Filed under: Gliders, Operation Dragoon, Paratroopers, Veterans | Tags: 1944, 551st, Dreams, Gliders, Jim Welsh, Operation Dragoon
At night, sometimes Jim Welsh dreams. One would think that when the dreams of a paratrooper turn to World War II, he would dream of parachuting, of his comrades or of narrow escapes they made during the war. Jim tells me that more often, he finds himself dreaming of the glider men.
At Fort Benning, when the paratroopers would run past the glider men, they’d mock them. After the paratroopers completed their five jumps, they would blouse their pants and show off their jump wings, while deriding the “leg” infantry men in the glider battalions. The paratroopers had each volunteered for hazardous duty and considered themselves among the elite troops in the Army. The glider men had been assigned to an infantry unit that had the additional duty of arriving in combat via glider. They didn’t choose their assignment, received no “jump pay” or other bonus and were not privileged to blouse their pants like paratroopers.
Jim Welsh remembers that morning in southern France in August of 1944 and he shudders. The dreams he has of the glider men are not pleasant, but based on what he saw them endure that morning. Surrounded by fellow veterans and historians, Jim starts his recollection with, “To me, it was an awakening….”
After the horror of the glider assaults in Normandy and the south of France, paratroopers had seen what the glider men went through and there was no more mocking. The glider troops started getting “jump pay” and a good measure of respect from their airborne brethren.
Filed under: 3rd, 509th, 517th, 551st, Operation Dragoon, Veterans | Tags: 551st, Arlington National Cemetery, Jim Welsh, John Carter, John Keller, Operation Dragoon, Richard Seitz, Roy Brumfield
Once again, the Operation Dragoon Commemoration & Seminar has come and gone. It was a marvelous event. There were about a dozen veterans in attendance (I heard 13, but I wasn’t counting heads), including the 4 who were awarded the French Legion of Honor at Arlington Cemetery (Dick Seitz, John Carter, Roy Brumfield and John Keller).
It was an entire weekend of “highlights” for me, so I am thrilled that I got so much of it filmed. Interestingly, both last year’s event and this year’s provided me with about 32GB of raw footage. I expect to post Jim Welsh’s account of being in the drop zone/landing zone with the 551st while the gliders were landing in the next few days. I already posted a picture of Robert Maxwell and I to Facebook, but have a short piece about him in progress as well.
Everyone in attendance was so interested and involved in sharing the history that you couldn’t help but feel closer to everyone by the end of the weekend. While it made parting sorrowful, it also provided an incentive for everyone to return in 2012. Keep August 2-5, 2012 open for the 68th Anniversary.
Filed under: 509th, 517th, 551st, Operation Dragoon, Paratroopers, Veterans | Tags: Arlington National Cemetery, Commemoration, Jim Welsh, John Carter, Legion of Honor, Operation Dragoon, Richard Seitz, Roy Brumfield, Salon-en-Provence, Veterans, Wreath-laying
I have some more details on the Operation Dragoon Commemoration and Seminar being held next weekend (4-7 August 2011). While I do not yet have the list of speakers, I can reveal the schedule. Most of the seminars will be held on the 4th and 5th, with the wreath-laying and banquet on the 6th.
The banquet has always been pretty special, as veterans who’ve had a chance to get reacquianted have an opportunity and enough comfort with the audience to provide very interesting recollections of the war, such as John Carter’s Thanksgiving 1944 story.
At the wreath-laying, the French Legion of Honor will be presented to Lieutenant General (ret.) Seitz (517th ABN), Mr. John Keller (3rd ID), Mr. John Carter (1st Allied Airborne Task Force), and Mr. Roy Brumfield (3rd ID). LTG Seitz was the battalion commander of 2/517 PIR during the war and I read an interesting story about the interview process for new soldiers joining 2/517 as they formed that I detailed in a post this past winter.
