greenham Common AFB, where we had taken some of our glider training, and where we now were put in total isolation for security reasons.

For the next week we intensively trained for our glider landing on D-Day, which we were told, would take place on 5 June. The D-Day invasion was to take place on the beaches of Normandy, France between Caen and the Cotentin Peninsular.

The mission of the 82nd ABN Div. was to land behind the beach code-named Utah, which was to be invaded by the 4th Infantry Division and capture the city of Ste. Mere Eglise, located about six miles inland from Utah Beach.

The men of the 82nd would drop behind Utah Beach in parachutes and in gliders beginning shortly after midnight on D-Day with a drop of a small group of paratroopers, known as pathfinders, who would light up the landing areas for those who would follow."

"The glider landings were divided into six missions with the first one taking off from its airbase at 1 AM and land behind the German lines guarding Utah Beach at about 3:30 AM well before the beach landings which were to begin at 6 AM.

Our two air support parties were assigned to two separate glider missions: One was assigned to the 1 AM mission and mine---the 11th Air Support Party--- was assigned to the mission code-named Elmira that would take off from Greenham Common Airbase at 6 PM in the evening of D-Day."

Operation NEPTUNE Assault Area with highlights showing Utah Beach, the town of Ste-Mere-Eglise and LZ "W," the designated LZ for the Gliders in the Elmira mission flown by the 438th Troop Carrier Group's 88th Troop Carrier Squadron, which flew Serial 31 of the mission. Serial 31 is the serial Corporal Levine and his driver were in, flying in two (2) separate CG-4A "Waco" gliders - One with the jeep, driver and remainder of the Air Support Party, and one with the trailer, Corporal Levine and his 82nd Airborne "bodyguard."

Photo Source/Credit:

USAF Air Mobility Command Museum

1943 Willys Jeep With Trailer

Source/Credit:

Silodrome Gasoline Culture

"In our mission were the two gliders, mine with the VHF transmitter and the other with the jeep, which were supposed to land close to each other so that the jeep could tow the transmitter.

We were assigned to the 6 PM mission so that we would land in daylight (England was using double-daylight saving time and it was the period of longest daylight hours) which would make it easier to safely unload the precious transmitter.

The landing area for the gliders was the hedgerow country of Normandy, small fields used for agriculture that were divided by very dense and almost impenetrable hedges and trees.

If a glider smashed into this vegetation when it landed it was usually badly damaged or demolished."

"On June 4th we loaded the two Waco gliders, mine with the transmitter mounted in a trailer, and the other with a jeep to pull the trailer.

I was given aerial photographs of the field that our two gliders were assigned to land in since I was to serve as the "navigator" who would find our assigned landing area after we were cut loose from our C47 tow plane.

Located about a mile and a half southwest of Ste. Maire Eglise it looked fairly small, and the hedgerows surrounding it were ominous."

WWII Signal Corps photo captioned, “One of the secrets which made it possible for Allied airborne forces to overrun the rear of the German lines on D-Day at Normandy is revealed in this picture of ‘dry-run’ rehearsal in England. Taken from the U.S. Army-produced film, ‘D-Day Minus One’...this scene reveals how Jeeps rode to the battlefields in a glider!”

Source/Credit:

https://www.militarytrader.com

A wrecked CG-4A glider in a Normandy field near St. Mere Eglise fell victim to “Rommel’s Asparagus” — posts in the ground to destroy landing gliders and their cargo.

Source/Credit:

Warfare History Network

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/glider-pilots-no-engines-no-parachutes-no-second-chances/

"Also, in some of the fields "Rommel's asparagus" had been installed by the Germans as a defense against the gliders.

These were tall metal rods planted in the ground to form hazardous barriers to gliders attempting to land."

"On the evening of June 4th, which was on Sunday, we were instructed to prepare a simple will giving instructions about the disposition of our "estate" in case we didn't survive the landing (the casualty rate was estimated to be 35%, but actually for the glider landings it was over 50%).

Since we were too excited to sleep we listened to the radio for news of the invasion. At midnight we were told that the invasion would be postponed from June 5 to June 6 because of bad weather in the English Channel area consisting of heavy rain and high winds.

