BGuthrie Photos: NC -- Fayetteville -- Airborne and Special Operations Museum

NC -- Fayetteville -- Airborne and Special Operations Museum:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. ASOM_150809_014.JPG: Boom Town: Fort Bragg During World War II: Germany's invasion of Western Europe on May 10, 1940 led directly to a massive build-up of training bases across America, including Fort Bragg. The Nazi Blitzkrieg was a clear warning that America had to be prepared to defend itself against aggression. With a massive infusion of Army construction money, Fort Bragg and nearby Fayetteville became "boom towns," as workers poured into the region from all over North Carolina to begin constructing mobilization buildings to house thousands of new soldiers, both volunteers and draftees. Initial construction plans called for enough housing to boost Fort Bragg's population from 5,000 to 66,000 troops. The project was colossal, with over 31,000 men working seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. Millions of board feet of lumber were supplied by seven hundred lumber mills throughout North and South Carolina. Building suppliers in Fayatteville became major companies as a result of the expansion. The daily payroll averaged $100,000. Army finance figured that $150 were spent every minute. When completed in August 1941, the cost of the project had reached $44,681,000. President Roosevelt paid a special visit to Fayetteville and Fort Bragg at the end of March 1941 to get a first hand report about the expansion effort. The scale of the project impressed Mrs. Roosevelt, but she worried about the impact that the enlarged Fort Bragg would have on nearby Fayetteville. In 1939, Fort Bragg had a troop population of 5,000; by the late spring of 1941, it was over 60,000 and climbing. By summer of that year, Fort Bragg was acknowledged to be the third largest community in North Carolina. Fayetteville at the time had a population of 17,000, almost a third of the population of Cumberland County, which was 60,000.
2. ASOM_150809_020.JPG: The Army Introduces a New Form of Attack: Airborne Assault: The astonishing success of German parachute and glider forces in Belgium and Holland during early May 1940 led directly to the development of similar units by the United States Army. American military planners tracked the formation of airborne units in the Soviet Union and Germany during the 1930s, but insufficient funding blocked effective study and testing of parachute units. Army Chief of Staff George Marshall, long an advocate of mobile warfare, ordered the formation of a Parachute Test Platoon at Fort Benning, Georgia, in June 1940. The platoon made its first jump on 16 August 1940. By the end of the month, the 48 man, all-volunteer unit had validated the concept that infantry soldiers could jump fully armed into combat. Marshall was on board on 29 August to witness the first mass tactical jump by an Army unit. He ordered the 501st Parachute Infantry Battalion into service on 1 October 1940. By early 1941, a Provisional Parachute Group was established at Fort Benning to recruit, train and equip parachute units. Lieutenant Colonel William C. Lee, the staff officer who oversaw the Test Platoon project, commanded the new group, which by early 1942 would be redesignated Airborne Command and stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Lee's visionary leadership led, in just three years, to the formation of a vast airborne Army consisting of five airborne divisions and a host of independent units -- over 100,000 parachute and glider soldiers. By August 1942, Bill Lee was Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division. For his role in developing the air assault concept, he is known as "The Father of the Airborne."
3. ASOM_150809_021.JPG: Starting from Scratch: Captain Bill Ryder and his Parachute Test Platoon developed training and jump techniques that were used throughout World War II and after to prepare soldiers for airborne assaults. Major William M. Miley's 501st Parachute Infantry Battalion expanded and refined the work of the platoon, with emphasis on doctrine, tactics and equipment development. Miley also cultivated esprit and tradition, directing Captain William P. Yarborough to design a parachute qualification badge and other insignia. Bill Yarborough's parachute badge design was an immediate success and has remained an enduring symbol of the American paratrooper for over sixty years. Captain Yarborough also worked on design and testing for uniforms, jump boots, parachutes and a host of other items required by the Army's fledgling airborne forces. Colonel Bill Lee used the sturdy foundation created by the Test Platoon and 501st to forge a mighty airborne force for the Army. Starting from scratch in 1940, the Army had its first parachute battalion in combat by November 1942 and its first airborne division on the battlefield by July 1943.
4. ASOM_150809_025.JPG: Riddell Parachutist Helmet
5. ASOM_150809_028.JPG: Parachutist Badge
6. ASOM_150809_031.JPG: German Paratrooper Fliegerbluse: The Sergeant Major's uniform jacket is a fine example of a German paratrooper's uniform. Decorations include the parachute qualification badge, wound badge, and a ribbon for the Iron Cross.
7. ASOM_150809_034.JPG: German Parachutist Badge: German airborne victories in 1940-41 inspired the formation of American parachute and glider forces. A soldier earned the qualification badge only after rigorous physical and tactical training.
8. ASOM_150809_037.JPG: German MP40 Submarine Gun: An excellent 9mm weapon used throughout the German military forces, the MP40 provided extra firepower for the infantry squad.
9. ASOM_150809_040.JPG: German Paratrooper Helmet: This distinctive headgear was worn by Luftwaffe Fallschirmjaeger units throughout World War II. German airborne units attacked American paratroopers in Sicily, Italy, France, Holland, and Germany.
10. ASOM_150809_042.JPG: The 501st Parachute Infantry Battalion
11. ASOM_150809_049.JPG: The 501st Parachute Infantry Battalion Expansion of the Airborne Idea: On 29 August 1940, General George C. Marshall, Army Chief of Staff, and Mr. Henry L. Stimpson, Secretary of War, watched the US Army Test Platoon execute a mass tactical jump and field exercise at Fort Benning. Marshall was impressed and he told the assembled platoon that the Army would create battalions of parachute troopers. A few weeks later the 1st Parachute Battalion was constituted a unit of the Army; on 1 October 1940 the Army activated the 501st Parachute Infantry Battalion at Fort Benning. General Marshall's vision began to take shape. From its inception, under the command of Major William "Bud" Miley, the 501st was a test bed for Army air planners. Battalion troopers devised training techniques, tactical concepts and the traditions of the Army's newest combat force. Captain William P. Yarborough designed a gleaming silver badge that depicted feathered wings surrounding a parachute. This jump qualification badge became the enduring symbol of the courage, sacrifice and expertise of Army paratroopers from World War II to the present day. Along with the "jump wings" came fifty dollars a month in hazardous duty pay, a special incentive arranged by General Marshall. By 1941 the Airborne idea was expanding on the work of Miley's 501st. As the Airborne grew, its soldiers came to believe they were the best; they could lick anybody, anywhere. In the years ahead they would prove it, over and over.
12. ASOM_150809_057.JPG: "A War To Be Won": The formal entry of the United States into World War II came as a consequence of the Japanese naval air attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. But although officially neutral before that date, the United States had been involved in conflict, both morally and effectively, for over a year before the Japanese attack. World War II began on 1 September 1939 when Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany invaded Poland. After a period of "phony war," Germany launched a massive invasion of Western Europe in April 1940, conquering in rapid succession, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Holland, and France. America, locked into neutrality, watched in horror as Hitler's legions streamed across Europe. Blitzkrieg -- lightning war -- became a new entry in the lexicon of war. Indeed, over the next two years nothing seemed to be able to stop the aggression of Germany, Italy and Japan. The flame of democracy seemed dim indeed. German success on the battlefield was both a warning and much needed reality check for America. Not yet in the war in 1940, U.S. Army leaders watched events in Europe closely. Army Chief of Staff George Marshall was impressed especially with Nazi airborne operations and was determined that American paratroopers and glider soldiers would be available to fight when the time came. In the summer of 1942, Marshall's airborne leader, Major General William C. Lee, told the British press, "When Germany invaded Holland, they introduced into this war a new type of operation which indicated to us the solutions of regaining these territories. We took the cue and developed our airborne methods which now surpass anything the enemy has used up to this time." Thus the die was cast. Once America was in the war, the flame of democracy began to brighten. America and its allies would lead a great crusade to crush Nazi and Japanese aggression. And George Marshall's paratroopers and glidermen would help lead the assault.
13. ASOM_150809_067.JPG: Italian Aermoto Volugrafo "Parascooter"
14. ASOM_150809_083.JPG: The US Army's First Parachute Combat Assault: The first Allied airborne assault of World War II was planned as a part of Operation TORCH the invasion of North Africa on 8 November 1942. The invasion force -- 107,000 men strong -- was led by Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower. His mission: neutralize the 105,000-men French army, technically allied with Germany, and prepare to destroy German forces in North Africa. A critical part of the Allied attack plan required the seizure of airfields -- La Senia and Tafaraoui -- near the city of Oran by an American airborne unit, the 2nd Battalion, 503td Parachute Infantry (later redesignated the 509th). The 509th's mission seemed incredible: fly from airfields in Cornwall, England, cross the Bay of Biscay and neutral Spain, and jump in North Africa -- a flight of 1,100 miles! Under the aggressive, "can-do" leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Edson D. Raff, the 509th was thoroughly trained for the mission, but distance and navigation problems blunted their airborne spearhead. Planes were lost or ran out of fuel. Others airlanded or dropped their troopers far from the objective. French fighter planes fired on many who approached the target. Private Tommy MacKall, mortally wounded by the French fire, was later immortalized when the US Army named the airborne training center near Fort Bragg Camp MacKall. "Night flight to SNAFU" (situation normal, all fouled up) was the way one paratrooper characterized the mission. But the 509th was now in North Africa, and they would fight another day.
15. ASOM_150809_103.JPG: Rangers and Paratroopers Strike the Enemy: As the 509th assembled at Tafaraoui Airfield on 8 November 1942, the 1st Ranger Battalion, a special operations unit, attacked French defenses near Oran. Called Darby's Rangers after their intrepid leader, Lieutenant Colonel William O. Darby, the Rangers scaled cliffs on the beach at Arzew, knocking out coastal defense guns. The attack was swift and deadly, carried out by superbly trained soldiers who were expected to act without being told what to do. With invasion forces well established by 13 November, Allied commanders began to widen their bridgehead. Edson Raff's 509th was directed to seize the town of Tebessa near the Tunisian border. Taking off from Maison Blanche airfield on 15 November, Raff's 300-man force jumped on Youks les Bains Airfield, a few miles from Tebessa. There the 509th troopers were embraced by soldiers of the French 3rd Zouave Regiment. Not only did the French declare themselves allies of the Americans, they gave their new friends the official badge of the regiment. It had a fitting motto: "J'y Suis, J'y Reste: I am here and here I stay." The 509th was indeed "here to stay" and the American parachute battalion made its fighting skills known to the Germans in battles at Faid Pass in Tunisia in early December and in daring raids on German lines of communications at places like the railroad bridge at El Djem, deep in the rear of the enemy.
16. ASOM_150809_109.JPG: French World War II Helmet: Friend or foe? French troops wearing helmets like this one defended the area around Algiers. 09th troopers wondered if they would oppose the American invasion.
17. ASOM_150809_115.JPG: Africa Corps Uniform: Standard German uniform in North African and Mediterranean theaters of operations.
18. ASOM_150809_120.JPG: Allied Battalion-Sized Airborne Operations: The 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion's epic flight from Southern England to North Africa on 7-8 November 1942 was the "stuff of legends." Although the 509th was not a decisive force in the initial assault into French North Africa, the battalion was able to mount a successful parachute assault against Youks Les Bains Airfield on 15 November and to conduct ground operations against the German Africa Corps from November 1942 to February 1943. Colonel Edson Raff, the 509th aggressive commander, kept German units off balance with daring and unusual tactics, including a platoon-sized parachute raid deep behind enemy lines. The target was a railroad bridge at El Djem. The platoon missed the bridge but blew out a section of track, hindering German supplies and troop movements.
19. ASOM_150809_121.JPG: MI Garand Semiautomatic Rifle: A standard weapon in World War II, the M1 was not always popular with paratroopers since it had to be disassembled for jumps, then reassembled after landing.
