What you may not know about the Battle of Normandy.

In the footsteps of No. 47 Royal Marine Commando on D-Day

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 09:06:48 GMT

Commemorative walk to honor 47 RMC´s achievements on D-Day

Every year, many tourists and locals who want to attend the D-Day celebrations are faced with the same difficult question: which ceremony should I attend?

The multitude of ceremonies, which often already commence on 2 June and continue for at least a week, makes this decision very difficult, especially when several ceremonies that one would like to attend are held on the same day or even at the same time at opposite ends of the 80 km wide landing area.

The decision is particularly difficult on D-Day, as congested roads or even road closures make it very difficult to get around on the narrow lateral coastal road D514. In consequence, one has to take a decision.

In the last two years, I have made the decision easy for myself and taken part in the memorial walk for No. 47 Royal Marine Commando. This memorial walk stretches from Asnelles to Port-en-Bessin over a distance of approximately 21 km. Veterans, members of the Royal Marines Association, locals, and tourists alike take part in this walk, which is perfectly organised and run by the Royal Marines Association. But above all, active Royal Marines of the Plymouth-based 47 Commando follow in the footsteps of the men of 1944 as they yomp (march) together to Port-en-Bessin to pay tribute to the achievements of their forebears.

And there is much to pay tribute to and to commemorate.

More than 17,600 Royal Marines were assigned to Operation Neptune (the seaborne operation), of which 420 men belonged to No. 47 Royal Marine Commando. During the entire campaign, one in 40 marines – more than 430 men – made the ultimate sacrifice during the ten-week-long campaign.

No day was harder than D-Day itself. Some 133 Royal Marines were killed that fateful Tuesday, but the high price bought success: most commandos on Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches were ashore by 9am on 6 June... and by the small hours of 7 June, they had reached their initial objectives.

Five Royal Marine Commando units (41, 45, 46, 47, and 48) assaulted the beaches alongside three Army Commando units (3, 4, and 6) – formed into two Special Service Brigades.

In addition, most minor landing craft were crewed by Royal Marines, as were the guns of the support craft, and all capital ships providing gunfire support for the invasion, such as the battleship HMS Warspite, carried a Royal Marines detachment.

The commemorative event for No. 47 Royal Marine Commando begins with a demonstration of a landing operation on Asnelles beach, followed by a memorial ceremony at Place Les Birch – Bill Evans in the village center. In 2024 and 2025, the ceremony was attended by the now 100-year-old Royal Marines veteran Norman Ashford (Ashford was a crew member of a landing craft), who received loud applause.

After the ceremony, the 21 km commemorative walk begins, interrupted by short breaks during which members of the 47 Royal Marine Commando Association describe what happened at these locations on 6 June 1944. Short breaks are taken in La Rosière and at the Abbaye de Longues to recharge our batteries. The walk then continues to Mont Cavalier (Point 72), where another very interesting lecture on the attack on Port-en-Bessin follows. Afterwards, we descend to Escures, where a memorial ceremony with wreath laying takes place at the Normandie Terre Liberté Totem.

Then it's on to the last two kilometres to Port-en-Bessin, where the whole group, Royal Marines and civilians, accompanied by a piper and drummer, march in step to the Bar de la Criée (Commando Bar) to receive a well-deserved free beer and and celebrate reaching Port-en-Bessin, despite several blisters and sore feet.

The commemorative march is a unique and somewhat strenuous experience, but who would let that stop them?

The fascinating history of No. 3 Troop (X-Troop) of No. 10 Inter-Allied Commando

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 15:46:37 GMT

Being German, I was always fascinated by the courageous men of No. 3 Troop (Miscellaneous) of No. 10 Inter-Allied Commando, also dubbed X-Troop by Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

This summer I visited several known graves of members of X-Troop in Normandy. Unfortunately, I wasn´t aware of the existence of the grave of Private Bernard Taylor (Ernst Tuchmann) and thus could not take any photos. Taylor is buried in the CWGC cemetery Ranville.

Here is the remarkable story of X-Troop and its men.

No. 3 Troop, No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando, often referred to as "X-Troop," was a unique and highly specialized unit within the British Army during World War II. It was primarily composed of German-speaking Jewish refugees, mainly from Germany and Austria, with some from other European countries like Hungary and Czechoslovakia (from the Sudetenland). These men were driven by a profound desire to fight against the Nazi regime that had persecuted them and their families.

Approximately 70,000 to 80,000 German-speaking people (including Germans, Austrians, Czechoslovakians and Hungarians) emigrated to Great Britain during the 1930s. Of these, approximately 50,000 to 60,000 were adult Jews who fled from the Nazi regime for racist reasons, another 10.000 adults fled Germany for reasons of political persecution (Catholics, Socialists, Communists etc.).

Many of the immigrants were between 30 and 60 years old, including numerous scientists, artists, journalists, and doctors. The University of Oxford and the University of London took in many academic refugees, including many middle-aged people. The proportion of older refugees (over 60 years of age) was low, partly due to the difficulties of travel and restrictive British visa policy. Great Britain often preferred younger or able-bodied refugees.

In addition, approximately 10,000 mostly Jewish children were brought to Great Britain without their parents as part of the so-called Kindertransporte from 9. November 1938 (November pogroms or Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass) and 1. September 1939 (outbreak of the war, when Germans were no longer allowed to emigrate). This group was almost exclusively under the age of 17, often between the ages of 6 and 15. There were between 40 to 50 such Kindertransporte from Germany to Great Britain, the first transport reached England on 2. December 1938 (three weeks after the November pogroms), the last left mainland Europe on 31. August 1939, one day before the outbreak of the war.

Adults needed a visa, often a work visa, student visa, or entry by invitation with a guarantee of support (known as an affidavit of support). Entry was particularly difficult for older or poor refugees, as they were considered “unproductive” immigrants. Many were only accepted if they did not intend to stay permanently or if they planned to travel on to another country (e.g., the US, Palestine, Australia).

Many well-known personalities (Scientists, artists, and intellectuals) fled to Great Britain which became a major haven for scientists expelled from German universities under the 1933 Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service. The Academic Assistance Council in London helped relocate dozens of professors and researchers, many of whom went on to distinguished careers in Britain or the Commonwealth.

Many German or Austrian scientists like

• Ernst Chain – Biochemist, co-developer of penicillin; fled Berlin in 1933, joined Oxford’s Dunn School of Pathology;

• Max Born – Nobel Prize–winning physicist; expelled from Göttingen in 1933, became professor at Cambridge and later Edinburgh;

• Hans Krebs – Biochemist (Krebs cycle); fled Freiburg in 1933, worked in Cambridge and Sheffield;

• Hermann Bondi – Physicist; fled Vienna in 1937, became prominent in British cosmology;

• Erwin Schrödinger – Nobel physicist (wave mechanics); left Austria after Nazi takeover in 1938, worked briefly in Oxford.

found a new scientific and personal home in Great Britain.

Others were workers with specific skills, some were specifically accepted to strengthen the economy.

Small contingents of religious Jews and rabbinical students were granted entry visas through religious organizations.

As said above, at the outbreak of the war, some 70.000 – 80.000 German speaking refugees had fled to Great Britain.

With the outbreak of war, a wave of anti-German hysteria swept through Britain. After France's defeat and the fall of Dunkirk (June 1940), fears of a fifth column (internal saboteurs) grew. The government under Prime Minister Winston Churchill hastily ordered a mass deportation: “Collar the lot!” was the frequently heard incitement. There was little differentiation between actual Nazis and Jewish refugees.

In 1940, over 27,000 “enemy aliens” were interned, including approximately 6,000 to 7,000 Jewish refugees (despite their hatred for the Nazis). Many were housed in camps such as the Isle of Man or Hutchinson Camp. Some were even deported to countries like Canada and Australia. One of the most infamous deportations was aboard the HMT Dunera (HMT = Hired Military Transport), which took 2,500 internees (among them 450-500 Jews) to Australia in harsh conditions. The policy changed in 1941, and many were released or allowed to make themselves useful (e.g., in the army or industry).

Eager to contribute to the war effort, they were initially permitted to enlist in the Pioneer Corps, a non-combatant branch of the British Army primarily tasked with labor and engineering duties. Approximately 10,000 to 12,000 German-speaking Jewish refugees (mainly from Germany and Austria) who had fled to Great Britain voluntarily joined the British Army in the Pioneer Corps to fight against Nazi Germany.

In spring 1942, Lord Louis Mountbatten, then head of Combined Operations, had the idea to form a special commando unit that could leverage the language skills and motivation of these German-speaking refugees. In July 1942, a call for volunteers went out to the alien companies of the Pioneer Corps. On July 24, 1942, those selected arrived for intensive training in Wales and Scotland, where they were forged into elite commandos. About 120 men were initially considered and began training but not all of them ultimately joined No. 3 Troop. In the end, 87 men made it through the rigorous selection process and qualified to become a Commando. As one X-Trooper (Peter Masters) stated: “Getting back at the Nazi w as an ever-present motivation in No. 3 Troop “...our Jewish Commando was the very antithesis of the ‘lambs to the slaughter’ allegations”.

The training the men of No. 3 Troop underwent in Wales was foundational to their transformation from refugees and pioneers into elite commandos. It was designed to be one of the most physically and mentally demanding military courses in the world.

The primary location for the initial, brutal phase of their training was the Commando Basic Training Centre (CBTC) in Aberdyfi (sometimes spelled by its anglicized name, Aberdovey), a coastal town in Gwynedd, Wales. The rugged, unforgiving landscape of the surrounding area—with its steep cliffs, harsh mountains, and cold sea—was deliberately chosen as the perfect environment to forge these elite soldiers.

The basic commando course they undertook lasted approximately five to six weeks, though their overall training period was much longer as they moved on to more specialized instruction.

The selection process was relentless. The training itself was the filter, designed to "weed out" any man who was not up to the exceptionally high standards required. Instructors, many of them hardened veterans, pushed the recruits to their absolute physical and mental limits. There was no room for failure or hesitation.

While exact figures for every course vary, the attrition rate was significant. For the specific cohort that would become X Troop, sources like Leah Garrett's "X Troop" indicate that an initial group of around 120 volunteers was whittled down through injury, failure to meet the standards, or voluntary withdrawal until the final, core group of 87 men remained. This represents a "weeding out" rate of nearly 30%, a testament to the course's difficulty.

The training regimen at Aberdyfi was comprehensive and brutal. Its goal was to produce a soldier who was self-reliant, physically robust, and mentally unbreakable. Key components included:

Grueling Physical Conditioning: This was the cornerstone. It included daily speed marches of 7 miles to be completed in one hour while carrying a 36lb (16kg) pack and rifle, forced marches over mountains, and log-carrying exercises designed to build teamwork and sheer strength.
Assault Courses: The infamous assault courses at Aberdyfi were designed to simulate the chaos of battle. Recruits had to navigate complex obstacles involving high walls, tunnels, and rope swings, often while under the stress of instructors firing live ammunition and setting off small explosive charges nearby.
Amphibious and Cliff Assaults: Given the Commandos' role as amphibious raiders, this was a critical skill. The men spent countless hours in the cold Welsh sea, learning to operate small landing craft (LCAs). They practiced storming beaches and, most famously, used ropes and climbing gear to scale the sheer, treacherous cliffs along the coast, simulating assaults on coastal fortifications.
Weapons and Demolitions: Trainees had to become experts in a variety of British and, crucially for X Troop, German weapons. They learned to strip, clean, and fire enemy machine guns and pistols in complete darkness. They were also extensively trained in the use of explosives for demolition and sabotage.
Advanced Fieldcraft and Silent Killing: The curriculum included day and night navigation, map reading, camouflage, and survival skills. A huge emphasis was placed on close-quarters combat and silent killing techniques, for which the iconic Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife was the primary weapon. The men were taught how to move with complete stealth and eliminate sentries without raising an alarm.

In essence, the training in Wales was designed to strip away the civilian and remold the man into a Commando. It forged an incredible bond between the men who endured it together and equipped them with the physical prowess and psychological resilience necessary to operate deep behind enemy lines.

Those 87 men who were accepted all adopted English-sounding names (nommes de guerre) and were sworn to secrecy in order to protect their identities and their families who might still be in enemy-occupied territory. This secrecy led to Winston Churchill reportedly dubbing them "X-Troop," with the "X" signifying the unknown.

Five Czech (Platt, Rice, Latimer, Bate, and Smith, all from the Sudetenland) X-Troopers participated in the disastrous raid on the fortified port of Dieppe on 19th August 1942, which was the first deployment of X-Troopers shortly after the unit was established. In 1943 a significant contingent of X-Troopers was deployed in North Africa and Sicily/Italy.

In preparation of the Normandy landings, members of X-Troop also participated in numerous beach reconnaissance missions, such as Operation Tarbrush. Operation Tarbrush was a series of clandestine British Commando raids conducted in May 1944 along the northern coast of France. Executed by No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando, the primary objective of these missions was to gather crucial intelligence on German beach defenses, particularly the nature and layout of mines and obstacles, in preparation for the impending Allied invasion of Normandy. The intelligence gathered was vital in helping to create the strategy for clearing beaches and minimizing casualties during the main assault.