As we finally crawled into bed in the early morning of June 5 we thought about the poor GIs in the infantry divisions that were to make the beach landings and who were being bounced around on the landing craft in the rough waters of the English Channel for a whole extra day.

That was one time that I was grateful that the transportation for my participation in the D-Day invasion was a glider."

General Dwight D. Eisenhower's Order of the Day (1944)

This order was issued by Gen Dwight D. Eisenhower to encourage soldiers taking part in the D-Day invasion.

Source/Credit:

National Archives

D-day statement to soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force, 6/44

Glider troops loaded and ready for their flight

Source/Credit:

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/glider-pilots-no-engines-no-parachutes-no-second-chances/

Normandy Invasion Graphic

Source/Credit:

National Museum of the United States Air Force

"At 1 AM on 6 June the 82nd Division air support party assigned to the 1 AM mission left for Normandy.

We spent the day listening for reports from the invasion area.

We had no information on the status of those who dropped into Normandy before the beach landings began, but we did hear disturbing news about the difficulties at Omaha Beach, the beach just east of Utah Beach.

Actually, the landings on Utah Beach, the beach behind which we were to land seemed to be going well for the 4th Division, which was a major relief for us.

At 4 PM on 6 June we marched to our gliders, armed with our weapons and field rations for a few days. I also carried 4 hand grenades taped to my backpack straps.

The backpack contained my mobile and somewhat miniaturized weather instruments to measure temperature and dew point, barometric pressure, and wind direction and intensity.

In addition to the transmitter my glider consisted of the two glider pilots whom I met for the first time when we got ready to take off for Normandy, and a paratrooper from the 82nd Div., also new to me, who was to serve as my "bodyguard".

With a rank of corporal I was elected to be in charge of the glider as well as the "navigator" since I held the highest rank on the ground (the glider pilots had the rank of warrant officers when we were in the air, but reverted to private on the ground)."

U.S. Army Air Forces Douglas C-47A Skytrain (43-15174 in front) from the 88th Troop Carrier Squadron, 438th Troop Carrier Group, 53rd Troop Carrier Wing, 9th Troop Carrier Command, tow Waco CG-4A gliders during the invasion of France in June 1944.

Source/Credit:

U.S. Air Force Photo via Wikipedia

The Elmira mission was flown by the 435th, 436th, 437th and 438th Troop Carrier Groups. The 438th's 88th Troop Carrier Squadron flew Serial 31 of the mission. Serial 31 is the serial Corporal Levine and his driver were in, flying in two (2) separate CG-4A "Waco" gliders - One with the jeep, driver and remainder of the Air Support Party, and one with the trailer, Corporal Levine and his 82nd Airborne "bodyguard."

Source/Credit:

National WWII Glider Pilots Association

Also, reference the 438th Troop Carrier Group

Beginning in March of 1944, the 438th Troop Carrier Group flew Douglas C-47 Skytrains out of Greenham Common with the following Troop Carrier squadron fuselage codes:

87th Troop Carrier Squadron (3X)

88th Troop Carrier Squadron (M2)

89th Troop Carrier Squadron (4U)

90th Troop Carrier Squadron (Q7)

94th Troop Carrier Squadron (D8)

The 438th was a group of Ninth Air Force's 53rd Troop Carrier Wing of IX Troop Carrier Command.

"At around 6 PM we were lifted into the air by a towline attached to a C47 two-engine plane.

The glider carrying our jeep and our driver took off just before we did.

Flying at several thousand feet above the Channel the sensation was rather pleasant, like floating in a kite, although my "bodyguard" did get airsick and he grumbled a lot about being in a glider since he was a paratrooper trained to jump out of planes.

As we approached the Normandy coastline after being towed for about two hours we could see the many ships and landing craft in the water as well as occasional bursts from the guns of our cruisers and battleships.

As we flew over the beach I started to look for our landing field.

About two miles inland a few bullets came whizzing through the canvas skin of the glider from German ack-ack guns, but, fortunately, no one was hit.