20. ASOM_150809_126.JPG: Operation HUSKY: With the Germans defeated in Africa, Allied leaders decided to invade Sicily to gain more complete control of the Mediterranean Sea and knock Italy out of the war. Airborne assaults to neutralize beach defenses were a key part of this plan. Seaborne assaults would be mounted by the American Seventh and British Eighth Armies. Colonel Darby's Ranger Force would support landing operations. Operation HUSKY was set to begin on the night of 9-10 July 1943, when a quarter moon would set shortly after midnight. Combat teams of Major General Matthew Ridgway's 82nd Airborne Division made the assaults behind the beaches on which the Seventh Army landed the 1st, 3rd, and 45th Divisions. HUSKY I was conducted by the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment under Colonel James M. Gavin; HUSKY II was carried out on 11-12 July by Colonel Reuben Tucker's 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. High winds, poor navigation and friendly antiaircraft fire badly disrupted these jumps, scattering troopers across the Sicilian countryside. Tragically, the 2nd Battalion, 504th, led by airborne pioneer Lieutenant Colonel William P. Yarborough, was badly "shot up" by Allied antiaircraft gunners who thought the troop transports were German bombers. Twenty-three C-47 transports were shot down. Many more sustained heavy damage. HUSKY was for all intents and purposes a disaster, but in the end it was also a triumph because paratroopers proved to be innovative, aggressive fighters. In small groups, they disrupted German and Italian communications. Colonel Gavin's 505th stopped strong elements of the Hermann Goering Panzer Division short of the invasion beaches near Gela with a few Pack 75 mm howitzers, bazookas and sheer grit and determination. Sicily was the first large-scale American airborne assault of the war. For many, including General Eisenhower, the problems of the operation called the entire airborne idea into question. Late in 1943, however, successful field exercises at Fort Bragg proved that the airborne division was an effective force. Airborne troops would continue to fight -- and to win!
21. ASOM_150809_129.JPG: "The Allied airborne operation in Sicily was decisive... It is my opinion if it had not been for Allied airborne forces blocking the Hermann Goering Armored Division from reaching the beachhead, that division would have driven the initial seaborne forces back into the sea. I attribute the entire success of the Allied Sicilian operation to the delaying of German reserves until sufficient forces had been landed by sea to resist the counterattacks by our defending forces." -- General Kurt Student, Wehrmacht
22. ASOM_150809_136.JPG: James Dietz's painting "The Beginning" commemorates Operation HUSKY, the start of the troopers' heroic drive through Europe. From the collection of the 82nd Airborne Division Museum at Fort Bragg.
23. ASOM_150809_142.JPG: Sicily, 1943 Allied Brigade-Sized Parachute and Glider Landings: Airborne operations in Sicily conducted by the American 82nd Airborne Division and British units revealed a number of serious problems with flight crew training, mission planning and Allied tactical coordination. Moreover, British glider operations were a complete failure. Despite these problems, American and British paratroopers proved their worth on the battlefield, aggressively attacking German units, cutting communications and appearing where the enemy least expected them to be. One important result of the Sicily operations was the development by General Ridgway's 82nd Airborne Division of pathfinder teams to mark drop zones for assault forces. Also, a major effort was made to improve Allied airborne planning, flight crew training and communications equipment. These reforms would strengthen airborne assaults planned for the invasion of France scheduled for mid-1944.
24. ASOM_150809_145.JPG: Luftwaffe Helmet: German air force troops of the Hermann Goering Luftwaffe Division wore helmets like this one during heavy fighting against American paratroopers.
25. ASOM_150809_153.JPG: Italy, 1943 From Salerno to Anzio: American paratroopers fought in Italy from September 1943 to early June 1944. Joined by Darby's Ranger Force, they were the spearhead of the Fifth Army. Their superior training and aggressive leadership won key battles at Salerno, Avellino, Monte La DiFensa and Anzio. Courage, team work and selfless service were the hallmarks of these fine soldiers. Time and time again they defeated the enemy in pitched battles, often fighting hand to hand. The 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion's Henry Rouse received the Distinguished Service Cross for bravery in the mountains near Venafro. Fellow trooper Paul Huff was awarded the Medal of Honor for action in Anzio. These soldiers also had special leaders such as General Robert T. Frederick, Commander of the 1st Special Service Force -- who was wounded seven times -- Colonel William Darby and the 509th Colonel Bill Yarborough. Each of these men believed in leading his troops from the front.
26. ASOM_150809_155.JPG: German Helmet with Cover
27. ASOM_150809_158.JPG: First Special Service Force Sticker: First Special Service Force soldiers left these stickers on dead enemy soldiers as a psychological weapon.
28. ASOM_150809_160.JPG: Italy: Airborne to the Rescue & the Winter War 1943-1944
29. ASOM_150809_164.JPG: From Salerno to Anzio: German forces evacuated Sicily in early August 1943, and Allied leaders completed plans to land Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark's Fifth Army on the Italian mainland at Salerno, south of the port city of Naples. Clark's forces would be supported by the 82nd Airborne Division, 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, and Darby's 1st, 3rd, and 4th Ranger Battalions. The operation was code named AVALANCHE. Sicily's hard lessons were not lost on American airborne commanders who used every available minute of planning and training time in August to perfect pathfinder and assembly techniques before any further parachute operations. In early September, the 82nd was alerted to prepare to jump on airfields near Rome. Italy had decided to surrender and the mission was designed to seize the Italian capital and force the Germans out of southern Italy. This hazardous and foolhardy operation was called off at the last moment. But the Rome mission did make it impossible for airborne forces to support the AVALANCHE landings on 9 September. Both the 82nd and 509th finally got to jump in support of Fifth Army on the nights of 13 and 14 September 1944. Fifth Army was in trouble, with German armor close to pushing the Allies into the sea. General Clark ordered the 82nd to reinforce his beachhead and the 509th to jump on the mountain town of Avellino, a key road junction deep behind German lines. The 504th and 505th combat teams, using pathfinders, jumped with great precision, immediately reinforcing the beleaguered Fifth Army; 509th troopers, although badly scattered, gave the Germans a very hard time. Later, Mark Clark said that the 82nd and 509th saved the Fifth Army beachhead. After helping to capture and occupy Naples, the 82nd shipped out to Northern Ireland to prepare for the invasion of northwest Europe. But the Division's 504th was retained in Italy, along with the 376th and 456th Parachute Field Artillery Battalions. These units, along with the 509th and the American-Canadian First Special Service Force, saw hard fighting in the mountains north of Naples, particularly at Venafro and Mount Sumucro. In January 1944, all of these units, joined by Ranger force, landed on the beaches at Anzio, southeast of Rome. There, the superb combat skills of these hard-fighting soldiers once again helped to defeat the German army.
30. ASOM_150809_166.JPG: Rangers, Paratroopers, and the 1st Special Service Force Lead the Way: The American Fifth Army reached the port city of Naples on 1 October 1943. North of the city lay the formidable barriers of the Volturno River and seemingly endless mountains, all blocking the way to the Italian capital, Rome. By mid-November, the Volturno was breached, but the Fifth Army could not advance through the mountains where the German army had every possible defensive advantage. Remote hill towns and mountains became bloody battlefields, where Americans and Germans often fought hand to hand on sheer slopes. In December, Mark Clark, Fifth Army commanders, directed Colonel Robert Frederick's First Special Service Force, Colonel Reuben Tucker's 504th Parachute Infantry, Bill Yarborough's 509th and Darby's Rangers, to attack enemy positions in the difficult mountain terrain. Superbly trained and led, these units were happiest behind enemy lines, using tactics of stealth and surprise. They would spearhead the Fifth Army attack through the mountains. Frederick's 1st Special Force, a unique Canadian-American outfit, was not only an airborne unit but was also trained for winter and mountain warfare. It was in every sense a very special operations unit. Having fought in the Aleutian campaign in the northern Pacific, the Force was right at home in Italy's winter cold, sleet, snow and mud. The 1st was also at home in the mountains, attacking the Germans on the linked peaks of La DiFensa and La Rematanea, scaling seventy-degree cliffs to drop down on the enemy by surprise. It was brutal, bloody work, in terrain where resupply and medical evacuation could only be handled on the backs of mules. Also leading the Fifth Army's advance through the German Winter Line were the 504th, 509th and the Rangers who fought at Mount Sammucro and Venafro, digging the Germans out of cliffside villages, passes and mountain top observation posts. Fighting over nearly impossible terrain, in terrible cold, through snow and sleet, the paratroopers and Rangers helped break the Winter Line, allowing the Fifth Army to continue its advance up the Italian "boot". Rangers and paratroopers established an incredible legacy of valor and courage during the mountain fighting in late 1943. They would add to that legacy at a place called Anzio.
31. ASOM_150809_175.JPG: U.S. Air Force Troop Carrier Operations
32. ASOM_150809_176.JPG: U.S. Air Force Troop Carrier Operations Depicted overhead is an Air Force C-47A, tail number 43-15632, that carried 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers to Normandy on the night of 5-6 June 1944. Aircraft crew members included: First Lieutenant Donald A. Broaddus, pilot; Second Lieutenant Sherman I. Phillips, navigator; Staff Sergeant Frederick W. Anthony, crew chief; Corporal Anthony Marcello, radio operator. This aircraft carried 18 paratroopers of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment and two A-5 carriers containing a machine gun, ammunition and 60mm mortar rounds. Aircraft 43-18623 was part of the 61st Troop Carrier Squadron, 313th Troop Carrier Group, IX Troop Carrier Command. The aircraft's markings of black and white stripes were mandatory for all Allied planes flying Neptune missions. It helped Allied personnel to properly identify friendly aircraft. The Air Force was a vital part of the airborne team in World War II. Hundreds of C-47 aircraft, British Horsa gliders and Americans CG-4A gliders were required to mount the Normandy operation. Neptune required 821 C-47s to transport 13,348 American paratroopers and 516 gliders to carry 4,021 troops, 95 artillery pieces, 290 vehicles and 238 tons of supplies. Missions were flown at low altitude straight into the teeth of German air defenses. Twenty-eight C-47s were shot down and 371 were damaged by enemy fire. The backbone of the World War II troop carrier units was the Douglas C-47 Skytrain, the military version of the celebrated DC-3 airliner. With an effective range of 1,600 miles and a cargo capacity up to 10,000 pounds, the C-47 was a veritable workhouse of the sky. It could deliver up to 18 fully equipped paratroopers or serve as a glider tug. C-47s served in every operational theater in World War II and continued to fly Air Force missions into the 1960s.
33. ASOM_150809_179.JPG: Just Landed: In the darkness of night, this paratrooper has "Just Landed." It could be his first combat jump or maybe he is a well-seasoned veteran of the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion. You guess. His heart is racing and he is trying to listen and look for his fellow paratroopers. Can you hear them? Is that the enemy somewhere in the darkness? He hopes not. These feeling race through every paratrooper after he had just landed behind enemy lines. Little does this trooper know that even larger airborne operations are in his future.
34. ASOM_150809_183.JPG: Jedburgh Operations in France
35. ASOM_150809_186.JPG: Jedburgh Operations in France "... all enemies on commando missions, even if they are in uniform, armed or unarmed, in battle or in flight, are to be slaughtered to the last man." -- Adolf Hitler to his generals, October 1942 Jerburghs were volunteers specially trained to join French resistance forces conducting guerrilla warfare in support of the Allied invasion of Europe. They parachuted into France in three-man teams to coordinate and even lead partisan operations. They conducted their missions under the most difficult circumstances, often right under the noses of the German security forces. If captured, they could expect little mercy from the enemy. Modified B-24 Bombers, part of an 8th Air Force unit popularly known as the "Carpet Baggers," carried Jedburghs to France. A typical mission involved three aircraft that delivered the team, communications equipment, and weapons and supplies to the partisans. Jedburghs wore civilian clothes under their jump smocks so they could quickly blend in with the local population.