The operation was divided into several individual missions, each with a specific target. Not all of these missions were successful. Operation Tarbrush 10, on May 17-18, 1944, at Onival, resulted in the capture of the two-man team after they were landed in the wrong location. The two-man team selected for this perilous mission was Lieutenant George Lane (X-Troop) and Captain Roy Wooldridge (Royal Engineers). The objective was to conduct a reconnaissance of the beach defenses near Onival, in the vicinity of Cayeux-sur-Mer. Their plan was to land covertly from a motor torpedo boat, examine the German fortifications, and return with vital information. However, the operation went awry from the outset. The commandos were landed in the wrong location, a mistake that proved to be fatal to the mission's success. Disoriented and operating in unfamiliar territory, they were soon detected by German forces. A German E-boat was dispatched to investigate, and Lane and Wooldridge were captured.

What followed for Lieutenant George Lane was an extraordinary and life-saving turn of events. Instead of facing immediate execution under Hitler's "Commando Order," which mandated the summary execution of captured commandos, Lane was taken to the headquarters of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the commander of the German forces in the region, located at the Château de La Roche-Guyon.

The reason for this unusual meeting was likely Rommel's desire to personally interrogate a captured commando to gain any possible intelligence about Allied invasion plans. Lane, whose real name was Lanyi György, was a Hungarian Jewish refugee who had adopted a British persona to protect himself and his family.

The encounter between the young lieutenant and the seasoned Field Marshal was surreal. According to historical accounts, including Lane's own testimony, he was offered tea by Rommel. The Field Marshal, through an interpreter, questioned Lane about the impending invasion. Lane, for his part, skillfully parried the questions, feigning ignorance and maintaining his cover as a Welsh officer.

Lane himself believed that this personal intervention by Rommel saved his life. By treating him as a legitimate prisoner of war rather than a saboteur to be executed, Rommel defied the standing order from Hitler. Following this remarkable meeting, Lane was transferred to a standard prisoner-of-war camp, Oflag IX-A/H at Spangenberg Castle, where he remained until the end of the war. His story stands as a peculiar and fascinating footnote in the history of covert operations during the Second World War.

And then, two weeks later, on June 6, 1944, came D-Day, Operation Neptune and the landings of Allied forces in Normandy.

One Officer (CO Major Bryan Milton-Jones, affectionately called "Skipper" by his men) and 43 other ranks (44 men in total) of X-Troop participated in Operation Neptune. This represented the balance of the entire No. 3 Troop (less those deployed in Italy and six men sent to officer training, OCTU, shortly before the Normandy landings took place).

The strategic value of No. 3 Troop lay in their linguistic and intelligence skills, so they were not deployed as a single unit. Instead, the 44 members available for D-Day were distributed in small teams or as individuals across the eight Commando Units of the two Special Service (Commando) Brigades, i.e. the 1st Special Service (Commando) Brigade (Brigadier Lord Lovat) and the 4th Special Service (Commando) Brigade (Brigadier B. W. Leicester) that spearheaded the amphibious assaults.

Each detachment consisted of four or five men led by a sergeant or lance-sergeants with corporals as their second-in-command. The exception was the detachment to No. 6 Commando which was let by a corporal with a lance-corporal as second-in-command.

One X-Trooper was attached to HQ 2nd British Army, two men (among them Major Hilton-Jones) were attached to the HQ of Lord Lovat’s 1st Special Service (Commando) Brigade, seven men to No. 3 Commando, six men to No. 4 Commando, six men to No. 6 Commando, four men to No. 45 Royal Marines Commando, two men to the HQ of Brigadier B.W. Leicester’s 4th Special Service (Commando) Brigade, four men to No. 41 Royal Marines Commando, three men to No. 46 Royal Marines Commando, six men to No. 47 Royal Marines Commando and three men to No. 48 Royal Marines Commando.

The X-Troopers were used in battlefield conditions for interrogation and identification, treatment and exploitation of prisoners (use of prisoners as guides walking ahead and thus avoiding minefields or to make them assist in the evacuation of wounded and to help carrying equipment), interpretation of captured documents (e.g. minefields, defensive positions, troop strengths, tactical signs) and fighting patrols (an important offensive function as specialized recce troops with particular reference to road signs, vehicle markings, military abbreviations on signposts and enemy weapons).

As all X-Troopers spoke the German language perfectly, German prisoners opened up to their interrogators much easier and sometimes even enjoyed talking to them. Therefore, much more information was forthcoming compared to ordinary interrogation methods by English personnel and prisoners could be easier and faster “convinced” to reveal information to their captors.

The Normandy campaign was particularly costly for No. 3 Troop. Of the 44 members who participated in the D-Day landings and the subsequent battles, the casualty rate was exceptionally high. Sources indicate that 27 men became casualties or were taken prisoner in Normandy, with 11 men KIA or MIA in Normandy. 21 members of the troop were KIA throughout the war.

19 men of the 87 X-Troop members became officers, most of them were commissioned in the field for specific acts of bravery. X-Troop members won one MC, one MM, one Croix de Guerre, one MBE, one BEM, one Certificate of Commendation and three Mentioned in dispatches.

I certainly don't mean to diminish the bravery and accomplishments of everyone in X-Troop. However, I'm going to briefly tell you the incredible stories of two X-Troop members: George Lane and Fred Gray.

George Lane (born Lanyi György)

Lanyi György was born in Rechnitz, Austria-Hungary, on February 18, 1915.

At the outbreak of war, like many "enemy aliens", he was briefly interned. However, determined to fight the Nazis, he volunteered for the British Army's Pioneer Corps. In 1943, his fluency in German, intimate knowledge of the continent, and fierce motivation led to his recruitment into No. 3 Troop of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando, more famously known as "X Troop." Lane participated in several high-stakes reconnaissance missions ahead of the D-Day landings, most notably as part of Operation Tarbrush.

During his final mission on the night of May 17-18, 1944, he was captured by German forces. In a now-famous episode, he was taken for interrogation to the headquarters of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. This personal intervention by Rommel likely saved Lane from summary execution under Hitler's "Commando Order," and he was instead sent to a prisoner-of-war camp for the remainder of the war.

After the war, George Lane became a successful businessman in the textile industry. For decades, he rarely spoke of his extraordinary wartime experiences. He passed away in London on February 9, 2010, at the age of 94, leaving behind a legacy of courage, resilience, and quiet heroism as one of the last surviving members of the legendary X-Troop.

"Suddenly, out of the darkness, a voice shouted, 'Hände hoch!' ('Hands up!'). Well, that was it. The game was up."

"I was taken to a magnificent château which, I found out later, was Rommel’s headquarters. And there I was, this grubby little lieutenant, being offered tea by a Field Marshal. It was the most surreal and absurd situation."

"He asked me, 'So when is the invasion coming?' I told him I was just a junior officer and didn't know anything. I said, 'Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you. And if I did tell you, you wouldn't believe me anyway.'

Rommel just smiled."

– Lanyi György –

Fred Gray (born Manfred Gans)

Born in Borken, Germany, in 1922 to a family with deep roots in the town, Gans experienced a comfortable childhood that was abruptly shattered by the rise of the Nazi regime. His family, who were Orthodox Jews, faced increasing persecution, and in 1938, his parents made the difficult decision to send the 16-year-old Manfred to England for his safety. He was supposed to stay for a summer to learn English, but as the situation in Germany worsened, his parents urged him to remain in Britain.

Following the outbreak of war, Gans was classified as an "enemy alien" and briefly interned on the Isle of Man. Determined to fight Hitler's regime, he enlisted in the British Army's Pioneer Corps as soon as regulations permitted. His fluency in German and his unwavering resolve soon brought him to the attention of military intelligence. In 1943, he was recruited into the clandestine No. 3 Troop of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando. To protect his identity in case of capture, he adopted the English-sounding alias Fred Gray.

Attached to No. 41 Royal Marine Commando, Gans landed on Sword Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944. He fought through the brutal Normandy campaign and across Northwest Europe, using his language skills to infiltrate enemy lines, encourage surrenders, and interrogate prisoners, providing invaluable intelligence to the advancing Allied forces. He was noted for his courage and received a field promotion to officer.

Perhaps his most remarkable exploit occurred immediately after Germany's surrender in May 1945. Acting on a tip that his parents might be alive in the recently liberated Theresienstadt concentration camp, Gans, then an officer, took a jeep and a driver and embarked on a perilous, unauthorized journey across a chaotic and still-dangerous Germany. Against all odds, he reached the camp and was miraculously reunited with his parents, Moritz and Else, who had survived the horrors of the Holocaust.

After the war, Gans served as a Deputy Commander in the intelligence section of a prisoner of war camp for high-ranking Nazis. He later became a British citizen, married his childhood sweetheart, Anita Lamm, and emigrated to the United States in 1950. He settled in New Jersey, where he had a successful career as a chemical engineer and raised a family. He documented his incredible life story in a memoir titled "Life Gave Me a Chance."

Manfred Gans passed away in 2010.

“It wasn’t my country, but it was my war.”

“I didn’t want revenge. I wanted them to stop killing.”

– Manfred Gans –

After the war, No. 10 Commando was disbanded in September 1945. Many of the surviving members of No. 3 Troop continued to serve in the Allied Control Commission in Germany, where their language skills were invaluable during the denazification process. Despite their heroic service, it took some time for these men to be granted British citizenship, and for a period after the war, some were still technically considered "enemy aliens."

Even today, many people can still draw inspiration from the courage of the men of X Troop: not every Jew, not every German, not every Austrian, and not every Czech stood idly by in the face of Nazi tyranny and Nazi crimes. As former X Trooper “Peter Masters” wrote: “Taking revenge on the Nazis was an ever-present motivation.”

The story of No. 3 Troop is a poignant testament to the courage and sacrifice of a group of men who fought for the country that had given them refuge against the tyranny that had driven them from their homes.

As mentioned above, the Commando Roll of Honor lists 20 members of X-Troop as KIA or MIA during the war. Martin Sugarman and Leah Garrett state that 21 men were KIA or MIA.

I was able to track down the graves of ten of these men, who fought and died in Normandy. Another two men, who fought in Normandy and are MIA are commemorated at the Bayeux Memorial.

If you are visiting Normandy or are a tour guide and would like to pay your respects to one or more of the X-Troopers who fell in battle in Normandy, here is some information of their burial sites:

Private Richard George Arlen (Abramovicz, R.), att. to 45 RMC, commemorated at the Bayeux Memorial. Born January 4, 1923, MIA June 7, 1944, at Franceville Plage.

Lance Corporal Harry Andrews (Hans Richard Arenstein), att. to 47 RMC, buried in Ranville Cemetery, Plot info: IA. M. 4. Born February 18, 1942, KIA August 10, 1944, at Sannerville.

Private Frederick Fletcher (F. Fleischer), att. to 6 Commando, buried in Ranville Cemetery, Plot info: IVA. M. 12. KIA June 11, 1944, at Amfreville/Le Plein.

Corporal George Mack Franklyn (Max Gunther Frank) att. to 4 Commando, buried in Hermanville Cemetery, Plot info: 3. A. 7. Born April 30, 1923, KIA June 6, 1944, at Sword Beach.

Sergeant Eugene “Didi” Fuller (Eugen von Kagerer-Stein) att. to 47 RMC, buried in Ranville Cemetery, Plot info: IA. G. 2. Born December 19, 1913, KIA June 13, 1944, Orne Bridgehead.

Private Kenneth Wakefield Graham (Kurt Wilhelm Gumpertz), att. to 4 Commando, buried in Hermanville Cemetery, Plot info: 1. K. 7. Born June 27, 1919, KIA June 12, 1944, Amfreville/Le Plein.

Private Max Laddy (Max Lewinsky), att. to 47 RMC, buried in Hermanville Cemetery, Plot info: 1. E. 2. Born August 19, 1911, KIA June 6, 1944, Gold Beach near Asnelles.

Lance Corporal Ernest Richard Lawrence (Ernst Richard Lenel), att. to 3 Commando, commemorated at the Bayeux Memorial. Born October 26, 1918, MIA June 23, 1944, at Amfreville.

Lance Corporal Peter Moody (Kurt Meyer), att. to HQ 4 SSB, buried in Ranville Cemetery, Plot info: IA. B. 11. Born September 28, 1918, KIA June 13, 1944, Orne Bridgehead.

Private Ernest Norton (Ernst Nathan), att. to 48 RMC, buried in Ranville Cemetery, Plot info: IA. A. 11. Born August 19, 1922, KIA June 13, 1944, Orne Bridgehead.

Private Bernard Taylor (Ernst Tuchmann), att. to 3 Commando, buried in Ranville Cemetery, Plot info: VIII. B. 9. Born March 6, 1924, KIA June 11, 1944, near Chateau d'Amfreville.

Private Ernest George Webster (Ernst Georg Weinberger), att. to 47 RMC, buried in Bayeux Cemetery, Plot info: XV. D. 6. Born August 11, 1916, KIA June 6, 1944, Gold Beach near Asnelles.

https://www.commandoveterans.org/node/946

The Commando Prayer

Teach us, Good Lord

To serve Thee as Thou deservest

To give and not to count the cost

To fight and not to heed the wounds

To toil and not to seek for rest

To labour and not to ask for any reward

Save that of knowing that we do Thy Holy will

Through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord, Amen

No 10 Inter Allied Commando 3 troop (aka X Troop)

Photo courtesy of Colin Anson who was a Sergeant in No. 3 Troop.