LTG Seitz at the 517th reunion in 2005
There is ample time on Friday and Saturday for some oral interviews and I’ll be trying to sit with both Mr. Carter and LTG Seitz. Of course, I haven’t had a chance to really talk to any 509th veterans at length yet and Jim Welsh of the 551st PIB would be a great interview as well. So, all kinds of opportunities. If you’re interested in conducting some interviews, you’re more than welcome to come.
4 August (Thursday) – Check-in to the Sheraton National Hotel, 900 South Orme St. Arlington, VA 22204
1500-1700 Registration
1700-1830 Dinner (no host)
1830-2030 Opening Remarks and initial historical seminar
5 August (Friday)
0830-1200 Historical Seminar Session 2
1200-1330 Lunch (no host)
1330-1700 Historical Seminar Session 3
1700-1830 Dinner (no host)
1830-2030 Operation Dragoon historical/documentary films
6 August (Saturday)
0900-1000 Commemorative Ceremony Memorial Amphitheater (Mil: ASU, Civ: Business Attire)
1015-1100 Wreath laying ceremonies – Tomb of the Unknowns, 3rd Infantry Division Monument, Audie Murphy gravesite
1130-1730 Lunch (no host) and free time
1730-2000 Banquet (Mil: Dress, Civ: Business Attire)
7 August (Sunday)
0900-1100 Concluding historical seminar/closing remarks
Special Honored Guests: Mr. Robert D. Maxwell, 3rd Infantry Division Medal of Honor Recipient in WWII and Operation Dragoon veteran and Mayor Michel Tonon, Mayor of Salon-de-Provence, France. More about T5 Maxwell and his Medal of Honor next week.
You can also email CPT Monika Stoy for further information.
Filed under: 101st, Band of Brothers, Officers, Veterans, WWII | Tags: Easy Company, Roy Gates, WWII
2LT Roy Gates must have gotten around a lot as a young man, even before he helped defeat the Germans in World War II. He was born in New York, enlisted in the Army in Texas and is now retired in Florida. Here’s wishing a happy birthday to Lieutenant Gates, who just turned 90.
Hat tip to Mooch, who leads the Easy Company reenactors.
Filed under: Marines, Veterans, WWII | Tags: Climate change, Oradour-sur-Glane, Technology
One of today’s Freshly Pressed blogs also mentions the use of iPads in learning. I was especially interested at the mention of using them to help out in galleries. I found a few other WWII related blog entries as well:
- It turns out that we could avoid climate change if we just had more WWII bombers making contrails, as it turns out that high-aviation traffic areas in WWII had a temperature of 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees Celsius) cooler.
- Someone researching ghost towns wandered across Oradour-sur-Glane and found it as chilling as I did. Joanna also posted her thoughts, comparing the impact of visiting the ghost to her experience as a guide at a concentration and some powerful photos on the chilling experience of visiting Oradour-sur-Glane.
- As we all know, the internet is an amazing thing. Andrew Ronzine had blogged about his grandmother, mentioning his WWII-veteran grandfather only in passing. The daughter of one of grandpa Ronzine’s buddies was working on making a book of his wartime journals and…. found Andrew. Now, both the daughter and the grandson know a little more about their Marines.
Filed under: Officers, Veterans, WWII | Tags: Harley-Davidson, Hemingway, Obituaries
On occasion, I read the obituaries in the Washington Post and I always find someone interesting. The sad thing is, if they’re commemorated there, I’ll never get to meet them. Today’s obituary for Reginald Augustine made me wish that I had met him.
Augustine served as a Captain in the US Army at the end of World War II, racing around France and Germany, securing both scientists and nuclear materials. While searching a warehouse near Toulouse in southern France, Augustine found 31 tons that made the Geiger counter spike. He participated in Operation Epsilon, escorting several German physicists seized near Stuttgart to American territory. After the war, he had a career in operations for CIA, including time in Germany and a post in Saigon in 1968.
What makes Augustine truly interesting is his adventurous youth. After he garduated from Northwestern with a degree in Latin (minoring in German and studying Greek), he spent 16 months touring Europe on a Harley. That included ‘a Nazi party rally in Heidelberg that he later described as akin to a “Fourth of July” celebration with scarlet swastika banners and leather-booted storm troopers.’ While Augustine may not have been able to talk about his post-war career, I’m guessing there were a barrel of stories about traveling footloose and fancy-free in mid-1930s Europe. One wonders if he crossed paths with Hemingway.