It was at that point that the glider pilots told me to quickly locate our landing field since our C47 tow plane was about to cut us loose.

I looked down, compared the terrain to the aerial photographs, but for the life of me couldn't see anything that looked like our designated landing field.

In fact, the only field that had any resemblance to the photograph was packed with gliders from the 1 AM mission, and some of them had crashed on landing and their parts were scattered over many fields.

Finally, the pilot of the C47 tow plane indicated that he couldn't tow us any longer and we were let loose to glide down.

During our downward glide I held my breath expecting a crash landing, but the pilots, using maximum skill, landed us intact in a field that from the air looked no bigger than a postage stamp but included several other gliders including a big Horsa that was smashed up.

Our glider skid across a very narrow open patch of the field and was stopped just a few feet from the hedgerow that bordered it.

We quickly exited our glider and looked around for the glider with the jeep, but it was nowhere to be found.

In the difficulties in trying to find the assigned landing field and then making an accurate glider landing it would have been a miracle for the two gliders to land in close proximity."

C-47s and gliders fly overhead, while gliders litter a Normandy field.

Source/Credit:

National Museum of the United States Air Force

Partial list of aircraft in Serial 31 of Mission ELMIRA

Source/Credit:

http://www.6juin1944.com/assaut/aeropus/en_page.php?page=s31

"We later found out that the glider with the jeep had actually been shot down near Utah Beach killing both glider pilots and seriously injuring our driver who when found the day after D-Day was shipped back to England for extensive medical care."

(Ed Note: The shooting down of a Glider from Serial 31 on the ELMIRA mission is unconfirmed, but there was a C-47 shot down on that mission.

As you can see from the graphic, Chalk #14, C-47 42-92894 flown by 2Lt Samuel S. Cromie, towing a CG-4A Glider piloted by F/O Clark was lost on the mission.

A highly detailed and truly excellent first person account from the Navigator on that flight, 2Lt Leonard Baer, can be seen HERE.)

"Without a vehicle to pull the transmitter we left it in the glider and jumped into the ditch under the thick hedgerow that surrounded the field in order to plan our next steps.

The glider pilots, reverting to privates, grabbed their Garand rifles and took off to "find the war". The bodyguard also took off to find a vehicle to pull the transmitter.  I stayed to watch the transmitter.

Although by then it was almost 9:30 PM it was still quite light because of double daylight savings time and the northern latitude we were in.  The weather was good but there was lots of smoke around and noise from artillery and small arms.

While waiting I inspected the damaged Horsa and discovered an 82nd gliderman lying among the ruins.  He was still alive, but with a very damaged leg that looked completely crushed.  He said he was waiting for the medics to return to take him to a field medical unit.  They had already picked up the other Horsa passengers who were injured or killed and had given him a strong dose of painkillers."

Two CG-4A Waco Gliders and a Horsa Glider in a Normandy field on D-Day

Source/Credit:

National WWII Glider Pilots Association

CG-4A "Waco" Glider and cows in a Normandy field

Source/Credit:

Airborne Museum, Sainte Mere Eglise

https://airborne-museum.org/en/collection/the-waco-glider/

"While I was talking to him I noticed that an elderly French woman had entered the field slowly driving a little cart filled with several large cans that was pulled by a very small horse.

As she came close to where I was standing I told her, using my knowledge of the French language that I learned in school, that the soldier next to the smashed glider was badly injured and needed medical care (Il est blesse, I said).

I was very happy that she seemed to understand what I was saying. Then, I explained that the invasion had begun which would liberate France.

This made her very happy and she offered to move the wounded soldier in her cart. I told her it would be best to leave him for the medics, and, then I asked her what she was doing with the cart. She said she was looking for her cows so that she could milk them.

That was very sad since many cows and other livestock were killed during the invasion, and, I've always wondered if she found any of hers alive. But the amazing thing was that this lovely old lady, who looked very strong and determined, appeared to be oblivious to all the mayhem that was taking place around her and completely unafraid of the dangers."