1. Graham*; 2.Aitcheson; 3.Masters; 4.Hamilton*; 5.Tenant; 6. W. Hepworth; 6. Garvin; 8. Ernest Norton*; 9. Streets; 10. Douglas; 11. nk; 12. Moody*; 13. Scott; 14. Sayers; 15. Laddy*: 16. Gilbert; 17. Franklin*; 18. Farr; 19. Long; 20. Ross; 21. Nelson; 22. Anson; 23. Hudson; 24. Shelley; 25. Lewis; 26. Anderson; 27. Merton; 28.Saunders; 29. Griffith*; 30. Envers; 31. Bentley; 32. Harris MM; 33. nk; 34.Marshal; 35.Kingsley; 36.Stewart; 37.Seymour*; 38.Arlen*; 39. Drew; 40.Grey; 41. Barnes; 42. Fenton; 43. Nichols; 44. Bartlet; 45. Miles; 46. Andrews* ??; 47. Wallen; 48.Turner; 49. Mason; 50. O'Neill; 51. Streets; 52. McGregor; 53. Davis (MiD); 54. Hylton-Jones; 55. Emmett; 60. Kendall; 61. Carson***; 62. Wells*.

Missing from this photo: Monahan, Lane, Langley, Broadman, Groves/Grant, Frazer, Dwelly, Firth, Kershaw, Fuller*, Howard*, Jones, Gordon, Spencer, Heathcot, Masters, Taylor, Thompson, Farley, Taylor, Pratt, F. Hepworth, Watson, Latimore, Webster*, Swinton, Kirby, Lawrence*, Trevor.

POW's: Lane, Jones, Thompson, Saunders, Hilton-Jones MC.

* denotes killed in action
** denotes accidental death.
*** originally identified as Villiers*, but believed now to be Peter Andrew Carson (Carlebach).

The Life of Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 10:35:53 GMT

There are 9,388 gravestones at the American Normandy Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer.

The grave of Brigadier General Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt is one of the most visited graves, if not the most visited grave, at least judging by the size of the trampled grass area in front of the gravestones.

Why is that?

Is it because of his rank, Brigadier General? Probably not, because the graves of Lieutenant General Lesley N. McNair (the highest-ranking soldier in the U.S. Army to die in World War II) or Brigadier General Nelson M. Walker don't have these bare patches in front of the headstone.

So what is it?

Is it the name of the Roosevelt family, known far beyond the borders of the United States, or is it the extraordinary achievements as a soldier that even earned him the Medal of Honor (he is one of three Medal of Honor recipients buried in this cemetery)?

Or is it the fact that his younger brother Quentin Roosevelt is buried next to Teddy? Probably not. After all, there are forty-five pairs of brothers commemorated or buried in the cemetery, including 33 who are buried side by side. So in that respect, the Roosevelt brothers are hardly unique.

I believe that the first two factors, his family name and being a MOH recipient, play the most important role.

To shed more light on this brave soldier, here is a short biography of “Teddy” Roosevelt Jr.

Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was born on 13 November 1887 at the family estate in Oyster Bay Cove, New York, just as his father was beginning his political career. He had three brothers, Archibald (Archie), Quentin and Kermit; a sister, Ethel; and a half-sister, Alice. Like all the Roosevelt children, the bespectacled, studious Ted was greatly influenced by his father and sought his approval. His father, Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States serving two terms from 1901 to 1909.

Theodore Jr. proved to be a shrewd businessman, working in the steel and carpet industries before venturing onto Wall Street, where he amassed a fortune of about $7 million. Ted married Eleanor Butler Alexander in June 1910 and they had four children - Grace, Theodore III, Cornelius and Quentin II.

Towards the end of the First World War, as the American Expeditionary Force prepared to head for France, Theodore Roosevelt Sr, who had left the White House in 1909 but was still a well-known and popular figure, wrote to the AEF commander, General John J Pershing, asking if his sons could join the AEF. Archibald was given a commission as a second lieutenant, while Theodore Jr. was offered the rank of major. Quentin was accepted into the new Air Service of the Army Signal Corps and Kermit volunteered to serve with the British Army in Mesopotamia.

Shortly after President Woodrow Wilson declared war, Ted was called up and volunteered to be one of the first soldiers to go to France. He sailed in June 1917 with the hastily formed 1st Infantry Division (Big Red One). The division was commanded by Major General William L Sibert and disembarked at Bordeaux. Teddy joined the 26th Infantry Regiment, stationed in a town called Demange-aux-Eaux. He was put in charge of a battalion and quickly showed himself to be a fierce warrior and a skilful leader, just like his father. He bravely led his battalion across fields outside the town of Cantigny in May 1918 to fill a gap in the American lines, and took part in the momentous Meuse-Argonne offensive from August to November 1918.

Ted was gassed and wounded twice at Soissons (north-east of Paris) in the summer of 1918. Meanwhile, his brother Quentin had been killed in action that July. Ted was eventually promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, given command of the division's 26th Regiment and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, Croix de Guerre, Legion of Honour and Purple Heart.

At the end of the war, Teddy left the service to pursue a political career. Elected to the New York State Assembly in 1919, he participated in every national campaign except when he served later as governor-general of the Philippines. When Warren G. Harding was elected president in 1921, Ted was appointed assistant secretary of the Navy, a post that had also been held by his father and his cousin, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In September 1929, President Herbert Hoover chose Ted to be governor of Puerto Rico. Hoover was so impressed with Ted's performance there that he appointed him Governor-General of the Philippines in 1932. His colonial career ended, however, when his cousin Franklyn Delano Roosevelt challenged Hoover for the presidency in 1932. When FDR was elected, Ted humorously described himself as "the fifth cousin about to be removed".

As war loomed in Europe in the late 1930s, Ted Roosevelt saw an opportunity for challenge and glory on the battlefield. He was now in his 50s, with a weak heart and nagging arthritis from his wounds in the First World War, which forced him to use a cane.

After completing a military refresher course in 1940, he asked General George C. Marshall, the Army Chief of Staff, to take him out of the reserves and return him to active duty. In April 1941, with the rank of colonel, he was given command of his old unit, the 26th Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division. He was soon promoted to brigadier general.

After some training in the USA, the Big Red One left New York for the European Theater of Operations on August 1, 1942, on board of the converted liner Queen Mary and sailed to Scotland. From there it was sent by rail to England to undergo advanced training under its commander, Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen. Theodore became his assistant commander.

On November 8, 1942, the Big Red One participated in Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North-Africa. The Big Red One was the spearhead of the Central Task Force, and its objective was the Algerian port of Oran.

Roosevelt’s 26th Regiment entered Oran on November 10 and went on to clear the Ouseltia Valley in January 1943, and on to positions at Kasserine Pass the following month. The 26th Regiment saw plenty of action against Rommel’s Afrika Korps, the Big Red One was actively engaged in Tunisia until May 9, 1943.

Ted's reputation as a hard-fighting front-line general was growing. He and his commanding general, Major General Terry Allen, led the Big Red One in an unorthodox manner. Neither a disciplinarian, the two generals were comfortable among the lowest ranks, had little use for spit and polish, and were rarely seen in regulation uniforms. Ted usually wore a knitted cap because he hated the heavy army helmets. Few World War II generals were as close to their men as Terry Allen and Ted Roosevelt of the Big Red One.

Lieutenant General Patton, the spit-and-polish taskmaster who had striven to shore up flagging American discipline and fighting spirit early in the North African campaign, was not amused, and retribution was imminent for the Big Red One.

The Big Red One next took part in Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily. The division landed at Gela on July 10, 1943, and were immediately in the thick of the fighting. The division fought a series of engagements in rugged terrain and reached the town of Troina in central Sicily on August 1.

During the ensuing battle for Troina, Terry Allen and Teddy Roosevelt were both to be relieved. Patton, then commander of the U.S. 7th Army, regarding both officers as unsoldierly though very brave, had sent derogatory reports to Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Mediterranean theater commander, who had viewed Allen as exhausted in May 1943. He approved the request for their relief, and Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, then commander of the U.S. II Army Corps assumed full responsibility for the action. Bradley considered Allen too much of an individualist, Teddy too close to his men, and the division too full of pride and self-pity and unable to function willingly as part of a larger group. Said Bradley, “Roosevelt had to go with Allen for he, too, had sinned by loving the division too much.”

As the Big Red One left Sicily in October 1943 and landed in England to train in Dorset and Devon for the upcoming Allied invasion of northern France, Allen was given command of the 104th Infantry Division, which would later distinguish itself in Normandy and the Rhineland. Roosevelt, meanwhile, was appointed in December 1943 as the chief U.S. liaison officer between General Mark W. Clark’s 5th Army and the French Expeditionary Corps under General Juin.

In December 1943 Teddy wrote to General Bradley, now promoted to command the U.S. 1st Army, asking for an active role in the planned invasion of northern France, Operation Overlord. He was ordered to England in February 1944 and assigned as supernumerary assistant commander of the untried 4th Infantry Division under Major General Raymond O. “Tubby” Barton. Although this division was already activated in June 1940 it arrived in England only in January 1944. According to Bradley, the 4th Infantry Division was green and it was difficult to anticipate how the men would perform in the amphibious assault on Utah Beach. Bradley reported later. “If Roosevelt could go in with the leading wave, he could steady it as no other man could…Ted was immune to fear.”

So, Bradley assigned Teddy to the 4th Infantry Division as a supernumerary divisional general, which Teddy joined at the end of March 1944.

Unlike Lieutenant General Bradley, the 4th Infantry Division's commanding general and Teddy's immediate superior, Major General Barton, had serious reservations about an ailing, 56-year-old general joining the Normandy assault in the first landing wave. Barton rejected three verbal requests from Ted, but the Big Red One veteran of two wars persisted, submitting another written request on 26 May. Finally, Barton granted permission.

On D-Day, 6 June 1944, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. sailed in a Higgins Boat with the men of E Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Regimental Combat Team, to land in France. E Company was the first unit to land on Utah Beach, and Ted was the first soldier off his Higgins boat. As he and the other men scrambled through the surf for cover under German beach obstacles, Ted soon realized that the landing craft had drifted more than a mile south of the objective and that the 4th Division's first wave was a mile off course. This was fortunate for E Company as the only opposition was small arms fire from enemy trenches in a sand dune behind a four-foot concrete sea wall. Ted scouted the causeways behind the beach for the division's push inland. Then he conferred with the battalion commanders and the 8th Regiment's commander, Colonel James Van Fleet. "Van," Ted exclaimed, "we're not where we're supposed to be. Roosevelt, whose arthritis forced him to carry a cane when he stormed Utah Beach, then became a D-Day legend for saying, “We’ll start the war from right here!”

Throughout D-Day, despite severe pain in his leg, he rallied the men of the 4th Division to move forward and not to become targets.”

When Major General Barton came ashore, he met Ted near the beach. “I loved Ted,” he said later. “When I finally agreed to his landing with the first wave, I felt sure he would be killed. When I had bade him goodbye, I never expected to see him alive. You can imagine then the emotion with which I greeted him when he came out to meet me. He was bursting with information.”

D-Day was a success for the 4th Division. In 15 hours that day, it landed more than 20,000 men and 1,700 vehicles and rolled swiftly inland. On the second day, Utah Beach received 10,735 men, 1,469 vehicles, and just over 800 tons of supplies. Ted Roosevelt’s inspiring leadership had played a major role in that success.

In the days that followed, the 4th Infantry Division marched inland. First to Ste-Mère-Église, and then north toward Cherbourg.

At the end of June, the 4th Division attacked the strategic port of Cherbourg, where Ted served briefly as military governor. He set up his headquarters in a cellar lit by a single oil lamp, helped restore order to the devastated city, and then pushed on with his troops. But Ted's health caught up with him.

His heart condition was serious, and he knew it. He kept it secret from his wife and from U.S. Army doctors at all costs. Teddy had been feeling unwell for a few days, and his health was not helped by the constant rainy weather in Normandy. His clothes were constantly wet, and despite his new HQ at Meautis, he was not getting much rest.

Then, on July 12, 1944, just five weeks after the D-Day landings, Ted spent a day at the front lines with his men and then went back to his HQ, a converted sleeping truck, captured a few days before from the Germans, at the village of Meautis.

That same day, Ted was delighted to see his son, Quentin Roosevelt II, 24, in the camp. He had been worried about Quentin, a lieutenant in the 1st Infantry Division, which had been pinned down and mauled on D-Day. They were the only father-and-son team to to take part in the invasion of Normandy.During the meeting,

Teddy confided to his son, that he had suffered a series of head pains that came and went, a condition he had hidden from others.

An hour after Quentin had left, Teddy Roosevelt suffered a heart-attack around 10:00 pm. He lay in his quarters while attendants worked frantically to revive him. At 11:30 pm that night, the 4th Division commander, Tubby Barton, came to see Teddy, and found him barely alive. Later he wrote of the moment to Teddy’s wife. “He was breathing but unconscious when I entered his truck. I sat helpless and saw the most gallant soldier and finest gentleman I have ever known expire. The show goes on. He would have it so and we shall make it so.” Theodore Roosevelt Jr. died shortly before midnight.

General Bradley was in the process of promoting Ted to Major General in command of the 90th Infantry Division. The fighting in Normandy had revealed a number of problems in the leadership of this division, the generals had not shown the decisiveness that Roosevelt had shown at Utah Beach. When the need to replace the leadership of this division became urgent, Teddy's name came up. Although he did not know it, Teddy was about to be promoted to his first divisional command, the 90th Infantry Division.

Radio broadcasts across the country announced his death. “Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt is dead, in Normandy. He died as he would have wished, in the service of his country, a service always closest to his heart.”

Quentin wrote his mother, “The Lion is dead…To me, he was much more than simply a father, he was an amazing combination of father, brother, friend, and comrade in battle.”