Filed under: Normandy, Veterans, Weekend Wanderings | Tags: Canadians, Commuting, French language, James Garfield, Juno Beach, Navy SEAL, Pimsleur method, Stilettos, Wine
Sometimes, getting away for the holidays ends up being more trouble than it’s worth. Besides, if you stay in Washington, you get some of the best 4th of July fireworks anywhere. Back in 1881, President Garfield headed to the train station to get out of DC on Saturday, July 2nd, but it didn’t work out very well for him at all.
- Just short of four months of his inauguration, President James Garfield (BG, USV) was gunned down on Saturday, 2 July 1881 at Penn Station in Washington, DC. Penn Station stood at 6th & B Streeet, Northwest, which is now 6th & Constitution and is the location of the West Wing of the National Gallery of Art. Garfield died on 19 September. Historians rightly place much blame on his early treatment, during which doctors probed his wound with their unsterilized fingers in an attempt to find the bullet.
- If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like for a fashion-conscious Manhattanite to experience a dose of Navy SEAL PT, check out the Thirty Vintage Chick’s What Stilettos, ‘Hump Day’ & $20 Have in Common. Make sure you also check out Cooking with the Troops, where she is directing everyone to head with donations.
- If you’re interested in wine advice, especially if you live in Ireland, read Grapes of Sloth. My favorite post right now is Wine Merchant Can’t Really Think of suitable wine for Father’s Day Gift.
- Sharing my interest in wine and history is Canadian Karl Kliparchuk, whose Wine With Karl at MyWinePal includes a good post on his recent visit to Juno Beach.
- I have been studying French during my daily commute (I went from a 15-foot commute while working from home to drivng 62 miles each, so it was a sudden and dramatic change.) I recommend the Pimsleur course very highly. I’ve got the first 16 lessons on CD, but will be adding more via MP3 shortly. I really gets you right into speaking French as you would while there. I had tried just using books, which didn’t work. I had tried Rosetta Stone, which frustrated Melissa because she was sure she would never say “le chat sur la table” in conversation with a Frenchman. You can buy Mp3 lessons as few as 5 at a time, which is a week’s worth. If you’re smart you WILL study one lesson EVERY day, as it builds up fast.
- While reading a review of Saving Private Ryan, I thought of a quote from JFK’s inaugural: “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” Happy birthday, America.
As we roll into summer, it’s time to start planning on attending the Operation Dragoon Commemoration, to be held this year on 4-7 August at the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. There will again be a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery – at 0900 on Saturday, 6 August, 2011. Further details will be posted here, or you may contact Monika Stoy via email – monikastoy@yahoo.com
Filed under: Normandy, Veterans, Weekend Wanderings | Tags: Commemoration, D-Day, Dead Man's Corner, Mark Bando, Michel De Traz, Normandy, Normandy American Cemetery, Patrick Elie, Veterans
On the eve of the 67th anniversary of the landings in Normandy, I thought I would share some interesting D-Day links.
- Patrick Elie has created D-Day: Etat de Lieux to not only commemorate D-Day itself, but also to act as a collection point for information on the ceremonies held each year. It is the most reliable site to find out which towns are holding events and when. After the events, Patrick adds photos to that year’s page to bring it to life.
- There is a webcam in the Normandy American Cemetery. While it’s not the same as being there, it is still stunning. (0800-2030, Paris time, so 0200-1430 EST)
- The Dead Man’s Corner museum website is one of the more modern historical websites and serves one of the better museums in Normandy. It’s also where I got to meet Bill Galbraith and Manny Barrios of I/3/506 during the 65th anniversary.
- Mark Bando’s Trigger Time is a source of extensive information on American Airborne forces. Bando has written multiple books on the subject and leads tour as well.
We're not lost, Sergeant, We're in ... France 