36. ASOM_150809_189.JPG: SOE Parachutist Badge: Soldiers from the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and Special Operations Executive (SOE) dubbed these badges "Jedburgh Wings."
37. ASOM_150809_195.JPG: Operational Groups in Action: The Allies hoped that a massive uprising by the French in the enemy rear areas would speed a collapse of German forces in Normandy and later in southern France. Operation Groups (OGs) were created to assist the French partisans, ... OG soldiers trained French fighters to use weapons, explosives and communications equipment. They also led partisan units in attacks on the Germans. OGs and Jedburghs, working with the British Special Air Service (SAS), organized over 20,000 partisans during the battle for France. The French partisans, known as the Maquis, were highly organized by early 1944 but they badly needed weapons, equipment and tactical leadership. OGs, the SAS and Jedburghs provided the French with the means to attack German forces. Once the Allies landed at Normandy, the Maquis quickly began to harass German convoys and seize rear-area communication centers. These forays drew German soldiers away from the Allied advance from Normandy. German reaction to partisan attacks was rapid and violent, resulting in the destruction of entire villages. The French people paid a high price in lives and property for these OSS-inspired attacks on the enemy. Without doubt, however, OG-led partisan attacks helped to drive the German army from France.
38. ASOM_150809_197.JPG: Special Operations in Europe "We are going to need very badly the support of the Resistance Groups in France." -- General Dwight D. Eisenhower, 22 March 1944
39. ASOM_150809_199.JPG: OGs/Jedburghs: As the great invasion of France approached, Allied leaders increasingly realized that they needed every tactical advantage, including the use of groups in France willing to fight the Germans. Beginning in 1943, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), America's World War II special operations headquarters, began to recruit physically fit Army volunteers with communications skills, an ability to speak French, and a willingness to parachute behind German lines. These volunteers formed the Jedburgh teams and Operational Groups. Jedburghs, named after their training camp in Scotland, were three-man teams consisting of a British or American officer, a French officer, and a radio operator. Their mission was to parachute into France and provide radio communications between the French Resistance and Allied headquarters, coordinate partisan operations, arrange for delivery of supplies, and help the partisans conduct guerrilla warfare. Between June and September 1944, some 276 Jedburghs jumped into France, Belgium, and the Netherlands from bases in England and North Africa. In June and July 1944, Jedburgh operations were directed mainly into France. When more combat power was required, the Allied employed OSS Operational Groups (OGs). These were teams of French and/or Italian speaking military specialists that could train, equip and lead resistance forces or conduct direct action missions against priority targets such as bridges, rail lines, and communications centers. OG military skills spread across medicine, communication, military engineering and weapons. Based in England and North Africa, about 355 soldiers in 22 groups parachuted to France between June and September 1944. Working with partisan units and Jedburgh teams, they ambushed German forces, blew up rail lines and bridges, and cut communication lines. OG teams supports both the Normandy campaign and the Allied invasion of southern France. They also fought in Italy. Although they represented a small part of the overall Allied effort in Europe, OSS units played a critical role in gathering intelligence and training resistance forces. Operational Groups, moreover, provided a blueprint for U.S. Army Special Forces units formed at Fort Bragg in the 1950s.
40. ASOM_150809_204.JPG: Bridge destroyed by an operational group in the Vercours region of France, near the city of Grenoble, June-July 1944.
41. ASOM_150809_206.JPG: Destroyed German gliders outside of a village in the Vercours region of France, July 1944. German airborne troops landed by glider to attack French partisans, as well as operational groups and Jedburgh personnel of the OSS. German reaction to partisan attacks was often swift and devastating.
42. ASOM_150809_211.JPG: 82nd Airborne Liberates St. Mere Eglise
43. ASOM_150809_213.JPG: 82nd Airborne Liberates St. Mere Eglise First French Town Liberated on D-Day: C-47s soared above the French countryside bringing 82nd paratroopers to the battle. Troopers such as Private Bob Rooney from the 508th Infantry Regiment and Private Ralph Hayden from the 507th Infantry Regiment were making their first combat troops. Other 82nd Division would come by glider or by amphibious assault. The 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment had the best drop with 31 of the 118 sticks landing on their designated drop zone. The 505th Regiment assembled and began to move towards their objectives, especially St. Mere Eglise, a key road junction some five miles from Utah Beach. During the initial assault, Private John Steele landed atop the town's church steeple. His parachute caught on the steeple and he survived by playing dead for several hours until he was captured by the Germans. John Steele is fondly remembered to this day by the people of St. Mere Eglise.
44. ASOM_150809_216.JPG: 508th Insignia: Normandy was the first combat operation for the 508th Infantry Regiment. Their patch incorporates their nickname -- the Red Devils.
45. ASOM_150809_220.JPG: Life Vest: This is one of two types of vests worn on D-Day by Airborne and seaborne troops.
46. ASOM_150809_222.JPG: Map: Carried into landing in Normandy
47. ASOM_150809_225.JPG: Semiautomatic Luger Pistol: The Luger was a standard service pistol, which the Walther P-38 replaced. German non-commissioned officers used Lugers like this along the Atlantic Wall.
48. ASOM_150809_228.JPG: St. Mere Eglise 6 June 1944
49. ASOM_150809_231.JPG: St. Mere Eglise A Major 82nd Airborne Division Objective: The pathfinders landed first. Their mission was to mark the drop zones with automatic direction-finding radios, Eureka sets and special lights placed to make T's on the ground. Cloud cover and German antiaircraft fire, however, badly dispersed most of the pathfinder troop carrier aircraft. Thus, of eighteen teams, only the team led by Sergeant Elmo Jones, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, landed right on target. As his parachute settled over his head, Jones reflected on just where he was and thought, "Damn, I just cracked the Atlantic Wall." "Crack it" he did, for Jones' team was able to lead most of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment directly to the correct drop zone, and this allowed the regiment to seize the vital road junction of St. Mere Eglise by dawn on D-Day. Capture of the small French town was vital to the 4th Infantry Division's landing on Utah beach. The Division would use the road network around the town to begin the advance on the port city of Cherbourg. Lieutenant Colonel Edward Krause leading the 3rd Battalion, 505th, charged into St. Mere Eglise before first light with guns blazing, overwhelming some 40 German antiaircraft troops. Krause raised an American flag over the town hall as a symbol of the first victory -- the liberation of the first French town. St. Mere Eglise was in American hands. For the next two days, General Ridgway would be preoccupied with the town's defense, as German tanks, paratroopers and infantry units mounted a fierce counterattack. It was an incredible fight, one in which blood, guts, and steel dominated every minute of each day. In the end, Old Glory continued to fly over the town. Elsewhere, the 82nd faced serious challenges. Although the 505th had a good drop, the 507th and 508th Regiments, both new to combat, were badly scattered. Key objectives at LaFiere and Chef-du-Pont were still under heavy attack by the Germans.
50. ASOM_150809_235.JPG: A British-made Horsa glider in a Normandy field. The Horsa was bigger than the CG-4A but not as well built. Glider crashes into Normandy hedgerows caused many casualties between D-Day and D+2. After Normandy, the 82nd and 101st used only the American-built CG-4A glider.
51. ASOM_150809_239.JPG: D-Day: Operation NEPTUNE 6 June 1944 - 24 July 1944
52. ASOM_150809_243.JPG: The Invasion of Normandy: In 1943, the Allies decided upon an invasion of Northwest Europe in May 1944. Landing in Normandy, they would capture the Channel ports and secure an area for further ground and air operations. Airborne landings in support of the seaborne assault were considered essential to the success of the entire invasion. U.S. Army ground forces were to land on Omaha and Utah Beaches on the east side of the Cotentin Peninsula and then capture the port of Cherbourg. The seaborne landing on Utah Beach would be preceded by parachute and glider assaults by the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. The 101st Airborne Division was given the task of clearing the way for the seaborne assault by seizing the western exists of four causeways that crossed marshy areas just inland from Utah Beach and then organizing the southern flank of the beachhead. It would also establish bridgeheads across the Douve River for a later drive to the city of Carentan. The 82nd would secure the western edge of the bridgehead by capturing St. Mere Eglise, a key town on the road to Cherbourg. It would also establish deep bridgeheads across the Merderet River to facilitate later attacks to the west. The 2nd Ranger Battalion was assigned the mission of landing by sea and scaling the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc to knock out a battery of German heavy artillery. Rangers from the 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalion would also land on Omaha Beach. Every D-Day mission assigned to Airborne and Special Operations Units was daunting and carried out in the face of ferocious opposition by German defenders. Once the mission was underway, things began to go very wrong; American parachute units were badly scattered, Rangers climbed Pointe du Hoc only to find the German guns had been moved, and other Ranger companies landed at Omaha Beach directly into a storm of German machine gun fire. But training, leadership, extraordinary courage and sacrifice won a permanent foothold on the continent. The 82nd Airborne Division's Commander Matthew B. Ridgway summed up the Normandy campaign this way: "... 33 days of action with relief, without replacement. Every mission accomplished. No ground gained ever relinquished."
53. ASOM_150809_245.JPG: Wallace Swanson, the Oklahoma State football star in Company A, 1st Battalion, 502nd Parachute Regiment, describes the ensemble he wore en route to his drop zone... "I had an escape kit with some hacksaw blades, a compass, a map of France, and a knife. Most of the men in my jump stick had a similar kit. There was an inspection before we left to prevent anyone from throwing away necessary items for survival and to get rid of any beer or liquor in canteens."
54. ASOM_150809_246.JPG: "The Hitler tyranny was doomed. Here, then, we might pause in thankfulness and take hope, not only for victory on all Fronts..., but also for a safe and happy future for tormented mankind." -- Prime Minister Winston Churchill: Reflections on D-Day, from his "History of the Second World War"
55. ASOM_150809_248.JPG: "Almighty God: Our Sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor ... These men are lately drawn from the ways of peace... They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home." -- President Franklin D. Roosevelt, D-Day Prayer, June 6, 1944
56. ASOM_150809_255.JPG: Rangers Lead the Way!
57. ASOM_150809_260.JPG: U.S. Army Rangers at Pointe du Hoc and Omaha Beach: Among the hundreds of vessels tossing in the heavy sea swell off Omaha Beach at dawn on D-Day were a group of landing craft carrying the 2nd Ranger Battalion towards the German-held shore. Companies D, E, and F were headed for a battery of 155 mm cannons atop Pointe du Hoc, a premonitory jutting out to sea some four miles from the right flank of Omaha Beach. Companies A, B, and C headed for Charlie sector at Omaha. The men of A and B also stood by as reserves for the Pointe du Hoc mission, if notified by Lieutenant Colonel James Earl Rudder, Ranger Force Commander. Echeloned behind the 2nd Battalion was the 5th, also destined for Charlie sector and the Vierville draw leading inland from the beach. Wind, current, tide, and the "fog of war" combined to frustrate the carefully laid plans of the Rangers, but Rudder was leading an all-volunteer, highly trained, elite force. In the face of confusion, intense German fire and nearly impossible odds, the Ranger battalions helped win the day. Private Felix Branham of the 5th Rangers put it this way: "I've heard people say we were lucky. It was luck. When we landed on Omaha Beach, we were well trained, we had good leaders, and the Lord Gold Almighty was with us, and that's all I can say." Rudder's Rangers took Pointe du Hoc, climbing a 40-foot-high cliff to the German positions and then moving inland to destroy the German guns that had retreated from expected Allied shelling and aircraft. It was a vital mission since the guns could fire at both Omaha and Utah beaches. Charlie Company, 2nd Rangers, found itself alone under heavy fire at the Vierville Draw, and it attacked up the cliff face, seizing key German defensive positions. Companies A and B, joined by the 5th Rangers, landed at Dog Green and Dog White sectors of Omaha, joining the 116th Infantry, 29th Division. In the fire storm and chaos that was Omaha Beach that day, Rangers helped the badly shot up 116th Regiment move off the beach. Brigadier General Norman Cota, Assistant Division Commander of the 29th, told the Rangers to "Lead the Way," get the men off the beach where they could engage the enemy. Rangers, through incredible sacrifice, courage and superb fighting skill, helped to avert disaster at Omaha.