The funeral service was conducted in the temporary cemetery No. 2 at Ste. Mère-Église, a few miles west of Utah Beach, on Bastille Day, July 14, 1944. An Army band played “The Son of God Goes Forth to War” as artillery rumbled in the distance. The honorary pallbearers were Generals Bradley, Patton, J. Lawton Collins, Clarence Huebner, Barton, and Courtney H. Hodges. Riflemen fired three volleys, and two buglers sounded taps, echo fashion. Roosevelt was the only soldier to be buried in a coffin in this cemetery.

General Barton recommended that Ted be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions on Utah Beach, but this was upgraded at higher headquarters, and the Medal of Honor was posthumously awarded in September 1944. When President Roosevelt handed the blue ribbon to Ted’s widow, he said, “His father would have been proudest.”

General Patton wrote in his diary that Ted Roosevelt was the bravest soldier he ever knew, and General Bradley agreed, “I have never known a braver man nor a more devoted soldier.” Asked several years later to cite the single most heroic action he had seen in combat, Bradley replied, “Ted Roosevelt on Utah Beach.” Ted’s leadership at Utah Beach was recorded in Cornelius Ryan’s best-selling 1959 book, The Longest Day, and he was portrayed by Henry Fonda in Darryl F. Zanuck’s 1962 film epic of the same name.

Roosevelt’s Medal of Honor citation reads, in part,

"For gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 6 June 1944, in France…. His valor, courage, and presence in the very front of the attack and his complete unconcern at being under heavy fire inspired the troops to heights of enthusiasm and self-sacrifice. Although the enemy had the beach under constant direct fire, Brig. Gen. Roosevelt moved from one locality to another, rallying men around him, directed and personally led them against the enemy. Under his seasoned, precise, calm, and unfaltering leadership, assault troops reduced beach strong points and rapidly moved inland with minimum casualties."

When the Ste-Mère-Église temporary military cemetery No. 2 was closed in the spring of 1948, Ted's remains were moved to his final resting place, the Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. There you can pay your respects to Teddy Roosevelt, who is buried in plot D, row 28, grave 45.

If you wish to read more about Theodore Roosevelt Jr., I recommend the excellent book “His father’s son – The life of Ted Roosevelt Jr.” by Tim Brady.

#NormandyAmericanCemetery #TeddyRoosevelt #DDay #UtahBeach #4thInfantryDivision

Life and death of Associated Press war correspondent George Bede Irvin

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 12:50:23 GMT

When several Associated Press correspondents arrived in southern England to cover the Allies’ imminent D-Day invasion of Normandy, a U.S. commander offered them a no-nonsense welcome.

“We’ll do everything we can to help you get your stories and to take care of you. If you’re wounded, we’ll put you in a hospital. If you’re killed, we’ll bury you. So don’t worry about anything,” said Major General Clarence R. Huebner of the U.S. Army 1st Infantry Division slated to land on Omaha Beach on D-Day.

On Monday, June 3, 2024, colleagues from AP’s Paris bureau, covering the 80th anniversary of the landings, laid flowers at the foot of the white stone cross on the grave of George Bede Irvin.

George Bede Irvin, born on July 27, 1910, in Des Moines, Iowa, was an American journalist and photographer who later became a war correspondent for the Associated Press (AP) during World War II. Before his wartime service, Irvin worked for "La Tribune" and later joined the Associated Press (AP), covering various assignments. He was known for his enthusiasm and dedication to journalism.

Irvin was married twice during his lifetime. His first marriage was to Marjorie Scholl, who served as the society editor of The Des Moines Register. The couple married in the early 1930s but divorced in 1934 after more than two years of marriage.

On January 11, 1936, Irvin married his second wife, Kathryn N. Hankin, in Newton, Jasper County, Iowa. Kathryn was an actress born on October 7, 1912, in Seattle, Washington. She appeared in films such as "College Rhythm" (1934) and "Bottoms Up" (1934). The couple remained married until Bede's death on July 25, 1944.

Irvin was sent to Europe in April 1944 to cover the Allied preparations for the opening of the Western Front during World War II. He was the first American photographer assigned to the European theater by the Associated Press in anticipation of the Allied invasion.

Irvin extensively covered the activities of the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) in the European theater. His assignments included documenting various aspects of the USAAF's operations, providing firsthand accounts and visual documentation of the air war over Europe. Irvin's work often involved accompanying bomber crews on their missions, to capture firsthand accounts and photographs that showed the intensity and dangers of aerial combat. His commitment to frontline reporting provided the public with a vivid portrayal of the air war, highlighting the bravery and challenges faced by USAAF personnel during the conflict.

On July 25, 1944, near the town of Saint-Lô in Normandy, Irvin was documenting an Allied bombardment intended to break through German lines, codenamed Operation Cobra. Irvin had already shot photos of the bombardment and was having lunch in his Jeep near Pont-Hébert, four miles from Saint-Lô, when the bombing barrage suddenly started drifting back.

“Someone shouted, ‘Watch out, bombs from the Marauders are falling short,’ and everyone started running," a fellow war correspondent later said. “Irvin had been sitting in a Jeep, and apparently he hesitated a split second to pick up his camera before diving for a nearby ditch. He was caught in mid-air by a bomb fragment and killed instantly.”

Irvin was found crumpled in a ditch with one camera around his neck and the other lying near an outstretched hand.

This incident also claimed the lives of over 100 American soldiers and wounded nearly 500 others.

The miscommunication that led to the bombing of Allied positions at the start of Operation Cobra was primarily due to errors in coordination between ground forces and the U.S. Army Air Forces.

1. Shifting Bombing Lines

o The initial bombing line (the designated boundary where bombs should be dropped) was set relatively close to Allied frontlines.

o However, after concerns about the proximity, General Omar Bradley requested the bomb line be moved further south to avoid friendly fire.

o Despite this request, some bomber groups did not receive or properly adjust to the change, leading them to target areas too close to American troops.

2. Bomber Approach Direction

o The original plan was for bombers to attack parallel to the frontline (east to west) to minimize the risk of friendly fire.

o However, due to logistical constraints and operational preferences, the bombers approached perpendicular to the frontline (north to south).

o This increased the chances of bombs falling short into Allied positions, which is exactly what happened.

3. Delayed or Misinterpreted Signals

o Some aircraft formations misunderstood ground signals meant to guide them, leading to confusion over where they should release their payload.

o Smoke markers, meant to designate enemy positions, may have been misinterpreted due to shifting battlefield conditions.

4. Weather and Visibility Issues

o Dust, smoke, and poor visibility contributed to navigational errors.

o Some bombers misidentified targets and released bombs too early, hitting friendly troops.

This incident also claimed the lives of over 100 American soldiers and wounded nearly 500 others. The tragic event led to changes in tactical bombing coordination to prevent similar mistakes in future operations. Despite this disaster, Operation Cobra ultimately succeeded, allowing Allied forces to break through German defenses and liberate large parts of France.

Irvin had been assigned to the U.S. Ninth Air Force at the time of his death, and the unit’s commander, Major General Lewis H. Brereton, issued a statement on July 26 acknowledging that the photographer had been “killed by the explosion of a bomb from one of our own bombardment aircraft” before going on to praise Irvin:

“He was an unarmed observer who, heedless of personal danger, flew with us, lived with us and worked with us that through the medium of his profession he might bring home to all of us the truths of war.

“During the period of his assignment with the Ninth Air Force, I came to know Mr. Irvin well. He flew frequently as a photographic observer with our medium bombers and performed exceptionally meritorious service in the pictorial coverage of personnel and activities of the entire air force.

“I feel a deep sense of personal loss at his passing, which should be regarded by one and all as the loss of a highly trained professional soldier who died in the service of his country.”

On July 28, Irvin was buried at the temporary U.S. military cemetery at La Cambe, west of Omaha Beach, with numerous correspondents and photographers in attendance. Among them was Gordon Gammack of his hometown Des Moines Register, who wrote: “The service was simple and much as I think Bede would have wanted. During it the fighter-bombers he had photographed so many times roared overhead on their way to smash German positions.”

Irvin's commitment to frontline reporting exemplified the courage of war correspondents who risked their lives to deliver firsthand accounts of the conflict. He was the 18th U.S. newsman to be killed during World War II.

George Bede Irvin was later moved to the Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, where he was buried in Plot A, Row 12, Grave 9.

Operation Benjamin

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 13:13:11 GMT

Preserving the memories of American-Jewish servicemen and women who made the ultimate sacrifice while defending the cause of freedom during both World Wars.

One of the most fascinating activities dedicated to American-Jewish war dead of the two world wars in the 19th century is Operation Benjamin.

I came across Operation Benjamin in 2019 at the Normandy American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. Here is what this organisation is all about.

Operation Benjamin`s mission statement

The mission of Operation Benhamin is to identify Jewish soldiers at American military cemeteries all over the world who were mistakenly buried under Latin Crosses and replace the headstones with a Star of David. This allows for accurate and just recognition of the soldier’s identity, provides comfort to the families of the fallen, and enables the millions of visitors to the American military cemeteries to visually understand and appreciate the shared Jewish sacrifice in the causes of democracy and freedom.

History of Operation Benjamin

It was in May 2014, shortly before the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944, that Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, a faculty member at Yeshiva University in New York, visited the American military cemetery in Normandy in the French coastal town of Colleville-sur-Mer.

During this visit, Rabbi Schacter noticed that there were fewer Star of David headstones in the cemetery than he had expected. Only 149 graves were marked with a Star of David, 1.56% of the 9,388 graves in the cemetery. Something was wrong.

Approximately 550,000 American Jews served in the U.S. armed forces during World War II, about 3.4% of the 16 million U.S. armed forces personnel during World War II. This percentage was about the same as the Jewish percentage of the U.S. population at the time.

During the war, approximately 11,000 Jewish soldiers lost their lives, representing 2.7% of the 405,399 U.S. service personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Of these 405,399, approximately 291,000 were killed in action (KIA) and a surprisingly high number of 114,000 were non-battle deaths (including accidents, disease, and other causes).

In the 14 American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) World War II cemeteries worldwide, 92,958 U.S. service members are buried. 91,098 of these graves are marked with a Latin cross and 1,860 with a Star of David (2.0%). The disparity between the percentage of Jewish fatalities (2.7%) and their percentage in the 14 ABMC WWII cemeteries (2.0%) is obvious.

Rabbi Schacter first turned to his friend Shalom Lamm, a businessman with a master's degree in American military history. As they began to investigate the mystery, it quickly became clear that the Jewish GIs were not missing after all - they were misidentified.

Rabbi Schacter and Lamm determined that there must be hundreds of Jewish soldiers buried under Latin crosses in various American military cemeteries around the world (assuming that the proportion of repatriated Jewish service personnel and Jewish service personnel missing in action is the same as for non-Jewish service personnel).

Correcting these errors is the goal of their campaign to right a decades-old wrong and ensure that the Jewish GIs who gave their lives for their country can finally rest in peace under the Star of David markers they would have wanted.

There are several reasons a Jewish soldier might be interred under a cross.

The first had to do with the process by which soldiers were temporarily buried near battlefields. Many of the GIs who were killed during the storming of the Normandy beach on D-Day in June 1944 or in the weeks to follow had to be hastily buried on the spot, then later reburied when military cemeteries were established in the region. The army made every effort to determine the identity of the deceased, but when soldiers had to be reburied multiple times, clerical errors sometimes ensued, especially if the GIs’ dog tags—which indicated religious affiliation—became separated from their bodies during battle and were lost.

A second explanation concerned the dog tags. They not only state the GI’s name, rank and serial number, but also bear the designation “P” for Protestant, “C” for Catholic or “H” for Hebrew, in order to ensure that the religious needs of a seriously wounded soldier are met, and that a deceased soldier’s burial rites are conducted in accordance with his faith. During World War II, some Jewish GIs requested a C or a P—or “N,” for no religious preference—for fear of persecution if they were taken prisoner by the Germans; others altered the H to resemble a P—or totally effaced the religious designation on the dog tag—shortly before going into battle.

They had good reason to be afraid; the Nazis did not respect conventional rules regarding treatment of captured enemy soldiers. Some American GIs were sent to the Buchenwald and Mauthausen concentration camps, instead of normal POW facilities. Several hundred US Jewish GIs who were among the American POWs brought to the Stalag IX-B prisoner camp in 1945 were separated from their comrades and sent to the Berga slave labor camp, a subcamp of Buchenwald; thirty-five of them were worked to death, and another thirty-six died on a death march from Berga before the arrival of the victorious Allied armies.

There is also evidence that some American Jewish soldiers may have requested a C or a P, or no designation, for fear of suffering discrimination at the hands of fellow soldiers if their Jewish identity became known. In her book GI Jews, Professor Deborah Dash Moore found that anti-Semitic incidents occurred frequently in the military in the World War II era, sometimes erupting into fistfights.

The team’s research found no evidence that the military authorities ever deliberately chose a cross to mark a grave of a soldier whom they knew to be Jewish. In every instance that mislabeled graves have been uncovered, human error, not malice, was the cause. Because their loved ones were buried in faraway Europe or the South Pacific, many surviving relatives never visited their graves and thus never knew about the crosses; or, if they knew, they did not realize the mistake could be corrected.

One important source of information for the team is to be found in the records of the Jewish Welfare Board, housed at the American Jewish Historical Society in New York City. Many parents of Jewish GIs in World War II filled out a JWB form providing basic family and biographical information so the Board could assist the GI in various ways during his service—for example, via the Jewish chaplains (such as Rabbi Schacter’s father, the late Rabbi Herschel Schacter) whom the JWB helped train. Cross-checking the JWB’s records with US military records of wartime casualties has yielded crucial information.