"As I was talking to the milk-cart lady my bodyguard drove up in a jeep with two other paratroopers. He borrowed the jeep from an 82nd Division military policeman who was directing traffic on the road to Ste. Mere Eglise. We quickly hooked up the trailer to the jeep and drove to the assembly area for the 82nd Division Headquarters located on the outskirts of Ste. Mere Eglise.

There I learned that the other weather observer, who landed by parachute, was missing. He was found two days after D-Day in a medical aid station with both of his legs broken when he landed.  Like our jeep driver, he was shipped back to England and then to the USA for medical care."

(Ed Note: This is inaccurate. From his first person account, we know that S/Sgt Bob Dodson, the USAAF Weather Observer who jumped in with the 82nd, injured his knee on landing, but continued to soldier on for quite a while before visiting an aid station. He also returned to the 21st Weather Squadron and worked in the motor pool there until his eventual return to the USA after the war.)

"Thus, I became the sole weather observer for the 82nd Division during the Division’s operations in Normandy. In fact, I became the sole weather observer in Normandy since the weather observer assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, Warren Wolfe, was killed during the landing of his glider."

(Ed Note: Wolf was actually captured and spent the remainder of the war as a POW. He also stayed in the Army, serving in both Korea and Vietnam. See his page HERE for more details.)

USAAF Weather Observer S/Sgt Bob Dodson had never jumped before - His first jump was into combat in Normandy with the 82nd Airborne Division - We believe he jumped with the 505th PIR, but haven't been able to lock down the details to date.

USAAF Weather Observer Corporal Warren Wolf rode a glider into Normandy with the 101st Airborne Division, was captured and spent the remainder of the war as a POW

Major General Matthew Ridgeway: D-Day 82nd Airborne Division Commander

(photo of Major General Ridgeway in Sicily in 1943)

Major General Matthew Ridgeway wore this jacket when he jumped with his 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers on the night of June 5-6, 1944. Stars were later added to the shoulders when he was promoted to lieutenant general.

General Ridgeway led airborne forces throughout World War II. He planned and led the airborne invasion of Sicily, commanded the 82nd Airborne Division during D-Day, and led the 18th Airborne Corps.

During the Korean War, General Ridgeway succeeded General Douglas MacArthur in commanding United Nations forces. In 1953, General Ridgeway became the US Army Chief of Staff and retired in 1955.

Source/Credit:

National Museum of the United States Air Force

"At the assembly point I was startled to see General Matthew Ridgeway, commanding general of the 82nd, in full control of the situation.

He was very concerned about the lack of communications at the headquarters since a number of the 82nd's own radio Communications Company had been killed or injured in the glider landings.

He asked if we could use our transmitter for ground-to-ground communications as well as ground to air.

Our air support party radio technician was able to find the proper crystal for the needed radio frequency and, thus, our transmitter made it possible for the first major communication linkage to be made between the 82nd Division and General Eisenhower’s headquarters back in Portsmouth, England.

I also used the transmitter to send out the first weather report from the Ste. Mere Eglise area at about 11 PM on D-Day for which I later was awarded the Bronze Star Medal."

"At close to midnight of my very eventful D-Day we were told to expect an attack by the German troops who were being pushed inland from Utah Beach towards our position which was straddling a main road from the coast, less than a mile east of Ste. Mere Eglise.

One regiment of the 82nd Division was in Ste. Mere Eglise, which, along with Bayeaux, were the first cities in Normandy to be captured by American troops on 6 June.

The one hundred or so of us in the assembly area were spread out along both sides of the road. Although I was very tired from the excitement of D-Day, the thought of meeting up with German soldiers kept my adrenaline running.

At about 2 AM of June 7, among the sounds of sporadic rifle and artillery fire we could hear the roar of trucks. At first we thought it was the sound of tanks but were relieved when the old timers who knew their sounds told us that it was trucks and not tanks.

Ten minutes later as we crouched along the side of the road we saw the first truck appear, a personnel carrier filled with German soldiers. We all let loose with a barrage of rifle, machine gun and mortar fire which brought the lead truck to a halt and the passengers leaping out in all directions with their arms up in the air to surrender. There were six additional truckloads of Germans and all surrendered within minutes as we kept up our lethal gunfire.