58. ASOM_150809_266.JPG: Rangers atop Pointe du Hoc, D-Day, 6 June 1944
59. ASOM_150809_267.JPG: On D-Day, 6 June 1944, Rangers of the 2nd Battalion scale the 40-foot-high cliff at Pointe du Hoc. German concrete and steel bunkers waited at the top of the cliff.
60. ASOM_150809_269.JPG: D-Day + 3 6 June 1944 - 9 June 1944
61. ASOM_150809_272.JPG: The 82nd Airborne Division Crosses the Merderet River at La Fiere: For Generals Matthew Ridgway and Jim Gavin, the 82nd Assistant Division Commander, the first three days in Normandy were a time of consolidation and defense, particularly against the German counterattacks on St. Mere Eglise. Valiant battles were fought at small crossroad villages and river crossings such as Neuville-au-Plain, Chef-du-Pont, and Guaquigny. Isolated groups of 507th and 508th Infantry fought lonely battles west of the Merderet River. Some fifteen miles from St. Mere Eglise, a small band of 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment and 101st Airborne Division troopers fought an incredible battle against the Germans at Graignes, a village southeast of Carentan. On D plus 3, 9 June, General Ridgway had firm orders from VII Corps to seize a crossing of the flooded Merderet River at La Fiere. The east bank of the Merderet at La Fiere had been held by the 1st Battalion 505th. Troopers from A Company had defended the crossing against two tank-supported counterattacks by troops of the German 91st Airlanding Division. Holding the east bank was one thing, but attacking across a narrow bridge and road causeway in the face of a determine German defense was another for the Merderet, normally a narrow stream only a few yards wide, was now a virtual lake, some 100 to 300 yards wide. A narrow, one lane causeway crossed the Merderet at La Fiere -- one hundred yards long, with no cover. For the attack, Ridgway chose the newly arrived 3rd Battalion, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment and two companies from the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The assault force got fifteen minutes of artillery fire from the 90th Infantry Division Artillery and a company of Sherman tanks. Germans on the east bank of the river were clearly hurt by the fire and several ran from their foxholes to surrender. At this point, General Gavin ordered the glider troopers to attack, and, as they rose to move forward, the Germans fired back. German machine guns fire back like hail on the road; the force and intensity of the fire was simply beyond belief. Attacking into the teeth of the German defenders, the 325th and 507th troopers moved into the hail of fire. Ridgway, down on the causeway with Gavin, urged the troops forward. He remembered that, "The fire was so intense that the men were physically recoiling. We just grabbed our men and walked them out. The physical force of that fire pouring in was such that they just stopped and started back -- not from cowardice at all. We just grabbed them by the shoulders and led them down into this thing and pushed them. We were right there too. This is where your personal presence makes a hell of a lot of difference I haven't the slightest doubt that if Gavin and I and the battalion commanders had not been there that the crossing of the causeway would not have succeeded. The men would not have gone." Germans defenders in the west bank had mortars, machine guns, 20mm antiaircraft guns and a host of other weapons, but the courage, determination and sacrifice of the 82nd troopers won the day. A bloody battle had been won. Both Ridgway and Gavin felt that La Fiere was one of the hottest fire fights they had witnessed during the war.
62. ASOM_150809_275.JPG: A Douglas advertisement by the Douglas Aircraft Company, builder of the C-47 transport. C-47s were the workhorses of the Air Force, carrying troops, towing gliders and hailing supplies.
63. ASOM_150809_277.JPG: Screaming Eagles Assault Fortress Europe
64. ASOM_150809_280.JPG: 101st Airborne in Normandy: Just before the 101st Division's departure for Normandy, the commander, major General William Lee, suffered a severe heart attack and returned to Dunn, North Carolina, to recover. Major General Maxwell Taylor led the division into Normandy. The first mission of the 101st Division was to support the 4th Division's assault by holding the causeways leading to Carentan. The lead aircraft carried the 502nd Infantry Regiment and its supporting artillery, the 377th Parachute Artillery Battalion. They were to seize two causeways behind Utah Beach. In remembrance of their former commander, General Taylor asked the paratroopers to shout "Bill Lee" as they jumped. However, the pathfinders had not marked the drop zone so the 377th Battalion suffered the worst drop of the assault. Paratroopers such as Fred Gordon landed far from the drop zone. The second mission for the 101st was to capture Carentan, which was manned by a large German force. Fifty-two gliders of the initial assault crash-landed near Carentan. Five soldiers died in these landings including Brigadier General Don Pratt, the assistant division commander. The battle for the city lasted until 14 June 1944, and involved the 327th, 501st, 502nd, and 506th Regiments.
65. ASOM_150809_282.JPG: German Phrase Book: Paratroopers studied this book so they could communicate with the German soldiers they captured. French Phrase Book
66. ASOM_150809_286.JPG: Invasion Currency: Before the invasion, a two-franc bill and a five-franc bill were issued to 101st Division paratroopers to be used for escape and evasion.
67. ASOM_150809_295.JPG: Parachute Piece: A portion of 101st Airborne Division parachute used in the D-Day jump. After a jump, troopers used parachutes for many things, including tents, covers and chaplains vestments.
68. ASOM_150809_302.JPG: Cricket: 101st Airborne Division paratroopers used mechanical crickets to make audible recognition signals.
69. ASOM_150809_307.JPG: 101st in Normandy 6 June 1944 - 14 June 1944
70. ASOM_150809_310.JPG: From Utah Beach to Carentan: The mission of the 101st Airborne Division was crucial to the Allied invasion plan: seize the city of Carentan and thereby link Utah and Omaha into a continuous beachhead. On D-Day, the 101st was to seize and hold four causeways spanning the marshes behind Utah Beach. This would permit the sea landing forces to move rapidly inland to support the fight for other Airborne objectives of LaFiere and Carentan. Like the 82nd Airborne Division, badly scattered 101st troopers fought in small groups to knock out German defenses at St. Marie-du-Mont, Le Port, and St. Come-du-Mont. Troopers of the 501st, 502nd and 506th Parachute Infantry Regiments fought the Germans relentlessly for twelve days after D-Day. In one famous causeway battle, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Cole, Commander of the 3rd Battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, led his men in a bayonet charge against Germans entrenched in a hedgerow. Cole's intrepid action, an action of heroism, esprit, and sacrifice, led the 101st across the Douve River and a few days later Utah and Omaha Beaches were at last linked. For his bravery, Robert Cole was awarded the Medal of Honor. After the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment's push across the Douve, Major General Maxwell Taylor, 101st commander, ordered an all-out assault on Carentan, a key rail and road center and the invasion beach link desperately needed by Generals Eisenhower and Omar Bradley. The Screaming Eagles launched their attack on the night of 11 and 12 June, fighting troops of the German 6th Parachute Regiment and 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division. By the afternoon of the 12th, the American flag flew over Carentan: the American V and VII Corps were linked firmly together.
71. ASOM_150809_315.JPG: War paint! Normandy-bound troopers show they mean business
72. ASOM_150809_317.JPG: Battle of the Hedgerows
73. ASOM_150809_320.JPG: Battle of the Hedgerows American Airborne Troops Hit a "Brick Wall": One of the odd things about Allied planning for D-Day was the fact that no one took note of the Norman hedgerow, a bit of French topography every bit as strong as the proverbial brick wall. Centuries old, hedgerows surrounded Norman fields, acting as windbreak, cattle fence and boundary marker. They were five or six feet thick at the base and eight or more feet high. Tracks between hedgerows had been worn down over the centuries until they had become sunken roads, with trees and bushes providing a green roof overhead. In effect, each hedgerowed field was a fort, a natural defensive position. To the consternation of Allied commanders and their troops, the German exploitation of the defensive possibilities of the hedgerows was nothing short of brilliant. They dug their machine guns in the corners where two fields met, so one gun had two good fields of fire. Normandy had to be won one field at a time and this was a slow and costly way to make war. American paratroopers and glidermen, however, learned quickly how to use the hedgerow for defense. Shown here is a trooper of the 101st Airborne Division manning an M1919A4 machine gun in a hedgerow.
74. ASOM_150809_331.JPG: Operation DRAGOON 15 August 1944 - 14 September 1944
75. ASOM_150809_335.JPG: Operation DRAGOON: A few hours after midnight on 15 August 1944, radar units of German Army Group G, near the French Mediterranean port of Toulon, detected a large formation of aircraft heading toward the southern coast of France. The alarm was sounded and mobile reserve troops stumbled into the darkness to attack parachutists descending near the city. Instead of the enemy, the Germans discovered only rubber dummies. Meanwhile, near Le Muy, some 45 miles to the east, Allied paratroopers were coming down by the hundreds. At long last, Operation DRAGOON, the Allied invasion of southern France, was underway. DRAGOON had been originally intended to coincide with the Normandy invasion but was delayed because of a lack of shipping and aircraft. The attack was set for August, and Seventh Army planners scheduled a division-sized parachute and glider assault behind the invasion beaches. The First Airborne Task Force would be commanded by Major General Robert Frederick, former commander of the 1st Special Service Force. First Airborne Task Force included all Airborne units available in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations. Included were the American 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, the 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 550th Glider Infantry Battalion, the 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion, as well as the 450th and 463rd Parachute Field Artillery Battalions. An antitank element of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a famous Japanese-American unit, was attached as a glider unit. The British 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade and the 1st French Parachute Regiment were also part of this powerful conglomerate force. Flying from Italian bases, Task Force pathfinders arrived at their drop zones and landing zones at 0320 on 15 August. At 0400, the main parachute lift of four hundred planes began to arrive over Le Muy. At 0800, a glider lift arrived. At 1810, another 42 plane loads of paratroopers arrived along with 335 gliders. Although there were navigational errors, the pathfinders directed most of the units to the proper landing and drop zones. Eighty-five percent of the jumpers landed in or close to the drop zones. Unit assembly was accomplished with only a few problems, and by noon on D-Day the French towns of Le Mitan, La Motte, Castron, Les Serres, and Saint-Tropez were in Allied hands. Draguignan fell to the 517th and 551st and at Saint-Tropez troopers of the 509th met the American 3rd Division as it came airborne. After initial objectives were captured, the First Airborne Task Fore moved along the Riviera coast towards Cannes, Nice and the Italian border. DRAGOON was a solid success, the product of excellent planning and execution, and it motivated Allied airborne planners to consider large, bold operations in the future.
76. ASOM_150809_341.JPG: Airborne Assault Into Southern France
77. ASOM_150809_344.JPG: The Forgotten Front: After the fall of Sicily in August 1943, Allied leaders laid out the framework for the liberation of Europe, specifying simultaneous invasions of northern and southern France: Operations OVERLORD and ANVIL. The invasion of the southern coast of France was to take place first, with the aim of drawing German forces away from the northern coast. By 1944 priorities had changed: ANVIL would take place in August. DRAGOON, the airborne operation for ANVIL, was a splendidly planned and executed operation. A high number of gliders crashed on landing but there were few casualties. General Eisenhower was very impressed with the operation, feeling that it justified larger-scale operations in the battle for northwest Europe. There is little doubt that DRAGOON influenced planners at 1st Allied Airborne Army as they developed the strategy that eventually sent three airborne divisions into Holland during September. For three months, 1st Airborne Task Force continued to battle the Germans in areas along the French-Italian border to the east of the coastal city of Nice. This lonely struggle on the slopes of the maritime Alps raged into November, with units often fighting in the snow. This campaign in southern France during late 1944 is often thought of as the "forgotten front."