After confirming through an extensive documentary trail that a soldier who was Jewish is buried under a cross, the team moves into the phase of contacting surviving relatives. Legal next of kin are the only ones who have the authority to formally request that a grave marker be changed. The request is made to the government agency charged with caring for all foreign US military cemeteries, the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC). “A country must be judged by how it cares for those who gave their lives for it,” says ABMC leader Major General (ret.) William Matz, with whom Rabbi Schacter and his colleagues work closely in addressing these issues.

The foundation of Operation Benjamin

The team’s first success was the case of PFC Benjamin (Boruch) Garadetsky, who was killed in a German bombing of his position in France in August 1944. There was no doubt Garadetsky was Jewish; Shalom Lamm and his wife, Tina, had visited the Long Island graves of the GI’s parents and saw the Hebrew inscriptions on their headstones. Moreover, Garadetsky, who was born in Russia, and had written “Hebrew” under “race” on his 1941 application for American citizenship.

When the team tracked down Garadetsky’s nephew, a doctor in St. Louis, it turned out that the family was aware of the cross and had written to government officials about it many years earlier but had not pursued it. With help from Lamm and Lamar, an official request was submitted through the American Battle Monuments Commission and quickly approved.

On June 20, 2018, Lamar, Rabbi Schacter and dozens of friends and family members of the Garadetskys gathered at the Normandy cemetery for the solemn ceremony at which the cross was replaced by a Star of David. Tehillim were recited, family members shared reminiscences and Rabbi Schacter conducted a memorial ceremony that he created for the occasion; since there is no existing religious service for this uniquely modern occasion, the rabbi improvised. He concluded with the poignant declaration, “Benjamin, on behalf of the citizens of the United States of America, we thank you for making the ultimate sacrifice, and Benjamin, on behalf of the Jewish people, we welcome you home.”

To honor the namesake of their first successful mission, the team gave their campaign a permanent name: Operation Benjamin.

By January 2025, 27 marker replacements had taken place, three of them at the Normandy American Cemetery:

- Private First Class Benjamin Garadetsky (Plot B, Row 14, Grave 6), Date of headstone change: June 20, 2018

- Sergeant Charles L. Solomon (Plot D, Row 25, Grave 40), Date of headstone change: April 8, 2019

- 1st Lieutenant Lawrence S. Craig (Plot E, Row 15, Grave 6), Date of headstone change: May 29, 2023

Why is it important for Jewish people to be buried under a Star of David grave marker?

In Jewish tradition, the Star of David (Magen David) is a widely recognized symbol of Jewish identity and heritage. While not a strict religious requirement, its presence on a headstone has deep cultural, spiritual, and communal significance. Here’s why it is important for many Jewish people to have a Star of David on their headstone:

1. Identity and Belonging

• The Star of David publicly affirms the deceased’s Jewish faith and heritage.

• It connects them to the Jewish people, past and present, in life and death.

2. Symbol of Protection and Divine Connection

• The Star of David has been historically associated with divine protection.

• Some interpret its two interlocking triangles as a representation of the connection between God and the Jewish people.

3. Continuity and Memory

• Jewish tradition places great emphasis on remembering the deceased (Yizkor, Kaddish, and visiting graves).

• The Star of David serves as a clear marker that the person was part of the Jewish faith, ensuring their memory is honored accordingly.

4. Cemetery and Community Tradition

• Many Jewish cemeteries use the Star of David to distinguish Jewish graves.

• It helps maintain the sacredness and separation of Jewish burial grounds from non-Jewish sections.

5. Halachic Considerations

• While Jewish law (Halacha) primarily focuses on the proper burial process rather than specific markers, using Jewish symbols on a gravestone aligns with customs of kavod hamet (respect for the deceased).

6. A Symbol of Jewish Resilience

• The Star of David has also been a symbol of Jewish survival, especially post-Holocaust, where marking Jewish graves became an act of preserving identity and defying erasure.

While not all Jewish graves must have a Star of David, it is a meaningful tradition for many families, ensuring that their loved ones' Jewish identity is honored in perpetuity.

Operation Levi – A New Project

Operation Benjamin is devoted to preserving the memories of American-Jewish soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice while defending the cause of freedom during World War II.

In a brand-new initiative, Operation Benjamin has teamed up with the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge or VDK) and supports a project called “Operation Levi”.

“Operation Levi” is devoted to the memory of German Jewish soldiers who fell in the service of Germany in the First World War. The mission of Operation Levi is to identify Jewish soldiers buried in WWI German cemeteries around the world mistakenly buried under Latin Crosses and replace their headstones with Jewish monuments.

Operation Levi is named for Levi Meier from Bornheim, Germany who fell on December 29, 1917. He was the son of Isaac Levi and Rebecca Silberberg and was a Landsturmmann in the German Imperial Army and is buried under a cross at the Warmeriville German Cemetery in Northern France.

Operation Levi has identified over seven hundred such cases, like that of Levi Meier from Bornheim, of German Jewish soldiers from World War One that made the ultimate sacrifice for their country but were mistakenly buried under Latin Crosses. There is now an appeal to the greater German-Jewish and Jewish genealogical community to assist in connecting with any surviving family, cousins, descendants, distant relatives of these brave warriors so that they can participate in the process of giving the ultimate honor to these Jewish fallen. The names of the 700 men in question can be found at the gedenkportal website of the Volksbund, see link to their website below.

100,000 Germans of the Jewish faith were enlisted during the war, 12,000 of whom were to fall. Of the 500,000 named German soldiers of the First World War buried in France, 3,000 of these war dead were of the Jewish faith. In 1968, the leadership of the Volksbund (German War Graves Commission), in conjunction with the Central Council Of Jews and the Rabbinical Conference in Germany, decided to mark the graves of these dead with stelae. In addition to an engraving of the Star of David and the personal details of the deceased, these stelae also bear a Hebrew inscription, which translates as: “May his soul be bound up in the circle of the living.”

https://www.operationbenjamin.org/

https://www.operationbenjamin.org/operation-levi

https://gedenkportal.volksbund.de/en/remembrance-day/national-day-of-mourning/german-jewish-soldiers

Elizabeth Richardson - American Red Cross volunteer in the ETO

Sat, 25 Jan 2025 08:57:51 GMT

They were nicknamed the "Donut Dollies"

E lizabeth Richardson, second from left, and her "Donut Dollie" colleague, chatting with American GIs in front of her Clubmobile.

Four women are buried at the Normandy American Cemetery. Three of these women were members of the 6888th Central Directory Po stal Battalion who were killed in an automobile accident in July 1945 (You can read more about this in my article from January 18, 2025).

The grave marker for the fourth woman reads

Elizabeth A. Richardson

American Red Cross

Indiana July 25 1945

During World War II, many American women were eager to be part of the war effort. They served as factory workers, government clerks, WAVES ( W omen A ccepted for V olunteer E mergency S ervice) or WAACS ( W omen's A rmy A uxiliary C orps), and artists who copied propaganda posters. Many young women found that the American Red Cross offered a unique opportunity for non-nurses.

Elizabeth Ann "Liz" Richardson, 25, from Milwaukee, was one of them.

In early 1944, Elizabeth joined the American Red Cross. Female applicants for Red Cross service overseas had to be college graduates, single, and at least 25 years old. Recruiting teams traveled the country to interview candidates. Letters of recommendation and physical examinations were essential, but the personal interview was the clincher and, as one official wrote, "often focused on the intangibles of personality." The rigorous selection process accepted only one in six applicants.

Twenty-five-year-old Liz passed her medical exam and sailed through the all-important personal interview. After six weeks of training in Washington, D.C., she boarded the Queen Elizabeth in mid-July 1944, one of 15,000 Americans "the Queen" carried across the Atlantic to join the war effort.

By the summer of 1944, nearly a million Yanks were scattered across England, most waiting to cross the Channel and fight the Nazis. Far from home - most for the first time - they missed family and friends, the comforts of familiar food, music, and fun. Most were very young. Many had not even finished high school. Many really didn't like England very much. They weren't much interested in Gothic cathedrals, art museums, tea, or the countryside. Even the pubs were often unattractive, with weak, warm beer and early closing times. They were bored, the food was monotonous, and the women too few. And there was the uncertainty of not knowing when they would go into battle and when they would come home.

The American Red Cross was responsible for lifting the morale and spirits of these homesick GIs, primarily by running recreation clubs in major cities. By 1944, however, Yanks were stationed all over the British Isles, most of them far from cities with clubs. The Red Cross's response to this massive dispersal of troops was the Clubmobile, a single-decker bus. Liz was assigned to work on a Clubmobile equipped with coffee and doughnut-making facilities. Because of her leadership and organizational skills, Liz was soon promoted to captain of her unit, which usually consisted of three young women and a British or French driver.

The Clubmobile Service, a great morale booster for soldiers overseas, was created as part of the Club Service. A service club on wheels not only brought coffee and doughnuts to the fighting men but also magazines, books, cigarettes, lifesavers, chewing gum, cream, razors, and even musical entertainment on phonographs. Liz and her colleagues were not warriors and usually stayed far from the front lines. The work they did was traditionally defined as "women's work": they cooked, cleaned, and waited on the men. Yet these women provided essential wartime service that included demanding physical labor and stressful emotional costs.

During World War II, about 1,000 young, energetic women volunteered to work in Clubmobiles to support military troops. The American Red Cross Clubmobile Service also had black women serving as Clubmobile workers during World War II. Because of segregation in the United States, they were only allowed to serve black soldiers.

A couple of weeks after the successful landing in Normandy, 80 Clubmobiles and 320 volunteers crossed the English Channel to start operating their kitchens near the front lines.

In February 1945 Liz was sent to Le Havre, France, where she continued to work in her Clubmobile. The Clubmobile women worked long days, sometimes twelve to fourteen hours. On a few occasions, they worked around the clock to feed the U.S. troops doughnuts and coffee. They still had time for a social life, though. Liz had at least two "romances" during her year in Europe. In England, a second lieutenant named Larry took her to division and civilian dances, but their relationship ended when he was transferred in November 1944. When Liz was sent to France in February 1945, she met Frank, a first lieutenant in the Air Transport Command (ATC). Frank attended her funeral.

On the morning of July 25, 1945, Elizabeth took a small military plane (a Piper Cub) from the Le Havre airfield in Normandy to Paris. There she was going to meet with the Red Cross to learn about her new assignment in Germany.

However, during the flight, the pilot, Sergeant William R. Miller, struggled to navigate through a thick fog, and the plane crashed near Rouen. Tragically, Elizabeth and Sergeant Miller lost their lives. Elizabeth was only 27 years old.

Liz and her pilot, Sergeant William R. Miller, were first buried in a temporary cemetery at St. Andre de L`Eure, 37 miles south of Rouen. Then, in April 1949, they were moved and interred at their final resting place, the Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer.

Sometimes there are flowers placed at the base of the marble cross that marks Grave 5, Row 21, Plot A. Nancy Reagan, the First Lady at the time, was probably the most prominent visitor to Elizabeth's grave. She visited Liz's grave on June 6, 1982, and placed flowers there during the 38th anniversary of D-Day.

Nearby, at the new Visitor Center, there is a large photograph of Elizabeth Richardson carrying a heavy coffee urn, smiling, and wearing lipstick.

The 6888th Central Directory Postal Battalion in the ETO

Sat, 18 Jan 2025 15:24:40 GMT

No Mail, No Morale -

The "Six Triple Eight" in the ETO

The Netflix movie

Two weeks ago, I watched the Netflix movie "The Six Triple Eight", which was released on December 20, 2024, and was directed by Tyler Perry. The movie is about a Women's Army Corps (WAC) battalion of African-American women who serve in the European Theater of War during the final stages of World War II.

The news of the film's release piqued my interest because three women from this battalion are buried in the Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. When I visit the cemetery with its 9,388 headstones on a tour with clients, I always point out the three headstones of Private First Class Mary J. Barlow (age 21) and Sergeant Dolores Mercedes Brown (age 23), both from Connecticut, and Private First Class Mary Hortensa Bankston (age 24), from New York.

The tree women were involved in a tragic automobile accident on July 8, 1945, while riding in a jeep with some male soldiers. Both Marys were killed instantly; Dolores lingered for five days before succumbing to her injuries on July 13, 1945. The three women were buried first in the temporary U.S. cemetery at St. André and later moved to the Normandy American Cemetery.

History of the Central Directory Post Battalion

The 6888th Central Directory Postal Battalion, nicknamed the "Six Triple Eight 6888th," was the only all-black Women's Army Auxiliary Corps unit deployed to Europe during World War II. Led by Major Charity Adams, the Six Triple Eight deployed to Birmingham on February 12, 1945, where they undertook the mammoth task of sorting 17.5 million letters and parcels for delivery to approximately 3 million U.S. personnel in the European Theater of War (ETO).

Fighting for the Right to Serve

In the summer of 1944, Major Charity Adams was charged with preparing a Women's Army Corps (WAC) battalion of black Americans for overseas deployment. Although their mission had not yet been determined, the women threw themselves into a training program that included obstacle courses, gas mask drills, and lectures on aircraft identification. As the women prepared for their future mission, African American political and civil rights leaders lobbied the government for the opportunity for Black American women to serve overseas. In December 1944, the War Department relented, and the decision was made to form a Postal Directory Battalion to serve in the European Theater. A major factor in the decision was the urgent need for more postal workers to handle the huge backlog of mail that had accumulated in Europe since the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944. The 6888th Central Postal Directory was created under the leadership of Major Charity Adams.