My career as an infantryman was over in 15 minutes.

German casualties were 36 dead and 20 wounded. 200 additional surrendered unhurt. Our side didn't get a scratch.

As it turned out many of the "soldiers" we captured were actually Ukrainian prisoners of war who volunteered to work for the Germans on the fortifications of the Normandy beaches.

Since some of them had planted "Rommel's asparagus" which killed some of my fellow glidermen I didn't shed any tears for those who were killed in our ambush."

American soldiers on the street of Sainte-Mere-Eglise, June 7, 1944

Credit/Source:

Battle of Sainte-Mere-Eglise by Maxim Chornyl

War-Documentary

Picture taken in Cherbourg after the liberation - June 1944

Credit/Source:

LIFE Magazine Archives - Bob Landry Photographer WWP-PD

World War Pictures on Facebook

"During my six weeks with the air support party with the 82nd Airborne Division, I had several opportunities to meet with General Ridgeway, who referred to me as "his weatherman."

General Ridgeway was a very intelligent man and a fine leader who was always concerned about the welfare of his troops. Since I was the only weather observer with the air support party I was kept very busy making weather observations around the clock and transmitting them to 9th TAC.

During this time the 82nd was being used as a regular infantry division in the campaign to capture Cherbourg and drive out the Germans from the Cotentin Peninsular. I took my observations very close to the front so I had to do a little dodging of sniper bullets and artillery shells.

Occasionally I had to take cloud height measurements at night by shining a large searchlight straight up until the beam of light hit a cloud. Then using an instrument that measured the angle of inclination as I scoped the beam of light, and applying a little trigonometry, I could accurately measure cloud height.

One night the beam of light attracted a German plane---one of the rare ones to fly over the area---who used my light as a target to drop his bomb. Since the Germans were still using whistles on their bombs to make them more menacing as they fell I got enough warning to jump into the nearest foxhole. A few seconds later I felt a heavy load drop on top of me. My first thought was that I had been hit by the bomb, but it turned out to be the first sergeant of our air support party, whose foxhole I had used.

The bomb landed fairly close to our foxhole but did no damage. I apologized to the first sergeant for using his foxhole, but he didn't mind it because he said I cushioned his landing. After that experience I made sure that the light was positioned a long distance from where I took the angle measurement."

"As to the light side of my post-D-Day experiences, for several weeks after D-Day we were stationed next to a beautiful old farmhouse near Ste. Mere Eglise that was home to an elderly farmer and his wife, and his daughter and granddaughter. The farmer’s son had been captured by the Germans in the early days of the war and was in a German prisoner of war camp.

With my high school French I was able to communicate with these people and they invited us for meals on several occasions. The meals were wonderful compared to our C and K rations. The teenager granddaughter did much of the food preparation including slaughtering the chickens and geese that were served to us. She spent all of her time working at the farm, oblivious of the sounds of warfare that were so close...the front lines were only a few miles away.

She was a pretty young lady, solidly built, very capable and hard working, with a no-nonsense attitude. One evening, after a sumptuous dinner, she and I were sitting around on the huge porch that circled the farmhouse. Somehow she ended up in my lap and we kissed. At that moment the grandfather appeared and indicated that the granddaughter and I were now technically betrothed. I said that there was some misunderstanding that we were only engaged in playful affection, and while I thought that his granddaughter was a wonderful young lady, I couldn't get think of a serious relationship until the war was ended.

We abruptly changed the subject when I told him that I had discovered that one of his farm workers (he had several older men who worked around the farm) had been employed by the Germans in building the fortifications of Cherbourg. This worker, who was forced to work for the Germans on the fortifications, did have useful information about them and I referred him to the 82nd intelligence staff who were happy to interview him. His information was very helpful in what for the 82nd Division was their final operation in Normandy, the battle for Cherbourg.

Sadly, like my girlfriend in Coalville, England, I never saw my Norman young lady again after Cherbourg was captured and I moved out of the Ste. Mere Eglise area."

WWII US First Army Patch

"The 82nd Division remained in Normandy until mid-July.