78. ASOM_150809_346.JPG: British Jump Wings: Operation DRAGOON included a combined task force of British and French troops. British paratroopers of the 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade landed near La Motte.
79. ASOM_150809_349.JPG: Armband: Urban Post wore this armband during his jump on 15 August 1944, in southern France.
80. ASOM_150809_353.JPG: 517th Patch: The 517th Infantry Regiment's first combat jump took place during Operation DRAGOON. The drop zones were near Le Muy.
81. ASOM_150809_359.JPG: Operation MARKET GARDEN 17 September 1944 - 14 November 1944
82. ASOM_150809_362.JPG: Operation MARKET GARDEN "It Never Snows in September" When the German defense of the Normandy area collapsed in August 1944, Allied armies began a concerted drive for the German border. Throughout August and into early September, it seemed that the German armies could make no effective stand before the Siegfried Line in the east and the Rhine River in the north. It appeared possible that the war in Europe could end by Christmas 1944. With the collapse of the Nazi regime seemingly imminent, General Eisenhower approved a bold thrust by British Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery's 21st Army Group through the Low Countries and across the Rhine into Germany. The attack would be led by a massive three-division airborne assault which would seize strategic river and canal crossings at Einhoven, Nyjmegen and Arnhem in Holland. Arnhem Bridge was 60 miles behind German lines. The attack date was 17 September 1944. The American 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions were joined by the British 1st Airborne Division. Also included were the Polish Airborne Brigade and an air landing division. The British Airborne Corps was in tactical control of the assault force. Operational control of the entire mission was in the hands of the newly formed First Allied Airborne Army. XXX Corps would lead the 2st Army over the bridges. The airborne mission, code-named MARKET GARDEN, covered the XXX Corps thrust into Holland. MARKET GARDEN was the largest single parachute and glider operation of the war, with over 30,000 troops scheduled to land from the air. The target at Arnhem was deep behind German lines, and the British Corps Commander, General Frederick Browning, suggested to Montgomery that Arnhem bridge might be "a bridge too far." Montgomery ignored the warning and ordered the attack. The massive air assault was planned as a daylight mission, one involving thousands of transports, gliders, bombers, and fighter aircraft. It was an astounding armada stretching for hundreds of miles from Britain to eastern Holland. At 1400, Lieutenant Joseph Enthammer, a Wehrmacht artillery officer, was observing the sky near Oosterbeek, Holland. He noticed white snowflakes hanging in the air and thought, "That cannot be, it never snows in September! They must be parachutists." The battle for Holland was underway. The American 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions accomplished all of their missions in Holland, seizing roadways and bridges and fighting off German counterattacks from all sides. But the British 1st Division jumped straight into the teeth of two panzer divisions refitting in the Arnhem area. Even as the 82nd captured the Waal River bridge at Nijmegen on 20 September, the British were losing the battle to German forces that grew in strength by the hour. Finally on the night of 24-25 September, 2,400 survivors of the 10,000-man 1st Airborne Division crossed the lower Rhine to safety. What was a brilliant success for the Americans was a catastrophe for their British colleagues. The war would not end by Christmas.
83. ASOM_150809_365.JPG: Soldiers of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, prepare to seize the Maas River Bridge at Grave, Holland. The 504th dropped on both sides of the bridge, capturing it before German defenders could blow it up. From the painting "Making it Happen" by James Dietz, which is in the collection of the 82nd Airborne Division Museum at Fort Bragg.
84. ASOM_150809_373.JPG: Troopers of the 307th Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, advance thorugh Nijmegen.
85. ASOM_150809_375.JPG: 101st Airborne Division troops in Holland
86. ASOM_150809_382.JPG: Day of Infamy "Yesterday, December 7 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." -- President Franklin D Roosevelt to Congress, 8 December 1941 7 December 1941
87. ASOM_150809_385.JPG: Day of Infamy "Yesterday, December 7 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." -- President Franklin D Roosevelt to Congress, 8 December 1941 Japan Attacks in the Pacific: Japan's sudden and brutal attack against the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941 left most of the Pacific fleet in ruins and 2,403 servicemen dead, including 1,103 entombed in the battleship Arizona. With American military power thoroughly blunted, Japan was free to move military forces across Southeast Asia and the Pacific basin, quickly conquering Malaysia, Burma, the Philippines, parts of New Guinea and a host of small islands. By June 1942, Japan ruled much of the Asiatic-Pacific region and her naval and air forces lurked at the gates of Australia. Adolf Hitler was wildly ecstatic about the Pearl Harbor attack, so much so that Germany declared war on the United States on 11 December 1941, immediately dispatching submarines to attack shipping along the U.S. coast. Hitler's action guaranteed that America would fight in Europe as well as the Pacific, and although the situation in early 1942 was grim for the Allies, time would bring the "inevitable victory" that President Roosevelt promised on 8 December 1941 before a joint session of Congress. The Japanese offensive in the Pacific came to an abrupt end on 4 June 1942 near the tiny island of Midway. There, the U.S. Navy destroyed the pride of Japan's navy, a force of four aircraft carriers bearing 270 aircraft. Pearl Harbor was avenged, at least in part, and America was prepared to counterattack. Army parachute, glider and special operations forces would join in the march across the Pacific to defeat Japan. Joining in the Pacific counteroffensive were the 503rd Parachute regiment, 11th Airborne Division, Detachment 101 of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), Merrill's Marauder's, 6th Ranger Battalion and Alamo Scouts. The 503rd conducted important parachute assaults in New Guinea and, most notably, at Corregidor Island in the Philippines. Major General Joe Swing's 11th Airborne Division made parachute, glider and seaborne assaults in the Philippines. "Det 101" and Merrill's Marauder's attacked the Japanese in the jungles of Burma, effectively blunting the enemy's offensive capabilities.
88. ASOM_150809_391.JPG: Paratroopers of the 511st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division, jump toward a drop zone in the Philippine Islands.
89. ASOM_150809_394.JPG: Japanese soldiers celebrate their victory over American and Filipino soldiers on the Bataan Peninsula, Philippine Islands, 9 April 1942.
90. ASOM_150809_395.JPG: Counterattack in the Pacific 5 September 1943 - 23 June 1945
91. ASOM_150809_398.JPG: Counterattack in the Pacific Action in New Guinea and the Philippines: American parachute forces in the Pacific Theater of Operations were first used in New Guinea where the Allies mounted a major counteroffensive to stop the Japanese advance on Australia. On 5 September 1943, the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment completely surprised the Japanese by dropping 1,700 troopers on the enemy airfield at Nadzab. Following the 82nd Airborne Division's jump into Sicily by two months, Nadzab had none of the problems of that operation, and Army planners fully acknowledged the usefulness of airborne assaults. The 503rd jumped again on 3 and 4 July 1944 at Noemfoor Island in New Guinea as an airborne reinforcement, helping the defend the Kamin airstrip against Japanese counterattacks. After that operation, the 503rd moved to the Philippine Islands where, on 16 February 1945, the regiment made its celebrated jump onto Corregidor Island at Manila Bay. The battle of "The Rock" was legendary, with Colonel George Jone's 503rd Regimental Combat Team pitted against over 5,000 Japanese defenders. Joining the 503rd in the fight for the Philippines, Major General Joe Swing's 11th Airborne Division distinguished itself through assault jumps and seaborne landings. Swing's troopers jumped at Tagaytay, Luzon on 3 February 1945, seized the prison camp at Los Banos, Luzon, on 23 February 1945 and made a parachute and glider assault at Aparri, Luzon on 23 June 1945. After the Japanese surrender, the 11th headed to Japan as an occupying force. Special Operations forces also played a part in the Philippines. In January 1945, the Alamo Scouts of the U.S. Sixth Army assisted the 6th Ranger Battalion in the dramatic seizure of the Cabanatuan prisoner of war camp. As with the airborne operations, surprise, courage and fighting skills rapidly defeated the Japanese.
92. ASOM_150809_400.JPG: The 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment lands on Kamiri airstrip, Noermfoor Island, during the battle for New Guinea, 3 July 1944.
93. ASOM_150809_402.JPG: Return to Corregidor
94. ASOM_150809_404.JPG: Return to Corregidor 16 February 1945: The 503rd Regimental Combat Team (RCT) successfully assaulted Corregidor "The Rock" on 16 February 1945. American forces had entered Manila on 5 February, and while they were driving the Japanese out of the city, many enemy troops escaped across the bay to Bataan and Corregidor, scenes of American defeat in 1942. To secure these positions, the U.S. Sixth Army landed a force at Mariveles on the tip of Bataan, opposite Corregidor, on 15 February, with a plan to advance and meet another force driving down the east coast of Bataan. The next day, it launched the airborne assault on Corregidor, followed by amphibious reinforcement. The drop at Corregidor began at 0830 on 16 February. In two lifts, 82 C-47's of the 54th Troop Carrier Wing carried 2,050 men of the 503rd from Mindoro. The initial drops were made from an altitude of 650 feet, but this was soon reduced to 500 feet or less to minimize drift. The RCT included two battalions of the 503rd Parachute Infantry and its headquarters, engineer and service companies, and field artillery batteries of 75 mm howitzers from the 462nd Parachute Field Artillery. This force combined with amphibious reinforcement to bring the total to about 4,000 by the end of D plus 2. The troops faced an estimated enemy defense of 850 (later proved to be over 5,000) in heavily fortified positions. The paratroops completely surprised the defenders and speedily seized their first objective. By the end of 16 February, they were firmly established on Topside, while the amphibious force was in control of Malinta Hill, the dominating terrain in the beachhead area. The 3rd Battalion of the 34th Infantry, reinforced, had landed at San Jose beach that morning between the two airlifts and secured the hill after suffering heavy casualties from land mines on the beach. With the two successes of the 16th, the assault phase was complete, but the task of rooting out the enemy from caves and tunnels all over the island still faced the "Rock Force," as the combined 503rd RCT and 34th Infantry troops were called. By 27 February, the Americans had killed about 4,500 Japanese and captured 19. The Americans had suffered more than 1,000 casualties by 2 March, including 210 deaths. General MacArthur inspected the "Rock Force" on 2 March 1945. After congratulating the troops on their victory, he said, "I see that the flagpole still stands... Hoist the colors to its peak and let no enemy ever haul them down."
95. ASOM_150809_408.JPG: Cartoon drawn by Sergeant Louis Brown, 503rd Regimental Combat Team. Brown noted that a paratrooper never knows what to expect "below."
96. ASOM_150809_410.JPG: 503rd Infantry Regiment Patch: The 503rd Infantry Regiment insignia reflects the unit's combat jump into Corregidor, a heavily fortified island at the entrance of Manila Bay. Due to the island's terrain, Corregidor is more commonly known as "The Rock." 187th Infantry Regiment Patch: This is the 187th Regiment insignia. The 187th served as a Glider Infantry Regiment during WWII, and also made several combat assaults in New Guinea and Leyte. 11th Airborne Division Shoulder Patch: Nicknamed the "Angels," the 11th fought on Leyte and Luzon, Philippine Islands, and later served as an occupying force in Japan.
97. ASOM_150809_412.JPG: The Rock: A piece of the rocky surface of Corregidor Island was taken as a souvenier of this famous combat assault.