The personnel of the Six Triple Eight (the battalion was 855 strong, 824 enlisted women and 31 officers) were drawn from the ranks of the Women's Army Corps, with a requirement of willingness to serve overseas. There was no shortage of volunteers. Many of the battalion's sergeants were trained medical technicians who had worked in hospitals before being selected for the Six Triple Eight. Despite the mismatch between their specialties and their eventual assignments, many servicewomen jumped at the chance to serve in a combat zone. One of the many obstacles African-American WACs faced was a reluctance within the U.S. Army to assign women to specialized roles. Instead, they often served as generalists, performing menial tasks such as cleaning and laundry, even though most WACs were highly educated. As part of their training, the WACs of the Six Triple Eight Central Postal Battalion received instruction on the U.S. postal system from postal clerks.

Arrival in Great Britain

The Six Triple Eight boarded the liner Île de France on February 3, 1945 and encountered several German U-boats on the transatlantic crossing. It wasn't until the ship was halfway across the Atlantic that the women were told they were being sent to Britain. On February 11, the Île de France docked in Glasgow and the battalion was boarded onto a train for Birmingham in the English Midlands, arriving late on the evening of February 12. As the women traveled to their billets, they were amazed at the bomb damage that had been done to the city.

The reception they received from the local population was warm and curious. While some locals held racist views, others were quick to extend invitations to the new arrivals. African Americans had been sent to Britain since 1942, but were concentrated in the southwest and east of England. During their time in Birmingham, the Six Triple Eight were housed at King's Edward School in Edgbaston, a requisitioned boys' boarding school that, according to new arrival Evelyn Johnson, was ill-equipped to accommodate women.

No mail, low morale

The Six Triple Eight would work in six drafty warehouses piled high with more than 17 million pieces of unsorted mail and overrun with rats that feasted on the rotting parcels of homemade cakes and fried chicken sent to soldiers by well-meaning loved ones in the United States. The delay in processing the mail was caused in part by the transient nature of the invading forces as personnel advanced across Europe. Another stumbling block was the incomplete or outdated addresses on the envelopes, which were further complicated by the sheer number of personnel with the same name (for example, there were approximately 7,500 Robert Smiths serving in the ETO). The Six Triple Eights were given six months to deal with this enormous backlog.

The War Department had reason for urgency. The mail had long been seen as an important morale-booster. Writing in 1942, the United States Postmaster General argued that "frequent and rapid communication with parents, comrades, and other loved ones strengthens fortitude, revives patriotism, makes loneliness bearable, and inspires to greater devotion the men and women who carry on our fight far from home and friends. In the words of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion's motto, "No mail, low morale".

Under the steady leadership of Major Charity Adams, the battalion was organized into three shifts and worked around the clock to eliminate the backlog of mail. The battalion developed and implemented a system to reunite orphaned mail with its intended recipient. A locator clerk updated boxes of maps that tracked the locations of U.S. units overseas. Meanwhile, mail clerks were given an alphabetical list of names and associated units to use in processing incoming mail. At its peak, the Six Triple Eight numbered 855 women, divided into a headquarters company and four postal companies. The three shifts each processed about 65,000 pieces per shift, or about 195,000 pieces per day. The battalion stayed in Birmingham for three months, or 90 days. During that time, the Six Triple Eights sorted and redistributed approximately 17.5 million pieces of mail.

Off Duty

Not every member of the battalion was a postal worker. The Six Triple Eight also included administrative personnel, cooks, and Special Service personnel who ran the unit's recreation program.This recreational program was the unit's variety show, "Wacacts".

The show was performed for the Lord Mayor of Birmingham and later toured British hospitals and G.I. bases as part of an Anglo-American troupe.

During their allotted leave, the WACs visited towns and cities throughout Britain, with London being the most popular destination. On one occasion, the entire unit was sent to London to parade before Mary, the Queen Mother. Despite the warm welcome from the majority of the British people, the women of the Six Triple Eight found hostility and discrimination within the U.S. military. A policy of segregation meant that Black Americans were often prevented from using facilities reserved for white servicemen. This extended to American Red Cross clubs, which operated white and black service clubs, although they publicly denied that their services were segregated. In London, the American Red Cross offered to provide Six Triple Eight personnel with their own hotel. Major Charity Adams knew it was so her troops wouldn't have to use the accommodations set up for white servicewomen.

A new challenge in France

After completing their work in Birmingham in May 1945, the battalion received orders to move to Rouen, France, and do the same work there. Once again, the Six Triple Eights were able to complete the backlog in less time than they were allotted.

Tragedy struck the battalion on July 8, 1945, when three WACs were killed in a vehicle accident while on duty. Private Mary J. Barlow and Sergeant Dolores Mercedes Brown, both of Connecticut, and Private First Class Mary Hortensa Bankston of New York were interred at the American Cemetery on Omaha Beach, Normandy. Shockingly, the U.S. Army did not provide funds for their burial, so the members of the 6888th took up a collection, and several members of the unit were familiar with mortuary duties.

From Rouen, the battalion moved to Paris, where personnel were slowly rotated home from the summer of 1945 until February 1946, when the unit returned to the United States.

At the end of their tours, some women remained in the military, but most returned to civilian life, often sharing little of their wartime experiences.

Recognition long overdue

In 2022, the battalion was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the United States Congress. On one side of the medal is a portrait of Adams, and on the other is a large stack of letters and parcels with the inscription "Clearing the Backlog". In 2023, a U.S. Army base named for Confederate General Robert E. Lee was renamed Fort Gregg-Adams in honor of the 6888's Adams and Arthur Gregg, another pioneering African American in the Army.

Paying your respects

If you visit the Normandy American Cemetery, either on your own or with a tour guide, please be sure to pay your respects to Sergeant Dolores Mercedes Brown (Plot F, Row 13, Grave 19), Private First Class Mary Hortensa Bankston (Plot D, Row 20, Grave 46), and Private First Class Mary Jewel Barlow (Plot A, Row 19, Grave 39).

The 1st U.S. Army Press Camp at the Château de Vouilly

Sat, 09 Sep 2023 10:15:15 GMT

A visit to the press camp of the 1st U.S. Army at the Château de Vouilly

T he Château de Vouilly is one of the lesser known but very interesting sites in Normandy. It is located 4 km south of

La Cambe, where the largest German military cemetery in Normandy is located.

The château, which is now a beautiful small hotel, housed the headquarters of the American press camp of the 1st U.S. Army from June 10 to August 2, 1944.

Famous war reporters and photographers such as Walter Cronkite, Andy Rooney, Ernie Pyle, Robert Capa, Robert Dempsey and Ernest Hemingway covered the Battle of Normandy from here.

For two months, General Omar Bradley, 42 journalists and their technicians stayed in this chateau with the owners, the Hamel family.

Being a former PR professional myself, this is one of my favorite places in Normandy.

16 months before they reported from Normandy, two of the aforementioned war correspondents, Walter Cronkite (United Press) and Andy Rooney (Stars and Stripes), were part of a group of eight war correspondents who called themselves "Writing 69th" and were given a unique opportunity to report on a bombing raid on the Reich.

After three weeks of intensive training, six of the eight men were selected to cover a bombing raid on Bremen carried out by 65 four-engine American B-17 "Flying Fortress" and B-24 Liberator bombers on February 26, 1943.

This raid was only the second attack on the Reich by the 8th U.S. Air Force.

As the sky over Bremen was overcast, the bombers changed course and flew towards their secondary target, the U-boat pens at Wilhelmshaven. One of the B-24 Liberators was shot down by a German fighter plane over Wilhelmshaven, killing Robert P. Post, war correspondent for the New York Times, and all but two of the crew.

Robert P. Post found his final resting place in the Ardennes American Cemetery at Henry Chapel, Belgium.

I visited Robert's grave in the summer of 2021 to pay my respect to this brave war correspondent, see photo below.

If you want to read more about the Writing 69th, please visit the web site of my friend Jim Hamilton who has done a lot of research and published a book about the Writing 69th.

Military museums on the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy

Sun, 06 Aug 2023 15:15:14 GMT

As described here , my tours do not include visits to military museums. A museum visit easily lasts 45-60 minutes, valuable time that we lack for visiting other sights. Nevertheless, visiting one or more museums is an exciting and interesting affair, but interested tourists can do it on their own. In this article, I give a brief overview of the ten military museums that are located on the Cotentin Peninsula.

Saint-C ô me-du-Mont:

The Dead Man’s Corner Museum and the D-Day Experience Hangar. In the building where German paratrooper commander Major von der Heydte had set up the regimental CP of his FJR 6 on D-Day, there is now a small museum on the upper floor that displays only equipment of the German paratroopers. The building also houses a militaria store on the first floor, selling original and replica uniforms, weapons, and other parachute troop utensils and memorabilia. The building and grounds are owned by the Centre Historique des Parachutists du Jour-J, an association whose main goal is to preserve the historic grounds around the museum and provide information about the events of June 1944. In this context, the Centre Historique had set up a historic route with 13 sites of military historical importance that can be visited with the help of GPS coordinates. At each of these sites, a large information panel with detailed explanations, maps, and photos explains the respective battles in June 1944. A leaflet with GPS data is available free of charge at both the museum and the militaria shop.

Also on the ground of the site of the Centre Historique des Parachutistes du Jour-J is a relatively new museum that opened in 2015, the D-Day Experience Hangar . In the hangar, the mission of the men of the 101st Airborne in Normandy is described in detail. The absolute highlight of the Experience Hangar is a virtual Hologram briefing with Lieutenant Colonel Wolverton, preparing you for deployment as a paratrooper of the 3rd Battalion, 506 PIR, in Normandy. After the briefing, you board a spacious flight simulator, which is built out of an original C-47 Skytrain, and take off on the mission. An astonishing experience, whether it is realistic, only contemporary witnesses will be able to judge.

Please note that the admission fee for the Experience Hangar also includes admission to the Dead Man’s Corner

Museum.

Donville:

The Musée Mémorial de Bloody Gulch/The Manoir de Donville is an old Norman manor house, first mentioned in the late 11th century and rebuilt to its present form at the end of the 18th century. The listed property has military-historical relevance, as it was here in the house, on the compound and the terrain to the east, that a fierce battle took place between American paratroopers and paratroopers of the FJR 6 and grenadiers of the

17th SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Götz von Berlichingen" on June 12-13, 1944. The proud owner of the house and the surrounding garden, Franck Feuardent, who bought the property in 1999, offers two guided tours in English and French.

The subjects of the tours are: "The Mansion, its History, its Architecture" and "The Battle of Bloody Gulch and Hill 30 in Donville in 1944 and its vestiges". For the visitor interested in military history, the latter tour is probably of main interest. The approximately 75-minute tour includes a visit to the Chapelle de Donville cemetery, where several civilians who were victims of the battle are buried, as well as the battlefield and its archaeological vestiges. Franck will also give a tour of his museum, which houses interesting exhibits. A walk through the mansion, where the traces of close combat are preserved, concludes this tour.

Azeville:

Ticket sales and access to the Musée de la Batterie d’Azeville are through the museum’s visitor center, located between casemates No. 2 and No. 3 opposite the entrance to the parking lot. The museum itself has the usual exhibits such as weapons, uniforms, documents, and equipment of all kinds. A 20-minute film describes the construction of the Atlantic Wall and the multifaceted relationships between the German occupation forces and the French population during the four-year occupation.

The highlight of the museum, which has been opened in 1994, is a tour (either audio-guided or guided) through a 350-meter tunnel that once connected the four casemates and a series of smaller concrete bunkers.

Crisbecq:

The Musée Batterie de Crisbecq is located on the site of the former MKB Marcouf. On the nearly four hectare site, one can visit several well-preserved shelters such as the battery’s kitchen, ammunition depot, sanitary rooms and infirmary. All dioramas are depicted with original equipment and uniforms and give a vivid impression of the life of the German soldier in a coastal battery.

The highlight of the museum is certainly a huge R683 gun casemate, from which a replica barrel of a 210-mm gun protrudes menacingly under camouflage netting.

In 2016, the battery’s former command and fire control bunker, located directly opposite the museum site, was also made accessible and converted into a small museum by a local enthusiast, the Musée Marcouf 44 . From the platform on top of the observation bunker, one can enjoy a panoramic view of the sea.

Sainte-Mère-Église:

Dedicated to the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, Le Musée Airborne Museum can almost be described as a shrine of sorts to American paratroopers.

The former assistant commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, Brigadier General James M. Gavin, laid the cornerstone for the museum on June 6, 1961. The design of the buildings, whose roof structure symbolizes a parachute and a delta wing, was commissioned to the French architect Francois Carpentier, who was also responsible for the design of the Musée du Débarquement at Arromanches-les-Bains.

Since June 2014, the museum has presented a new building where you can relive the experiences of a U.S. paratrooper from D-Day to V-Day in Berlin. Other highlights

include a walk-through CG-4A Waco glider and the Douglas Dakota C-47 "Argonia", the lead aircraft of the 439th Troup Carrier Group in Mission ALBANY.

Sainte-Marie-du-Mont:

The Musée du Débarquement Utah Beach was built in 1962 on the ruins of a bunker of resistance nest WN-5 and opened that same year. Interestingly, well-preserved parts of the bunker were integrated into the building during construction. In 2010 and 2011, the museum was expanded and the exhibition space was significantly enlarged. The two-storey museum describes and explains the U.S. landing at UTAH Beach by means of numerous photos, information panels, dioramas, and a film. Weapons and vehicles are displayed on the lower floor of the museum. Of particular interest are a remote-controlled German Goliath miniature tank, an LVT-2 (Landing Vehicle Tracked), an LCVP, and, most notably, a Martin B-26 Marauder bomber in a purpose-built hangar. Bombers of this type bombed the defenses of UTAH Beach with high accuracy on the morning of June 6 and were instrumental in the success of the amphibious landing. In a room at the entrance of the museum there are also some German artifacts on display.