They were only scheduled to take part in the D-Day invasion and then return to England. But because they were such a superlative fighting machine they remained in Normandy to participate in the capture of Cherbourg.

When the 82nd started shipping back to England to prepare for the next airborne mission, which turned out to be the ill-fated invasion of Holland, (Operation Market Garden) I was reassigned to the air support party of 1st Army Headquarters, located at Grandcamps Sur Les Bains on the Normandy coast near Omaha Beach.

Compared to the small air support party attached to the 82nd, this was a large organization with about thirty personnel including about a dozen weather observers and forecasters. I stayed with this group until the end of the war on May 8, 1946.

This was a good place to be since First Army Headquarters was always close to the front lines and we moved with the First Army Divisions as they progressed from Normandy to Paris to Brussels to the German border through the Battle of the Bulge, and then across the Rhine into the heart of Germany finally ending our eastward movement...and the European war...when we met the Russians at the Elbe River.

As I tell everyone who asks about my wartime experiences, I had a front row seat to the war in Europe."

"When I joined the First Army Headquarters Air Support Party we lived in foxholes dug in close to Omaha Beach while the Headquarters. was housed in a building that had been used for the government offices for the town of Grandcamps sur Les Bains.

When I had a little free time from my weather observer duties I would go down to Omaha Beach and watch the unloading of cargo ships that were bringing in a huge amount of supplies for the build-up in Normandy in preparation for the breakout into France and on to Germany.

Since the port of Cherbourg was still in German hands the beaches were the main "port" for unloading supplies using sunken landing craft (Higgins boats) and prefabricated ports (code named mulberries) as piers. In the middle of July a major storm hit the Channel dropping huge amounts of rain on the beaches and on our foxholes.

The temporary piers were mostly destroyed (you can see the remains of a mulberry today at Omaha Beach). I recall feeling wet and chilled all the time during this period and feeling a little depressed because we weren't making any progress breaking out of Normandy. But the rains finally stopped, the sun came out, and I was enjoying working as a full-fledged weather observer with professional meteorologists from whom I could learn about the physics of weather.

I also learned how to use the Manx code with which we encoded all our weather observations before we transmitted them. The coding system used templates and random numbers as the coding scheme which would require at least 24 hours for the Germans to break the coded information by which time the weather was old news."

Equipment and supplies being unloading on the Normandy beachhead

Source/Credit:

National D-Day Memorial Foundation

https://www.dday.org/learn/

Picture from Grandcamp-les-Bains Normandy after DDay - June 1944.

Over 50 additional photos of the town can be seen at the link below. They changed its name to Grandcamp-Maisy in 1972.

Credit/Source:

LIFE Magazine Archives - Frank Scherschel Photographer WWP-PD

World War Pictures on Facebook

"I was responsible for supplying much of the recreation for my buddies.

Almost by accident I found the leading "house of ill-repute" in Grandcamps, run by a madame who said that I was the spitting image of her young son, Auguste, who was missing in action since the beginning of the war.

She gave me his name and showered me with good food and wine, but her ladies of the night were off-limits to me (but not to my buddies) because she wanted me to remain pure as her son was.

To the end of the war I was known by the nickname Auguste, and although my buddies wanted me to duplicate this feat of lining up a private brothel for them in other locations that we passed through on our way to Germany I wasn’t able to meet their desires."

"The breakout of the Cotentin Peninsular began on 24 July with a gigantic air bombardment, combining the 8th and 9th Air Forces, of the German line guarding the neck of the peninsular.

It lasted for many hours, and we had an excellent view of it from 1st Army Headquarters.

Following this bombardment divisions of the First and Third armies broke out towards Paris and Brittany, known as the St. Lo breakthrough.

As the infantry moved towards Paris we followed closely behind, moving five to ten miles a day, setting up our temporary weather station and the tents in which we lived in a variety of places.

We didn't have to dig any more foxholes since there was no danger of artillery shelling or air raids by the Germans. On 19 August we reached the grounds of the Palace of Versailles where we set up our camp.

Paris was a few miles down the road and First Army divisions could have easily entered it. But the order from SHAEF was for French troops to have the honor of capturing this wonderful city.