98. ASOM_150809_414.JPG: A Surprise Attack
99. ASOM_150809_417.JPG: The Japanese Soldier in Action: In December 1944, the 11th Airborne Division was fighting in Leyte on the Philippine Islands. On 6 December, the Division received a surprise visit from the Japanese 3rd Parachute Regiment. General Robert L. Eichelberger, Eighth Army Commander, recorded the following account of this even in his diary: "Major General Joe Swing set up his 11th Airborne headquarters not too far away from mine, and I saw him frequently. My diary of 6 December simply says: 'Raids again,' But Joe Swing had a different story... "Swing had eaten his support and, looking for a breath of cool air, was sitting outside his tent in his underwear. It was dusk. Indifferently he watched a flight of Japanese bombers flying high over three nearby airstrips. Then two flights of Japanese transport planes came in slowly at 750 feet. Japanese parachutes began to swell and float in the Leyte evening. It was an all-out attack on our strips and Swing's headquarters. "11th Airborne never had a more confusing night. The attack was, of course, a complete surprise, but the confusion of our troops was hardly a patch on the confusion of the Japanese; in the growing darkness it was hard to tell friend from foe. We know now that the parachute drop was part of a coordinated plan of attack which involved the Japanese 26th Division and the remnants of the Japanese 16th Division. Some 450 paratroops were airlifted from southern Luzon... "Many men were killed on both sides during that bedlam night. Flames leaped high in the sky as the Japanese burned American planes and supply dumps. The attack was upon the headquarters, the two artillery battalions and an engineer battalion functioned as infantry that night. In other sections of the dark battlefield cooks and clerks were the fighting men. Eventually dawn came. Some 300 Japanese were killed the next day, and the remainder were hunted out in surrounding areas and killed over a period of three days. "... This long after, I think of the Japanese parachute attack as a near thing. It had no military importance, but, with better luck, it might have had."
100. ASOM_150809_419.JPG: Nambu Type 14 Pistol: The Japanese army used the "Nambu" pistol throughout the war. Production quality standards declined to the extent that the weapon became as dangerous to the shooter as it was to the target.
101. ASOM_150809_424.JPG: Japanese Pilot Chute: This type of chute pulled the main chute out of the parachute bag.
102. ASOM_150809_425.JPG: Battle Flag: Japanese soldiers often carried a personal "Rising Sun" flag inscribed with Shinto prayers and good wishes from friends.
103. ASOM_150809_428.JPG: Holland: D-Day, 17 September 1944
104. ASOM_150809_430.JPG: Holland: D-Day, 17 September 1944 "The sky over us was black with aircraft": The airborne assault against Holland in September 1944 was one of the epic battles of World War II. Over 30,000 American and British troops were delivered by glider and parachute to capture bridges over the Maas, Waal, and Neder Rijm Rivers. Failure to hold the northernmost bridge at Arnhem brought the operation to an unsuccessful finish. Arnhem Bridge, well protected by German armor, was indeed "too far" to be taken. On D-Day, General Kurt Student, the German airborne leader, was at his command post near S'Hertogenhosch Holland, when he heard the vast Allied armada flying overhead. "I stepped out on the balcony, and wherever I looked I could see aircraft -- troops transports and aircraft towing gliders -- flying quite low over our house. They came in groups and as one disappeared into the distance, another one followed -- flight after flight. It was a spectacle which impressed me deeply. At that particular moment, I had no thought of the dangers it foreshadowed; I was only thinking of my own airborne operations in earlier days. If ever I had such resources at my disposal!"
105. ASOM_150809_434.JPG: Garand M1 Rifle: The Garand semiautomatic rifle was adopted in 1936. It was the standard rifle of the US Army from World War II to the late 1950s. The Garand's effective range was 500 yards.
106. ASOM_150809_440.JPG: Battle of the Bulge "The present situation is to be regarded as one of opportunity to us and not disaster." -- General Dwight D Eisenhower, 19 December 1944 From the American Commander to the German Commander: "Nuts!" -- Reply of the 101st Airborne Division to a German surrender demand, 22 December 1944 16 December 1944 - 25 January 1945
107. ASOM_150809_443.JPG: Battle of the Bulge German Breakthrough in the Ardennes: On the morning of 16 December 1944, 41 German divisions, supported by 1,500 tanks and assault guns, attacked the American Army in the hilly, heavily forested Ardennes region of Belgium. This supposedly quiet sector of the frontlines was precisely the same area where Germany had launched its attack against France and Britain in May 1940. Three German armies -- the Sixth SS Panzer, Fifth Panzer and Seventh -- were attempting to smash through a handful of American divisions in order to cross the Meuse River and recapture the great seaport of Antwerp. If successful, the American and British Army group would be split and German forces, using captured fuel and supplies, could defeat them in detail. Hitler was gambling everything on one last offensive in the West. And for the first days of the attack, his hopes seemed fulfilled: surprise was complete, American units everywhere were shattered and in retreat. General Eisenhower saw immediately that the German attack was, in fact, a gamble, one that could only fail. As German forces streamed towards the Meuse, his sent XVIII Airborne Corps into Belgium from camps in France, with the 82nd Airborne heading for St. Vith, a road junction on the northern shoulder of the salient;; the 101st Airborne Division went to Bastogne, another road junction on the southern shoulder of the Bulge. The Airborne divisions would join units from General Patton's Third Army and Field Marshall Montgomery's 21st Army Group to stop the Germans short of the Meuse. Glidermen and paratroopers of the two battle-tested divisions now found themselves fighting German tanks, self-propelled guns and infantry in subzero weather with rifles, grenades, machine guns and light artillery. The 101st was soon surrounded in Bastogne by the Fifth Panzer Army; the 82nd was fighting SS Panzer divisions near St. Vith. Troopers against tanks and heavy artillery; troopers outnumbered and surrounded. In the face of the German assault, the superb fighting skill of American Airborne soldiers and the outstanding leadership of Ridgway, Gavin and McAuliffe won the day. By the end of December, the German Army was back on the defensive. From late December 1944 through February 1945, America's Airborne forces, including the newly arrived 17th Airborne Division, the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 550th Glider Infantry Battalion and the 551th Parachute Infantry Battalion, were on the offensive, fighting the enemy in ferocious battles and savage weather, pushing the battle into Germany.
108. ASOM_150809_446.JPG: 82nd Airborne Division troopers advance through a hail of German artillery fire near St. Vith, Belgium, December 1944.
109. ASOM_150809_452.JPG: Troopers of the 101st Airborne Division fought a desperate battle on the streets of Bastogne with the German 5th Panzer Army from 19-31 December 1944. When the Germans demanded that the encircled Americans surrender, General McAuliffe gave them his famous reply: "Nuts!"
110. ASOM_150809_453.JPG: Airborne in the Ardennes
111. ASOM_150809_457.JPG: The Battle of the Bulge: On December 17, 1944, General Eisenhower ordered XVIII Airborne Corps to move "without delay" to Belgium to help stop a massive German breakthrough. The 82nd Airborne was directed to hold St. Vith and the 101st Airborne Division headed to Bastogne. The 17th Division was ordered from England to Belgium. Soon St. Vith and Bastogne were under heavy attack by German tanks and infantry. By 22 December, Bastogne was surrounded. The 101st -- used to operating behind the lines -- held Bastogne until relieved on 26 December 1944. Meanwhile the 82nd's equally important battle for St. Vith continued until First Army ordered a withdrawal. Fighting from new lines, the 82nd helped turn back the German assault. The 17th Airborne Division arrived just before Christmas. Their first combat was west of Bastogne and the troopers cleared this area of German units. The Battle of the Bulge was costly for the Airborne. The 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion had only 55 men left and was inactivated. The 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion had 100 men left and was also inactivated. The men of both battalions transferred to the 82nd Airborne Division.
112. ASOM_150809_459.JPG: M3 Submachine Gun: Known as the "Grease Gun," the inexpensive M3 was similar to the British Sten Gun. This weapon was first issued to Airborne units late in 1943, but troops still favored the Thompson submachine gun for its greater rate of fire and accuracy.
113. ASOM_150809_461.JPG: 17th Airborne Division Patch: The 17th Airborne Division was rushed from England and fought its first battle near Morhet.
114. ASOM_150809_464.JPG: 327th Infantry Regiment Helmet: The 327th Infantry Regiment was one of the 101st Airborne Units surrounded at Bastogne. In honor of its service the 327th received a Presidential Unit Citation.
115. ASOM_150809_469.JPG: "Nuts!"
116. ASOM_150809_471.JPG: "Nuts!" By 22 December 1944, during the battle of the Bulge, the German offensive had surrounded the town of Bastogne, Belgium. Inside the town, General McAuliffe commanded the 101st Airborne Division and other tank and artillery units. That morning, a German contingent approached the 101st under a flag of truce, and handed a surrender ultimatum to Major Alvin Jones, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 327th Glider Infantry. "The fortune of war is changing," the typewritten note declared, "Battalions are ready to annihilate the U.S.A. troops in and near Bastogne." The Germans demanded a surrender within two hours time, or shelling would begin. The Americans, the note said, would be responsible for civilian casualties. When Jones brought the note to McAuliffe, the general asked him what it said. "They want us to surrender," said Jones. McAuliffe found the suggestion tactically and morally ludicrous, and he began laughing and exclaimed, "Aw, nuts!" McAuliffe took up his pencil and prepared to draft a reply. After a few minutes, the general said aloud, "I don't know what to tell them." When McAuliffe asked for suggestions, Lt. Colonel Kinnard, his G-3, replied "Well, sir, that first remark of yours would be hard to beat." The entire staff spontaneously applauded. Shortly, McAuliffe put his pencil to paper. To the German Commander: Nuts! The American Commander This was the entire content of the note delivered to the Germans by Colonel Joseph H. Harper, commander of the 327th Glider Infantry. In the scene in front of you, the German officer is studying the note. A few moments later, Harper took pains to make certain the note was clear. "If you don't understand what 'nuts' means, in plain English, it is the same as, 'Go to hell.'" That night, the German Luftwaffe began a four-night bombing assault against the town. But the Americans refused to give in. On 26 December, after a ten-day siege, American tanks from Lieutenant General George Patton's Third Army lifted the siege of Bastogne.
117. ASOM_150809_473.JPG: Lieutenant General George Patton, commanding General, Third Army, decorates Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe with the Distinguished Service Cross.
118. ASOM_150809_475.JPG: German artillery and aircraft reduced much of Bastogne to ruins. Following the American refusal to surrender, the Luftwaffe launched a four-night bombing mission against military and civilian inhabitants.
119. ASOM_150809_483.JPG: The Triple Nickles: "The history of the Triple Nickles is an untold chapter in black social history. The high professional standards of the men of the 555th, their skill in airborne operations, fearlessness in testing new concepts and effectiveness in training other service personnel marked them as black pioneers..." -- Bradley Biggs, Lieutenant Colonel, USA, Retired; 555th historian Black soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen played an indispensable role during World War II. They joined the fight for freedom, even when they were not completely free themselves. During the war, they served as fighter pilots, artillerymen, combat engineers, signalmen and infantrymen, but, more often than not, their innate skills, courage, and rededication to duty were overlooked or ignored. Racial prejudice ruled the day in America but intrepid black paratroopers established a new paradigm, one which would help lead the way to equality and justice. Company A, 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, was activated at Fort Benning on 31 December 1943. Twenty-three officers and enlisted men were the first black soldiers to graduate from Jump School, long held to be one of the most difficult training centers in the Army. These soldiers were, in effect, the black test platoon. The 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion was activated at Camp Mackall, North Carolina, on 25 November 1944, under the command of Captain James H. Porter, often thought of as the "Father of the 555th." Porter and his men knew they were under an Army microscope, with observers waiting to criticize every move, every misstep. In the face of this challenge, the troopers performed their duties with efficiency and dignity. In March 1945, the 555th was ordered to provide a reinforced company for participation in Operation FIREFLY in Oregon and California. Japanese balloon bombs were causing forest fires along the Pacific Coast and the 555th troopers were the Nation's first line of defense. At Camp Pendleton, Oregon, the company was trained in "smoke jumping" techniques, developed in the 1930s by the US Forest Service as a means to combat wild fires. Throughout the summer of 1944, the troopers plunged by parachute into some of the most difficult terrain in the Pacific Northwest. They were the Army's first rough terrain jump specialists. During late 1947, Major General James M. Gavin, 82nd Airborne Division Commander, conducted the ceremony that transferred the 555th troopers to the 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Gavin's action was a first step towards integrating black soldiers into the ranks of the 82nd, a bold move in the 1940s. The 555th, the Army's only black parachute battalion, was now on the inactive list, but the troopers always thought of themselves as Triple Nickles. In the years ahead they would be the cutting edge of efforts to integrate the Army. Gavin's vision of racial justice and their resolve would help to transform the Army. They were a vanguard of freedom.