Quinneville:

The World War II Museum , which opened in May 2017, shows the chronology of the four years of German occupation on an area of around 1,000 square meters. What is remarkable here is that there is no presentation of weapons at all. Numerous panels and 75 mannequins explain the various aspects of the occupation. A reconstructed alley offers fascinating insights into the domestic life of the French under German occupation. Numerous dioramas with miniature vehicles and tank models also delight the visitor's eye. On the short walk to the museum entrance, you will pass a kilometer stone of the Voie De La Liberté (Road of Freedom) and a memorial in honor of the 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, which liberated Quinéville on June 14, 1944.

Carquebut:

The Château de Carquebut is home to the D Day Collins Museum that opened in April 2023. The grounds of the Château de Carquebut served as headquarters of the commanding general of the U.S. VII Army Corps, Major General Joe Collins, during July 1944. It was here that the Americans planned and prepared Operation Cobra. The museum is one of only two military museums in Normandy located in a historic building that played a significant role during the Battle of Normandy. Everything remained as the Americans left it in 1944 when they left the furniture and the equipment.

Cherbourg:

The Musée de la Libération is situated on the north-western end of the famous Fort du Roule, which in turn is located on the western end of the Montagne du Roule hill. The museum commemorates the Battle of the Normandy and the Battle of Cherbourg. The view that is offered from the fort and the museum down to the city and the harbor is breathtaking. So, a visit to the Fort du Roule is recommended for that reason alone.

Statue D-Day Piper Bill Millin

Thu, 27 Jul 2023 13:53:28 GMT

Tribute to a fine man and hero of the Battle of Normandy

On June 8, 2013, a life-size bronze statue of bagpiper Bill Millin was unveiled to commemorate his heroic actions during the D-Day landings at Sword Beach.

Bill Millin's son John (left) attended the ceremony and gave a moving tribute to his father, who died Aug. 18, 2010, at the age of 88. Several bagpipe bands played that sunny day in honor of Bill Millin. Later, a Spitfire flew several flyovers to the cheers of the crowd.

Bill Millin was Lord Lovat's personal piper and led the British commandos to the French coast. Except for the ceremonial dagger in his stocking, he was unarmed and played fearlessly as the men fell around him.

As the brigade moved away from the beach, Piper Millin played on, leading the Commandos across Pegasus Bridge. The Germans said they did not shoot him because they thought he had "gone crazy."

Statue of Lord Lovat at Ouistreham, SWORD Beach

Thu, 27 Jul 2023 10:06:14 GMT

Lord Lovat

Born on July 9, 1911, Scotsman Simon Christopher Joseph Fraser, 5th McShimidh, 15th Lord Lovat, 4th Baron Lovat, who was usually only called "Shimi" by his friends, was quite a colorful character. After attending Ampleforth College and Magdalene College in Oxford, he joined the Scots Guards in 1931. When his father died in 1933, 22-year-old Simon followed him as the 15th Lord Lovat and 25th Chief of the Fraser Clan. Lord Lovat, promoted to lieutenant in 1934, was discharged from active duty as a reserve officer in 1937 but was recalled to active duty as a captain when the war broke out. In 1940, the British Army was looking for volunteers for the newly formed elite Commando unit.

The adventurous Lord Lovat, one of the first volunteers, was accepted into the ranks of No. 4 Commando and saw his first action on March 4, 1941, when he took part in the very successful raid on the Lofoten islands (Operation CLAYMORE).

On April 21/22, 1942, Lovat, now a major, commanded a section of No. 4 Commando (about 170 men) during the equally successful ABERCROMBIE Commando raid on the French coast south of Boulogne. For the prudent and cool leadership of his men in this operation, Lord Lovat was awarded the Military Cross, the third-highest military award in the British armed forces.

Four months later, on August 19, 1942, Lord Lovat’s luck ran out. Lovat, by now promoted to lieutenant colonel, took part in the disastrous landing at Dieppe, Operation JUBILEE, with No. 4 Commando now under his command. Lovat’s men, reinforced by 50 U.S. Army Rangers, succeeded in destroying the German artillery battery HKB 813 "Hess" near Varengeville (6 x 150-mm guns), but the destruction of the battery was the only notable success of Operation JUBILEE. Lovat even managed to get most of his men safely back to England, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.

When it became evident during the planning of Operation NEPTUNE, the amphibious landing phase in Normandy, that a larger number of command units would have to be deployed under a single command, Lovat was promoted to brigadier general and given command of the newly formed 1st Special Service Brigade, comprising No. 3, No. 4, No. 6 Army Commandos, and No. 45 Royal Marine Commando.

Lovat, who landed with his brigade in the second landing wave on SWORD Beach in sector QUEEN RED at about 8:40 a.m., then advanced with his men under the sound of bagpiper, Bill Millin, to Pegasus Bridge, which had been seized the night before by airborne troops of the British 6th Airborne Division.

Lord Lovat was badly wounded by shell fragments during the fighting for Bréville on June 12, 1944, and had to be evacuated. Although Lovat fully recovered after prolonged treatment, he retired from military service after his recovery and subsequently served as a politician in the House of Lords for many years.

Lovat passed away on March 16, 1995, in Beauly, Invernessshire.

The impressive bronze statue of Lord Lovat was inaugurated at the behest of the Mayor of Ouistreham on May 8, 2014.

The statue, which cost around €125,000 to make, was financed exclusively by the Lovat family.

Statue Commandant Philippe Kieffer at Ouistreham, Sword Beach

Thu, 27 Jul 2023 09:16:07 GMT

Historical background

Philippe Kieffer was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 1899. He was a bank director who made his career in London and New York. In the spring of 1939, he left his quite well-off life and moved to France, where he volunteered for the army before the outbreak of war. After the French defeat in June 1940, he fled to England and joined General de Gaulle’s "France Libre" movement in London. Kieffer became a naval officer at Free French Headquarters in Portsmouth, but soon became bored with his purely administrative duties. The resounding success of Operation CLAYMORE, the British Commando raid on the Norwegian Lofoten on March 4, 1941, intrigued Kieffer, who was then able to convince his French superiors and the British Admiralty to form a French Naval Commando unit. By the spring of 1942, Kieffer had gathered about twenty Frenchmen, who shortly thereafter experienced their baptism of fire during the attack on Dieppe in August 1942.

Night Commando raids on the French coast in the winter of 1943-1944 completed the training of his unit, now officially known as the 1er Bataillon de Fusilier Marins Commandos (BMFC), which was then integrated into British No. 4 Commando in mid-April 1944.

The 177-man BMFC was the only French unit to land in Normandy on D-Day, a fact that to this day establishes the legendary reputation of the unit and Kieffer himself. Already wounded during the landing and again in the attack on the casino in Riva-Bella (Ouistreham), Kieffer was evacuated to England on June 8. Only one month later, however, he returned to his unit, which he led until the end of the Normandy campaign.

Kieffer’s Commando unit then participated in the amphibious landing on the Dutch peninsula of Walcheren on November 1, 1944, and was subsequently deployed to the Dutch theater of war.

Invited to represent the "France Combattante" movement in the French Provisional Consultative Assembly, Kieffer resigned his command in April 1945. He was demobilized in 1946 and began a political career in Normandy that was not very successful. In the late 1950s, Kieffer was interviewed by Cornelius Ryan for his book "The Longest Day", which described events during the Normandy landings. Shortly afterward, Kieffer acted as a consultant in the production of the film of the same name.

Philippe Kieffer died on November 20, 1962, at the age of only 63, in Cormeilles-en-Parisis in the Val-d’Oise department. He rests in the cemetery of Grandcamp-Maisy in the department of Calvados.

On May 8, 2008, French President Sarkozy announced the creation of a "Commando Kieffer" within the special forces of the Marines, which is unmistakable proof of Philippe Kieffer’s high reputation in the public consciousness of the French, even decades after the war had ended.

On June 6, 2019, the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, a life-size statue of Commandant Philippe Kieffer was inaugurated opposite the statue of Lord Lovat.

The life and death of Ernie Pyle

Wed, 15 Feb 2023 14:50:08 GMT

The life and death of Ernie Pyle, the famous war correspondent of WWII

About a month ago, I wrote about the Mémorial des Reporters in Bayeux and about Sergeant Pete Paris, the first combat photographer to lose his life in Normandy on D-Day, on assignment for the American magazine YANK.

Today's article is about a newspaperman who is also commemorated at the Mémorial des Reporters, whose reportage is inextricably linked to World War II, a reporter who held a special place in the hearts of those who fought in the war: Ernie Pyle.

Ernie Pyle was the most famous American writer during World War II, a man who captivated readers with his simple and direct accounts of life in the war zones and his ability to capture the human essence of the soldiers he encountered. Ernie Pyle was not only popular with GIs. He had a large audience in the United States who appreciated the simple, straightforward approach to the people and events he wrote about in his columns.

Of course, there was no shortage of excellent reporters during World War II. In the United States alone, journalists such as William L. Shirer, Edward R. Murrow, John Hersey, Quentin Reynolds, Martha Gellhorn, and Richard Tregaskis are still valued today for their coverage of the greatest conflict of the twentieth century. Famous authors such as John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, and Erskine Caldwell also served as war correspondents. And of course, the British Army was covered by men like Richard Dimbleby, Alan Moorehead, Frank Gillard, and Chester Wilmosts, to name a few.

But no one reached the hearts of his readers and followers the way Ernie Pyle did.

Ernie's civil career:

Ernest Taylor Pyle was born on August 3, 1900. Ernie was an only child and grew up working on the 80-acre grain farm rented by his parents.

After graduating from high school, Ernie enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve in October 1918 but was unable to serve overseas before WWI ended. In 1922, he left school to become a reporter at the LaPorte (Indiana) Herald-Argus Newspaper. However, the always restless reporter worked for the paper for only four months before moving to Washington, D.C., to take another job as a reporter for the Washington Daily News, a newly formed tabloid in the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain.

After marrying Geraldine "Jerry" Siebolds and traveling around the United States in a Ford T for more than three months, the young couple ended up in New York City, where they sold the car to pay for food. Ernie found work with

The Evening World and later with The Evening Post.

In December 1927, Ernie moved back to the Washington Daily News and soon became one of the best-known aviation journalists of the time. After writing about aviation for four years, Ernie became managing editor of the Washington Daily News in 1932. In 1935, he had the idea of traveling the world as a roving reporter and writing about the people he met. For the next six years, Ernie and Jerry traveled the world with only brief interruptions. By 1940, Ernie estimated that he had "covered 200,000 miles and visited five of the six continents." Ernie especially sought out people with unusual stories. In addition, his articles enjoyed a wide readership at a time when money was tight and working families often could not travel.

Ernies's career as a war correspondent:

In England:

When the war broke out in Europe, Ernie received permission from his editor to go to England to write about the Blitz from London. He arrived in the United Kingdom in December 1940, and the columns he sent home made him the best-known newspaper correspondent in America. Ernie wrote about the air raids and the bombing, doing in print what Edward Murrow did on the radio.

Ernie did not pretend to give his readers a definitive account of the battle. Rather, he gave his own impressions and feelings. Ernie's columns from London were universally appraised. When he returned home, he was a celebrity. A publisher approached him about printing his columns from Britain in a book, ”Ernie Pyle in England”, which was published in late 1941.

After the United States entered the war on December 8, 1941, Ernie tried to join the Navy but was turned down because he was too small and too old. As a result, Ernie decided to travel to the war zone in England, where Allied forces were getting ready to strike against the Axis powers.

By August 1942, Ernie was back in England reporting on the lives of American soldiers and their relations with the British.

Ernie in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy:

From England, he followed American and British soldiers in the invasion of North Africa in November 1942. Generals and officers appreciated his presence to promote their campaigns, and the soldiers wanted to see their names in the newspapers to let their friends back home know they were doing well. Ernie was happy to oblige them. He wrote articles about military policemen, quartermasters, and airmen, but he was most sympathetic to the infantrymen. Ernie's column was a resounding success. People eagerly read his descriptions of North Africa, the battlefields, and U.S. soldiers to learn what their boys were experiencing. Soldiers liked his column, too. In the United States, about 300 newspapers published his column, which was read by millions and millions of Americans.

Ernie liked to mention specific units, which filled their soldiers with great pride.

Ernie was far from depressing readers in the United States, his honest accounts of the soldiers were just what the public wanted.

After the campaign in North Africa ended, Ernie accompanied American forces in the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. When the Sicily campaign ended a month later, Ernie suffered from exhaustion and what he called a "state of mental dullness." In mid-August 1943, Ernie returned home to rest. Unexpectedly and very surprising to him, he was a national celebrity upon his return. His reports from North Africa were compiled and published under the title “Here Is Your War”.

In December 1943, the ever-restless Ernie returned to Italy. Over the next three months, he wrote some of his most poignant articles about the war. His most famous column described the soldiers' reactions to the death of their beloved company commander, Captain Henry T. Waskow.

Ernie took the life of a soldier. He narrowly escaped a bombing raid at Anzio and followed the slow advance on the Italian peninsula until February 1944, when he traveled back to England to await the invasion of France. In May,

Ernie was stunned to learn that he had won the Pulitzer Prize "for outstanding war correspondence in 1943."