So we settled in at Versailles and endured several days of extreme hunger since our dash from Normandy to Paris outran our supplies and food became very scarce."

Normandy Breakout Map, operations 25 July to 15 August 1944

Credit/Source:

Based on map Normandybreakout.jpg - Number 64 from The Department of History at the United States Military Academy

American GIs in front of the Eiffel Tower in August 1944

Credit/Source:

The Liberation of Paris By Lauren Henry

Origins - Current Events in Historical Perspective

"On 23 August, against strict orders several buddies and I drove into Paris to see if we could find some food and to do a little sightseeing.

It was a thrilling sight approaching the entrance to Paris on the road from Versailles that curved around a hill and then we saw the whole beautiful city spread out before us and we recognized familiar sights, such as the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral.

Although German troops were reputed to still be in Paris we didn't run into any, and we were warmly welcomed by the Parisians who showered us with bread and wine.

When we returned to our camp at Versailles, our commanding officer scolded us but then asked us to fill him in on what we saw and did.

On 25 August Paris was officially liberated and the following day we visited it again. This time we took a tour of the City with a very humorous and cynical tour guide who asked us if we thought Napoleon was "any less dead" because of the very elaborate and ornate tomb in which he was interred.

We also got into a scrap in a bar with several British GIs who said American soldiers were very spoiled (overpaid, oversexed, and over here...was the popular saying). During the ensuing brawl the barmaid accidentally hit me over the head with a bottle (empty), which caused me to bite the inside of my mouth causing blood to run.

Thinking that I was bleeding from a fractured skull my buddies ran me over to a nearby medical aid station where the true nature of my injury was discovered, but the medic insisted that I should be awarded the purple heart for it."

Couple excellent YouTube videos here on the Liberation of Paris:

The Liberation of Paris (August 1944) - Colorized version
Credit: CHRONOS-MEDIA History

Paris Delivered (1944)
Credit: British Pathe

French civilians with their hastily made American and French flags sing the "Star Spangled Banner" as they greet U.S. and Free French troops entering Paris, France, Aug. 25, 1944, after Allied liberation of the French capital from Nazi occupation in World War II.

Credit/Source:

AP Photo/Harry Harris

ALLIES ENTER PARIS by Don Whitehead

Credit/Source:

United States Military Academy Department of History

"On August 27 First Army Hqs and our air support party was on the move again.

We headed north from Paris in pursuit of the Germans who were retreating towards the German border. On 10 September we reached Brussels, Belgium and on 17 September we reached the German border at Aachen, passing through the Siegfried Line.

That was a very exciting feeling walking through the stone tank barriers of the Siegfried Line and knowing that we were on German soil with the end of the war definitely in sight, hopefully we thought, before the end of the year.

But, again, we outran our supplies and the orders were to pull back into Belgium and wait until the supply lines get fully established. Thus, our air support party was assigned to the Belgian city of Verviers, a few miles west of the German border where I was stationed until the Battle of the Bulge in December/January, 1944/45.

After the Battle of the Bulge 1st Army Headquarters moved steadily through Germany finally ending at Weimar, Germany where we were when the Germans surrendered on May 8, 1945."

"During the war I revisited Paris several times but did not return to Normandy until January 1976 when my wife and I took a train from Paris for a tour of the Normandy invasion beaches and the cemetery at Omaha Beach.

We returned to Normandy in June 1994 to participate in the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of D-Day. During that time we were very pleased and honored to have been invited to attend a lovely ceremony in Caen sponsored by the Mayor during which we received the Commemoration Medal of the Jubilee of Liberty in the name of the people of Lower-Normandy.

In 2003 we also received a certificate from the French Embassy, in Washington DC, awarded to American Servicemen who served in France In World War II.

My wife and I plan to return to Normandy in June 2004 for the 60th Anniversary of D-Day celebration."

11 August 2003/el.

Ed Note: You can watch the D-Day 50th Anniversary Commemoration 1994 - Normandy Beaches - BBC coverage HERE.

And the Vintage 1994 NBC News Report on D-Day Anniversary (Commercials Included) HERE.

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