120. ASOM_150809_486.JPG: Operation FIREFLY, July 1945: A fully equipped 555th paratrooper ready to jump into mountainous terrain to combat forest fires ignited by Japanese balloon bombs that drifted across the Pacific Northwest during 1945.
121. ASOM_150809_491.JPG: Special Operations in Burma
122. ASOM_150809_493.JPG: Special Operations in Burma The War in CBI: Japan seized most of Burma in 1941 and maintained significant military forces in northern and western Burma threatening India and blocking overland supply routes to China. In late 1943, General Joseph Stilwell, American commander in the China-Burma-India Theater (CBI), began a campaign against the Japanese 18th Army in order to build a road from Ledo, India, to American bases in China. The terrain and climate were brutal, and soldiers had to fight not only the Japanese but disease, insects, and crippling heat. Into the hellish environment of northern Burma, General Stilwell introduced two unique American units: Detachment 101 of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and the 5307th Provisional Unit, a regimental combat team0sized unit, complete with 75mm pack howitzers and pack mules to move the guns and supplies. Detachment 101 and the OSS went to China in April 1942 to conduct intelligence and paramilitary operations. With new orders in hand, the detachment infiltrated into northern Burma by parachute in January and February 1943 to set up a base of operations. It was the first U.S. unit organized to conduct unconventional warfare operations. By the summer of 1944, the detachment had 3,000 Burmese Kachin guerrillas operating behind Japanese lines. They directly supported the 5307th's drive on the Japanese base at Myitkyina, blocking enemy supply routes and reinforcements. After the fall of Myitkyina Stilwell directed Detachment 101 to train up to 10,000 guerrillas and expand its operation into central Burma. By late 1944, the detachment was operating at battalion strength (300 Americans; 3,200 guerrillas). The unit won the Presidential Unit Citation of operations conducted in 1945 during which time it cleared 10,000 Japanese troops from a vast area of Burma. The 5307th Provisional Unit, code named Galahad but known to history as Merrill's Marauders, fought an epic battle against the Japanese Army. Under the command of Brigadier General Frank Merrill, the Marauders acted as a spearhead for General Stilwell's Chinese Divisions. The mission: break through the lines of the Japanese 18th Division, an elite enemy unit, and seize Myitkyina, a key town on the planned Ledo road route. Plagued by heat, typhus, mud, intense enemy opposition and impossible terrain, the Galahad force fought through the spring and summer of 1944, finally driving the Japanese out of Myitkyina on 3 August. The battle was won but the Marauders were too worn out to continue. They were replaced by a brigade-sized unit known as Mara Task Force. Victory in Burma was won by sheer guts and determination, by fighting spirit and skill and, ultimately, by selfless courage and sacrifice.
123. ASOM_150809_495.JPG: Liberator Pistol: Thousands of Liberator handguns were dropped to the anti-Japanese patriots in the Far East and China. The weapon was called the Woolworth gun because it was extremely cheap to make, costing approximately $2.40 each.
124. ASOM_150809_498.JPG: China-Burma-India-Patch: This patch commemorates the China-Burma-India Theater. The sun on the patch symbolizes China, the star depicts Burma and India, and the stripes represent the United States.
125. ASOM_150809_510.JPG: CG-4A Waco Glider: The American built CG-4A was considered the best glider of the war, although it could not carry the weight of the British Horsa glider. Designed by the Waco Aircraft Company, the CG-4A was manufactured by a number of firms, including the Ford Motor Company, the CG-4A was manufactured by a number of firms, including the Ford Motor Company, which built about 5,000 of the 13,999 produced during the war. The Waco could carry 15 soldiers or a jeep, as well as artillery pieces or supplies. The loaded weight was 9,000 pounds and the overall length was 48 feet, 4 inches. The wing span was 83 feet, 8 inches. Gliders were used in the Mediterranean, European, Pacific and China-Burma-India Theaters. During Operation MARKET GARDEN, a total of 1,899 gliders delivered troops and materiel over several days; for VARSITY, 1,348 gliders landed on German soil in a little over an hour.
126. ASOM_150809_516.JPG: "These Guys Don't Get Paid Enough"
127. ASOM_150809_520.JPG: Glider Troopers: Backbone of the Airborne Division: Lieutenant Colonel Al Ireland, veteran paratrooper of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, arrived in Normandy on D-Day riding in a CG-4A glider, which carried a 57mm antitank gun. Ireland commented that glider troops were underpaid. Half of an airborne division was carried into battle by gliders, including infantry, artillerymen, engineers, medics, signalmen, headquarters staff, as well as jeeps, trailers, artillery pieces, munitions and supplies. Glider operations were dangerous and after D-Day, troopers riding the CG-4A received hazardous duty pay -- just like paratroopers. They deserved it!
128. ASOM_150809_522.JPG: British Folding Bicycle: The British 6th Airborne Division landed near Hamminkeln, Germany. British units carried bicycles like this one on gliders and in containers.
129. ASOM_150809_524.JPG: Glare Pistol: Glider pilots fired flare pistols to send distress signals to other aircraft.
130. ASOM_150809_529.JPG: Pathfinders: Leading the Way
131. ASOM_150809_534.JPG: The Eureka-Rebecca Radar Transmitter: Pathfinders were a special breed of warrior with an extremely perilous job, requiring the highest degree of daring, courage, and resourcefulness. They preceded an airborne assault by an hour or more, jumping into enemy territory to mark drop (DZ) and landing (LZ) zones for paratroopers and gliders. The teams carried lights, luminous panels and, most important of all, a portable radar beacon. Eureka-Rebeccca was a device for guiding aircraft to specific ground locations. The system was used for airborne operations, particularly in northwest Europe. Rebecca consisted of an antenna and radio transmitter mounted on the jump aircraft. Eureka, known as the AN/PPN-1A/2, was a transmitter beacon set up on a drop zone by pathfinders. It sent out continuous signals to the Rebecca unit on the approaching assault aircraft, guiding the planes to the drop zone. Eureka-Rebecca was still in the experimental stage when it was used to support the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion assault during Operation TORCH. The assault aircraft, however, were off course and never came within range of the Eureka beacon. The first tactical use of pathfinders was at Salerno on 13 September 1943. There the Eureka-Rebecca system was successfully used to guide the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment to the drop zone inside the Fifth Army beachhead.
132. ASOM_150809_539.JPG: Rebecca Antenna: The antenna was mounted on C-47s to communicate with the Eureka ground unit. Once the proper signal was received from the ground, the green light in the aircraft would be lit to signal the paratroopers to jump.
133. ASOM_150809_541.JPG: AN/PPN-2 Beacon: Pathfinders set up this beacon to identify drop zones. Nicknamed "Eureka," beacons were used in nearly all airborne drops from the North Africa campaign through the end of the war.
134. ASOM_150809_543.JPG: Pathfinder Badge: Designed just before D-Day, the wings were given to anyone who completed pathfinder school. This badge is cloth; the contemporary badge is metal.
135. ASOM_150809_546.JPG: Airborne Pathfinders 6 June 1944
136. ASOM_150809_549.JPG: First on French Soil: Shortly after midnight on 6 June 1944, a group of low-flying C-47 aircraft crossed over the French coast. Eight minutes later, Captain Frank L. Lillyman, leader of the 101st Airborne Division pathfinder team, jumped into the night to become the first Allied soldier to land on French soil. It was 1215 hours on D-Day. Far to the west, hundreds of aircraft were lined up on British airfields ready to carry the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions to Normandy. Lillyman and his fellow pathfinders would lead them to the proper drop zones. Pathfinder teams, special groups of paratroopers who marked drop and landing zones, were developed because of the problems of the airborne assault in Sicily in July 1943. Major General Matthew B. Ridgway, 82nd Commander, wanted drop zones marked with lights and radio-transmitter beacons. In late August 1943, pathfinders conducted tests, jumping in advance of the main assault force in order to guide transports to the correct landing areas. For devices were used: "Krypton lights," a special radio-transmitter known as 5G (or FEE), a portable radar beacon known as Eureka which transmitted range and bearing to the drop zone and Rebecca, a receiver in the aircraft that picked up the Eureka signal. Of these devices, Eureka-Rebecca provided consistent results that allowed parachutists to land in the correct area. Eureka-Rebecca was used to guide the 82nd Airborne Division to the Salerno drop zone in mid-September 1943. It was successfully used in subsequent operations in Normandy, Southern France, Holland and Germany. Directing airborne forces to the correct landing areas, of course, was not an exact science. The "fog of war" and the hazards of night operations made pathfinding difficult in the best of circumstances. In Normandy, hedgerows, darkness and alert German units prevented many pathfinders from accomplishing their missions. In southern France, however, the drop zones were clearly marked and most paratroopers landed right on target. Subsequent operations were carried out in daylight, enabling pathfinders to quickly mark landing areas for paratroopers and gliders.
137. ASOM_150809_555.JPG: A graphic illustration showing pathfinders deploying a ground panel to guide low flying planes to the drop zone.
138. ASOM_150809_557.JPG: Operation VARSITY 24 March 1945
139. ASOM_150809_560.JPG: Operation VARSITY Airborne Assault Across the Rhine: Hitler's Ardennes offensive was quite literally a "last throw of the dice" and by 21 March 1945, Allied armies had drawn up to the Rhine River along its whole length. American forces were already across at Remagen but it was clear that crossings at several points were necessary to bring the war in Europe to a close. Field Marshall Montgomery's 21st Army Group planned to force the Rhine near Wesel, Germany, by means of both airborne and amphibious assault. First Allied Airborne Army, under the command of U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Louis Brereton would carry out the airborne phase. Major General Matthew B. Ridgway's XVIII Airborne Corps commanded the American 17th and British 6th Airborne Divisions which would conduct the parachute and glider attacks. VARSITY was the largest single assault lift of World War II, with 667 transports for the paratroopers of both divisions and 1,340 gliders carrying infantry, engineers, artillery, signalmen, medics and vehicles. This entire force was scheduled to descend on the German defenders beginning at 1000 hours, 24 March. Some 50,000 enemy troops and 300 antiaircraft (Flak) guns were arrayed on the east bank of the Rhine. A "hot" reception was fully expected. The lift of American paratroopers began at 0745 on the 24th from French airfields at Chartres and Paris. The first four paratroop serials, a force of 181 C-47s, delivered 2,479 soldiers of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment and the 464th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion. Most of the first serial dropped two miles northwest of the drop zone, but the rest of the regiment landed squarely on Drop Zone-W. Led by the intrepid Colonel Edson Raff, 507th troopers captured all of their initial objectives within three and a half hours, taking one enemy position in the Diersfordter Wald at the point of the bayonet. The 17th Airborne's second parachute infantry regiment, the 513th, led by Colonel James W. Coutts, was delivered to Drop Zone-X by C-46 aircraft. Larger than the C-47, the C-46 proved very vulnerable to ground fire because of its fuel tank design. Nineteen aircraft were shot down in flames over the drop zone. Nonetheless, Coutts led the 513th straight at the Germans, destroying several 88mm Flak guns and thus securing a nearby glider landing zone needed by the British. As with other airborne operations, outstanding leadership, extraordinary troop morale and fighting ability allowed parachute and glider troops to overcome enormous odds. Allied leaders were satisfied with the assault but General Ridgway was deeply satisfied with the assault but General Ridgway was deeply concerned about the loss of transports, gliders and troops during VARSITY. "We learned a lot," Ridgway said, "but it cost us dearly."