Ernie and the Battle of Normandy:

Ernie planned to go ashore a few weeks after the landing, but couldn't turn down an invitation to watch the landing from the bridge of the cruiser Augusta, General Omar Bradley's flagship. The next day, while walking along Omaha Beach, he looked at the wreckage and reported the enormous sacrifices Allied troops had made there.

“Submerged tanks and overturned boats and burned trucks and shell-shattered jeeps and sad little personal belongings were strewn all over those bitter sands,” Ernie told his readers. “After it was over it seemed to me a pure miracle that we ever took the beach at all.”

On July 25, Ernie was nearly killed in an accidental bombing by the Army Air Forces during Operation Cobra near Saint-Lô in Normandy. In the same incident, Lieutenant General Leslie McNair was killed.

Exactly a month later, Ernie witnessed firsthand the liberation of Paris.

Ernie remained in France for two more months until he again reached his limits. The 43-year-old suffered from the stress of living near the front, but also from seeing so many young men killed and maimed.

In the fall of 1944, Ernie returned home to a hero's welcome.

Ernie's last assignment and death:

But after only a few months, Ernie felt compelled to return to the war. He publicly stated that he needed to correct his one-sided focus on forces in Europe and cover the Pacific. Ernie set out from California in January 1945. His trip took him to Hawaii, Guam, and Saipan, where he wrote about B-29 crews bombing Japan.

In March, Ernie sailed with the Allied invasion fleet toward Okinawa.

On April 17, 1945, Ernie went ashore on the small island of Ie Shima off the coast of Okinawa. The U.S. Army's 77th Infantry Division was in the final stages of securing the small airfield on the ten-square-mile island. The next morning, Ernie was riding in a jeep with an Army officer when a hidden Japanese machine gunner opened fire.

Ernie and his companion jumped into a nearby ditch, but when Ernie raised his head a moment later, a bullet hit him just below the rim of his helmet. He was 44 years old.

On April 18, 1945, the Associated Press reported, “Ernie Pyle, war correspondent beloved by his co-workers, G.I.s and generals alike, was killed by a Japanese machine-gun bullet through his left temple this morning.” This news was not just an ordinary report of another casualty of war. No, this news stunned the nation - a country still mourning the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt six days earlier.

Pyle was mourned by millions of Americans who felt they had lost a close friend, someone who in his unique way honored the sacrifices of their sons and daughters who served their country in the most difficult and dangerous times.

Harry Truman, who was sworn in as President of the United States just six days before Pyle's death, said of him,

“No man in this war has so well told the story of the American fighting man as American fighting men wanted it told.

He deserves the gratitude of all his countrymen.”

Eleanor Roosevelt wrote of Pyle the day after his death “I shall never forget how much I enjoyed meeting him here in the White House last year, and how much I admired this frail and modest man who could endure hardships because he loved his job and our men.”

The U.S. Army's affection for Ernie was evident in the memorial erected at the site of his death:

AT THIS SPOT

THE 77th INFANTRY DIVISION.

LOST A BUDDY

ERNIE PYLE

April 18, 1945

On July 19, 1949, Ernie Pyle was reinterred in the presence of 2,000 mourners at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, where he rests today along with 31,000 other American fallen of World War II. In 1983, Pyle was awarded the Purple Heart, a rare honor for civilians.

Through his work, Pyle became friends with the enlisted men and officers, as well as those in leadership roles such as Generals Omar Bradley and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Pyle wrote that he was especially fond of the infantry "because they are the underdogs".Pyle was arguably the first embedded reporter, a recent term that describes his approach to war reporting as well as any. Pyle took not a macro but a micro approach. He was not interested in reporting on the successes and failures of military campaigns or in portraying generals, admirals, and other high-ranking figures. He spent his time with ordinary soldiers and reported what they went through. His reports appeared in more than 300 newspapers, so his audience was vast and his readers eagerly followed his every account to get a better sense of what their sons and daughters were experiencing.

Ernie's legacy:

When Pyle's columns were collected in book form, four volumes were published, titled “Ernie Pyle In England”, “Here Is Your War”, and “Brave Men” . In 1946, a selection of Ernie's columns from the Pacific Theater was published posthumously under the title “Last Chapter” . All four of Ernie Pyle's books became instant bestsellers.

The book that is probably of most interest to those interested in the Battle of Normandy is Ernie Pyle's book “Brave Men”, published in 1944. “Brave Men” is divided into four sections. The first covers the invasion of Sicily and the subsequent campaign between June and September 1943, and the second is devoted to the Italian campaign from December 1943 to April 1944. This is followed by a section on Pyle's time in England in April and May 1944. This material includes reflections on the war in Italy, a visit with American airmen in England, and a portrait of a tank destroyer unit. The book concludes with the Battle of France from June to September 1944. Pyle arrived in Normandy the day after the D-Day landings and followed the fighting all the way to Paris.

The rights to Pyle's war reports were even bought by Hollywood and adapted for the 1945 film “The Story of G.I. Joe” . It was directed by William Wellman and starred Burgess Meredith in the role of the thin and aging 44-year-old reporter and Robert Mitchum. A modest man, Pyle insisted that the film feature other war correspondents playing themselves, not actors. But sadly, he perished before the film was even released.

The legacy of Ernie Pyle lives on. There is a museum at the Erie Pyle State Historic Site in Dana, Indiana, and Indiana University's School of Journalism is located in Ernie Pyle Hall. There is also an Ernie Pyle Journalism Scholarship at Indiana University. Visitors can also tour the Ernie Pyle Home and Library in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

His home has been converted into a branch library that also houses Ernie Pyle material and memorabilia.

In the spring of 1944, Pyle wrote a column in Italy calling for combat pay for the infantry, just as the airmen received "flight pay." In May 1944, the U.S. Congress passed a law that became known as the “Ernie Pyle Act” . It authorized a 50 percent increase in pay for combat service.

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and a diminutive newspaper reporter from the Midwest seems an unlikely candidate for that status. But Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ernest Taylor "Ernie" Pyle was indeed a hero to millions of Americans who appreciated his bravery in reporting the experiences of ordinary soldiers, sailors, and airmen during World War II.

Mémorial des Reporters at Bayeux and the fate of Sergeant Pete Paris

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 14:42:48 GMT

The Mémorial des Reporters at Bayeux lists all the photojournalists, war correspondents and cameramen and camerawomen killed in the line of duty on the battlefields since 1944.

Off the beaten track in Bayeux, between the CWGC Cemetery, the Bayeux Memorial, and the Musée Memorial de la Bataille de Normandie, is the impressive Mémorial des Reporter. The Memorial lists the names of more than 2,000 reporters, photographers, cameramen and camerawomen who have died in the line of duty on the battlefields since 1944. Each year that war reporters, photographers or cameramen/women have died in combat is represented by a stele engraved with the names of the victims. There are two famous reporters and photographers commemorated who are inextricably linked to the D-Day landings and the Battle of Normandy: Ernie Pyle (killed in 1945) and Robert Capa (killed in 1954). There will soon be separate posts about these two famous men.

This post is about Sergeant Peter Paris, the first photographer killed in Normandy on D-Day working for the American YANK magazine.

Sgt. Pete Paris was the first enlisted man to report for duty on the editorial staff of YANK when it was activated in 1942. Sgt. Pete Paris, made history with his first-ever cover story of a black unit in combat in the early stages of the war in Africa and Sicily. He was killed in action June 6 on the Normandy beachhead while he was covering the D-Day landings of the 1st Division for this magazine.

In the thick of action during the D-Day landings in 1944, Paris managed to avoid machine-gun fire only to step on a land mine and have his leg torn off at the hip. He was evacuated from Normandy aboard a Navy LST but never made it back to England - the ship was bombed and sunk in the English Channel, killing all aboard.

Pete was an illustrator and photographer. He took some award winning photos during the African campaign.

Pete Paris was 30 years old when he died, he received his Purple Heart posthumously.

Women and children buried at the German WW II Military Cemetery at Mont d'Huisnes/Normandy

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 12:52:35 GMT

Two weeks ago, in a talk about the German military cemetery at La Cambe/Normandy, I mentioned the fact that two German women are buried in this cemetery, Hildegard Oesswein and Marie-Luise Micknat. This statement prompted a fellow tour guide from Normandy to contact me to bring to my attention the nearly 100 women, female teenagers, and little girls buried in the German military cemetery at Mont d' Huisnes (near Mont St.-Michel).

Who were these women, teenagers and little girls and what was their fate?

Veronique provided me with a list from the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge (German War Graves Commission) showing the ages, names, and military affiliations, if any, of these individuals. All of the women have last names that sound very German. A quick count revealed that 17 women worked for the Todt organization, were Red Cross nurses, or were staff or signals aides. These young women either were killed in the Battle of Normandy or were victims of bombing raids, accidents, or disease during the four-year German occupation.

But what about the other women and the young children/babies?

The list provided by the Volksbund showed that the women were mostly older women, the oldest born in 1860, the youngest baby girls only between 1 and 2 months old.

A few hours of internet research revealed the following:

The women in question were mostly from eastern France, i.e., from the départments Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin (with the exception of Belfort and its environs), as well as from the northern part of Lorraine, including the départment of Moselle, and from parts of the départments of Meurthe and Vosges, all of which had been French territory before 1871 but were annexed by the German Empire after the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 with the defeat of France.

After the defeat of Imperial Germany in World War I in 1918, these territories were returned to France. Only 22 years later, they changed hands again and came under German civil administration after France surrendered at the end of June 1940.

Although the five départments were not annexed by the 3rd Reich, the civil administrations of these areas had the task of Germanizing them. The French living in these departments were now given the status of German citizens, whether they wanted it or not. The manpower shortage, which was already becoming apparent in 1942, prompted the Wehrmacht to draft 100,000 Alsatians and 30,000 Moselans as "ethnic Germans" into the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS between 1942 and 1944. The conscription violated international law since nationals of the enemy were not allowed to be drafted. These unfortunate young men became known as "Malgré Nous" (Eng: "Against Our Will"), they were mostly deployed on the Eastern Front, and more than 40,000 were killed in their involuntary service for the 3rd Reich.

And it is these 130,000 "Malgré Nous" who are the link and take us back to the women and children buried at Mont d' Huisnes.

When the Allies liberated Alsace and Lorraine between the fall of 1944 and March 1945, the advancing troops encountered thousands of women who were either married to "Malgré Nous" or had other close family ties to these men (e.g., grandmothers, mothers, sisters). These close links made these women suspicious: would they be loyal to the victorious French state or would they be Nazi sympathizers?

To play it safe, it was decided to move thousands of "German" civilians (women, men, children, babies, and even entire families) to the other end of the country, to the Vienne department, and to "accommodate and guard" them at the so-called "Centre de séjour surveillé," the Chauvinerie camp in Poitiers.

The camp was under the supervision of the French Ministry of the Interior. What was planned for these unfortunate individuals, suspected of being Nazis, I do not know, but as the name of the camp implies, they were placed under surveillance in a camp they could not leave.

The sanitary conditions in the Chauvinerie camp were disastrous, and the inhumane conditions were made worse by the corrupt camp director, a retired lieutenant colonel of the gendarmerie, a certain Justin Blanchard, who embezzled food and especially milk rations for the children and sold them elsewhere.

In April 1945, up to 102 children aged 0 to 3 were counted in the camp. The living conditions were appalling. Testimonies speak of "people dressed in rags" who slept in bunks, of which "only one in 30 was furnished with straw." Apparently, the Ministry of the Interior was informed of this situation by letters dated "May 30, June 1, and June 8, 1945," according to which "the weak internees are all condemned to disappear because of the lack of food and proper care".

Especially during the hot summer of 1945, the mortality rate soared and was seven times higher than in other camps of the same type. The Red Cross reported an "extremely alarming sanitary situation." Deaths were numerous: 33 children in May, and 57 children between July and August. Of the 65 children born in the camp, none survived.

The Red Cross cited two main reasons for this mortality: the poor condition of many internees even before they arrived at the camp, but also the living conditions in the camp itself. Despite all the warnings addressed to the government, it did not react until September 1945. When the judicial investigation was opened for "theft to the detriment of the internees and the state," several crimes were found. The camp guards testified that abuses were added to the material shortages and difficulties. The money and personal belongings of the detainees, confiscated upon their arrival at the camp, were stolen and sold. The camp administration and some guards diverted some of the food, even the milk for the infants so that the rations were extremely meager: one carrot soup at each meal and one loaf of bread for three people.

The investigation revealed the abuses and embezzlement in the camp. The case was widely reported in the press. However, few convictions resulted. Lieutenant Colonel Blanchard, the director of the camp, was suspended (before being retired), as was the manager and chief of staff (who was none other than the son of the director). All the others were amnestied.

But how did the women get to Mont d' Huisnes?

Originally they were buried near the La Chauvinerie camp, but in the late 1950s the German government, in consultation with the French government and the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge (German War Graves Commission), decided to transfer the remains of those who were not buried in Alsace-Lorraine (at the request of their families) to the German military cemetery at Mont d' Huisnes, which was under construction.

Today, 73 women and female children from the eastern departments of France rest in the cemetery's crypts, another 9 women and female children rest in the mass grave at the entrance to the cemetery, and it is unknown to me how many of the 58 unknown dead in the mass grave were also female.

All war dead are tragic, but for these women, who were made German citizens and who had some family ties to "Malgré Nous," the suffering in the infamous Chauvinerie camp and their resulting death is all the more tragic.

I will think of these women the next time I visit Mont d' Huisnes cemetery. Please do the same.

Rest in peace, poor souls. ade these women suspicious: would they be loyal to the victorious French state or would they be Nazi sympathizers?