140. ASOM_150809_568.JPG: Getting ready to fly to Germany, 24 March 1945
141. ASOM_150809_571.JPG: CG-4A Glider Assembly
142. ASOM_150809_585.JPG: "Where is the Cavalry and I Don't Mean Horses?"
143. ASOM_150809_587.JPG: Air Mobility and the UH-1 Helicopter: The UH-1 or "Huey" was key to the success of the air assault concept. Originally designed as an air ambulance, the Huey was a light, agile machine with a turbine engine that made it the perfect tactical utility transport helicopter. That, combined with the Howze Board Report in 1962, worked to establish the air assault division. The Howze Board conducted nearly 40 tests to create a design for the new division. The group decided that the number of helicopters required would increase from 100 to 459. This would allow one-third of the division to be airlifted. To further test the concept, the 11th Airborne Division was reactivated and converted to the 11th Air Assault Division. The Division worked through a variety of maneuvers from February 1963 to March 1965. Because the tests were successful, plans were made to make the 11th a full division in the regular Army. The 1st Cavalry Division resulted from that division. This warfighting concept -- based on air mobility and agility -- was to shape the battles in Vietnam during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
144. ASOM_150809_597.JPG: A World Unraveling, 1973-1982
145. ASOM_150809_601.JPG: A World Unraveling, 1973-1982 An Era of Global Unrest: A series of international crises throughout the 1970s compelled the Army to reevaluate its airborne and special operations capabilities. In the Middle East, the United States military went on high alert when the Soviet Union threatened to intervene in the Yom Kippur War in 1973. In Africa, the US nearly became involved in Angola, where a power vacuum in the wake of independence from Portugal (1975) plunged the nation into partisan warfare. In Latin America, an historical hotbed of revolutionary activity, the United States had to work through complicated political and military situations in Chile, Nicaragua (where the US withdrew its support for Anastasio Somoza), El Salvador, and elsewhere. For the United States, perhaps no greater international crisis punctuated the late-1970s than the Iran Hostage Crisis. On 4 November 1979, enraged Iranians overran the American embassy in Teheran and took some 100 prisoners, a culminating event following a long period of unrest and instability. The hostage crisis, a chilling reminder of the tragedy at the Munich Olympics in 1972, dominated American foreign policy for 444 days. Despite taking diplomatic and economic measures against Iran and authorizing a special operations rescue mission (which did not succeed), President Carter was unable to secure the release of the hostages. Iran held the hostages until 20 January 1981, the day President Ronald Reagan was inaugurated. Complicating matters for the United States was the Soviet Union's "invasion" of Afghanistan in December 1979 in order to protect that nation's government from an insurgency and prevent the spread of Islamic fundamentalism. In response, President Carter issued the Carter Doctrine which promised that the United States would repel Soviet intrusion into the Middle East "by any means necessary -- including military force." He lifted the restrictions on American covert activity in the region, and left the door open for conventional military involvement in the future. ...
146. ASOM_150809_604.JPG: ARSOF at the Crossroads 24 April 1980
147. ASOM_150809_608.JPG: ARSOF at the Crossroads Rebuilding US Army Special Operations Forces: On 24 April 1980, an attempt to rescue US Embassy employees held in Teheran came to a disastrous conclusion. Operation EAGLE CLAW was a joint-service mission led by Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (SFOD-D), a counterterrorist force formed in 1977. Failure at the mission rendezvous, Desert One, led to the rebuilding of special operations forces (SOF). SOF fell on hard times in the post-Vietnam War era. Efforts to create interest in counterinsurgency and counterterrorism in the late 1970s led to the activation of SFOD-D. Despite tragedy in Iran, Army Secretary John O. Marsh called for renewed commitment to the "twilight battlefield" of low intensity conflict in 1983. 24 April 1980
148. ASOM_150809_609.JPG: ARSOF in the 1980s 1980-1989
149. ASOM_150809_611.JPG: ARSOF in the 1980s New Global Missions: Army SOF forces underwent steady reorganization and growth during the 1980s. In 1983, the 1st Special Operations Command took direct control of all active Army SOF, including Special Forces, Rangers, Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations units. Special Forces grew from three to five active groups and four reserve groups by 1991. Moreover, Special Forces became an Army Branch. Army special operations units played key training and combat roles in Grenada (1983), Panama (1989), El Salvador (1980-1992) and many other parts of the world. In El Salvador, Special Forces training teams helped to end a blood insurgency. 1980-1989
150. ASOM_150809_612.JPG: Six Minutes to Freedom Night Stalkers to the Rescue: In December 1989, the United States initiated Operation JUST CAUSE to remove Manual Noriega from power in Panama. The first objectives were to capture Noriega and to rescue American citizen Kurt Muse from Panama City's infamous Modelo Prison. At 0045, 20 December 1989, MH-6 "Little Birds" of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Group began landing SOF troopers on the roof of the prison. Within six minutes, the SOF operators had neutralized the guards, blown the cell door and had Muse on an MH-6, which lifted off under hostile fire.
151. ASOM_150809_625.JPG: "The Whirlwind War"
152. ASOM_150809_629.JPG: "The Whirlwind War" Operation DESERT STORM: Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990 was immediately countered by a swift American response. On 7 August, President George Bush announced that the United States was sending air, land, and sea forces to protect friendly nations in the Persian Gulf. Operation DESERT SHIELD began on 8 August with the deployment of the ready brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division. The brigade brought its light antitank weapons and M551 Sheridan tanks. This was a rapid show of force and commitment designed to deter further Iraqi aggression in the Gulf. Other elements of the 82nd and XVIII Airborne Corps followed. More than 500,000 U.S. military personnel would deploy to the region over the next six months. Airborne and Special Operations forces were a significant part of the offensive capability of the deployed U.S. forces. By January 1991, the United States was at the head of an international coalition poised to push the Iraqi Army out of Kuwait. Offensive air operations began on 17 January; Operation DESERT STORM was underway. On 24 February, ground operations were launched, with coalition forces advancing on a broad front. XVIII Airborne Corps protected the left flank, sending the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions into southern Iraq to seize the towns of Salman and Nasihiya, along with nearby airfields and military bases. In the face of helicopter assaults, fire from massed Corps artillery and rapidly moving tanks, the Iraqi Army melted away. Within hours, hundreds of enemy soldiers had surrendered. The ground war was over in 100 hours. It was, in every respect, a "lightning war." As XVIII Airborne Corps moved forward, Special Forces conducted long-range reconnaissance, setting up hide-sites deep inside Iraqi territory to observe and report on enemy troop movements. Significantly, the Iraqi Army was rarely aware of these Special Operations missions deep in their rear areas. Sand storms, intense heat, and equally intense cold were the operational norm in the desert. Airborne and Special Operations units met these challenges head-on, winning the war against the enemy and the environment.
153. ASOM_150809_630.JPG: Gas Mask: The biggest fear of American commanders was that Iraq might use chemical weapons. Every soldier was equipped with the M17 protective mask.
154. ASOM_150809_637.JPG: Kevlar Helmet
155. ASOM_150809_641.JPG: Operation DESERT SHIELD / DESERT STORM 2 August 1990 - 30 November 1993
156. ASOM_150809_644.JPG: Operation DESERT SHIELD / DESERT STORM The Persian Gulf Crisis: There is an old adage, much paraphrased at Fort Bragg, that says "When the President dials 911, XVIII Airborne Corps answers the phone." This was the case on 7 August 1990 when American naval, air and ground forces were ordered to the Persian Gulf to defend the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia against aggression from Iraqi military units massed on the Kuwait-Saudi border. The first ground unit alerted was the ready brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division, the Army's premier tactical contingency force. The 2nd Brigade, 92nd Airborne Division, began to arrive at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, on 9 August. By the end of the first week of Operation DESERT SHIELD, more than 4,000 paratroopers had arrived in Saudi Arabia on 106 aircraft. Weapons systems accompanying the soldiers included 18 M551 Sheridans, 15 AH-64 Apache helicopters, 8 OH-58 Kiowa Observation helicopters, 12 105mm towed howitzers, 56 TOW antitank missile systems and 2 multiple launch rocket systems. This initial force was rapidly joined by other combat units of the 82nd. By 24 August both the 1st and 3rd Brigades were on the ground in Saudi Arabia and the Division headquarters was set up at Um As Sahik. With the 82nd helping to secure Dhahran and the ort of Al Jubayl, other Army elements began to deploy, including the 5th Special Forces Group, the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) with its 216 M1A1 tanks, aviation elements of the 101st Airborne Division, as well as signal, transportation, and air defense units. The XVIII Airborne Corps was helping to rapidly build the "Shield." In the next months, the Army would learn to cope with the harsh desert environment of the Middle East as it prepared to drive the Iraqi Army out of Kuwait. In the meantime, PSYOP units began a sustained propaganda war against Iraqi military forces, warning them of the impending Coalition attack that would lead to their destruction. 2 August 1990 - 30 November 1993
157. ASOM_150809_673.JPG: The message of this PSYOP leaflet is clear in any language. Helping local populations avoid danger from the instruments of war saves lived and wins Americans grassroots support.
158. ASOM_150809_726.JPG: Lieutenant General William P. Yarborough 1912-2005
159. ASOM_150809_730.JPG: Colonel Aaron Bank "Father of Special Forces"
160. ASOM_150809_765.JPG: Iron Mike In honor of Airborne Troopers whose courage, dedication, and traditions make them the world's finest fighting soldiers
AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Description of Subject Matter: The Airborne & Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville, NC, is part of the Army Museum Store. It features some very interesting surroundings including part of a recreated French village, briefing tents, and artifacts.
Wikipedia Description: Airborne & Special Operations Museum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The U.S. Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum (ASOM) is part of the United States Army Museum System. Located near Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, North Carolina, it has been open to the public since 2000.

Its emphasis is on United States military history especially U.S. Army airborne and special operations forces.

In October 2013 the ASOM opened the "Task Force Ranger and the Battle of Mogadishu Exhibit." The exhibit features immersive dioramas and artifacts from the battle including the wreckage of Super 6-1, the first Black Hawk helicopter shot down during the battle, and Super 6-4. The downing of Super 6-1 is widely considered to be a turning point in the battle and is chronicled in the book by Mark Bowden and movie Black Hawk Down produced by Ridley Scott.

In late 2016 the museum is planning an exhibit dedicated to the "Monuments Men." The exhibit will display artifacts, artwork and other items related to their work protecting artistic treasures during World War II.
Bigger photos? To save server space, the full-sized versions of these images have either not been loaded to the server or have been removed from the server. (Only some pages are loaded with full-sized images and those usually get removed after three months.) I still have them though. If you want me to email them to you, please send an email to guthrie.bruce@gmail.com and I can email them to you, or, depending on the number of images, just repost the page again will the full-sized images.
Connection Not Secure messages? Those warnings you get from your browser about this site not having secure connections worry some people. This means this site does not have SSL installed (the link is http:, not https:). That's bad if you're entering credit card numbers, passwords, or other personal information. But this site doesn't collect any personal information so SSL is not necessary. Life's good!
Photo Contact: [Email Bruce Guthrie].