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D/505 AT THE GREATEST GENERATION MEMORIAL EXHIBIT Sainte Mere Eglise, Normandy June 2004 |
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D/505 AT THE GREATEST GENERATION MEMORIAL EXHIBIT Sainte Mere Eglise, Normandy June 2004 |
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A Tour through the foxholes of D Company 505
Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne
Division at Sainte Mere Eglise, Normandy, France, 3rd-7th June 2004.
D Company provided 25 men at the Greatest Generation Memorial Exhibition (along with five 50th FH personnel), and were accompanied by a partial stick of mis-dropped 2/505 Pathfinders.
D Company’s foxhole line consisted of a CP, three 60mm Mortar pits, two .30 Cal M.G. pits, and six 1 or 2 man rifle pits, all dug in the sweltering Normandy sun on the morning of the 3rd. All pits were fully dug to the same standards seen in original 505th foxholes in Normandy, with mounting platforms for crew-served weapons, side cubby-holes for storing personal items out of the rain and where available, flooring from ration or ammo crates.
The observant visitor to the display may have noted that due to the layout of the Greatest Generation Memorial Exhibition, our foxhole line was actually facing north towards the town (the Mortars were actually trained on the church tower….). The northwards direction is correct for the actual June 6/7th 1944 D Company positions that were located on the north side of the town, but thankfully our CP survived without a CG-4A Glider landing on top of it, unlike the original!!
From careful study of pre-jump photos it can be seen that many Mortars and M.G.’s have a camouflage net rolled up into their Drop Container, along with full M2 Ammunition Vests and various other items (Gas Casualties First Aid Box, SCR536 Handie-Talkies, etc.).
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Company HQ, with a 325th GIR Medical Officer and a Lieutenant from the Pathfinders also in residence. Company HQ personnel have managed to retain their M209 Decoder during the jump, and have successfully located A-4 Drop Containers containing Medical Supplies, and also a SCR300 Backpack Radio from one of the A-5 Drop Containers littering DZ-O. The D Company First Sergeant is briefing a patrol in the background. |
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60mm Mortar pit #1. Typical equipment-strewn pit seen in original photos – ration boxes, ammo at the ready, gear strewn about to aid ease of movement. This team is also the back-up M1A1 Bazooka position, protecting the CP. |
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60mm Mortar pit #2. This crew appear to be trying to relax in the sun under their camo net! |
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| 60mm Mortar pit #3. Two of the mis-dropped 2/505 Pathfinders are manning this Mortar. |
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| .30 Cal M.G. pit #1. A full M.G. pit with the .30 on a raised central platform, allowing a wide field of fire to be laid down. |
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.30 Cal M.G. pit #2. This M.G. has been salvaged by a Rifle pit’s occupants (including a Screaming Eagle from the 101st Airborne Division), and is being put into good use. Note the signal panel laid out on the far left of the photo, signifying the extent of the friendly front-line to the USAAF fighters patrolling the skies.
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| Rifle pit #1. A demolitions expert is casually sitting in front of his TNT blocks, blasting caps, and other assorted paraphernalia – unsurprisingly, the guys have let him be in his own 1-man foxhole! |
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Rifle pit #2. Browning Automatic Rifleman – BAR gunners are visible in photos of the 82nd taken before the jump and around SME. It is reported that lowering lines were made available to the BAR gunners before the jump to enable them to lower the BAR down below them like a leg bag (as far as I have found, there is no clarification if the BAR was enclosed in a padded sleeve like the British Airborne Rifle Leg Bag).
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| Rifle pit #3. 2-man pit. The guys in this hole have been “liberating” various items from the departing (or departed) German troops, including a bottle of Wehrmacht-issue wine! |
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| Rifle pit #4. Another 2-man pit, taking advantage of a spare camo net from one of the drop containers. |
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| Rifle pit #5. A 1-man foxhole. Note K-Ration boxes and Handie-Talkie taken from one of the Mortar Drop Containers. |
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| Rifle pit #6. Another 1-man foxhole. The M1918 Knuckleduster Trench Knife stuck in the lip of the foxhole either means this guy is an old-timer or he is simply good at trading or playing craps! |
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| Rifle pit #7. Note M1910 T-Handle Shovel still in use in Normandy and also the British-made No. 82 Gammon Grenade within easy reach (very effective against vehicles, and setting alight a small piece of the high explosive also makes a useful cooker for a cup of coffee!). |
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**New 01/07/04** Go to Page 2 for more photos of D Company 505 PIR in Normandy June 2004. |
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The Greatest Generation Memorial Exhibit itself was a fantastic tribute to the Paratroopers and Glidermen from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions who fought in Normandy in 1944, full of rare original artefacts that cannot be seen elsewhere. The team under Michel De Trez can only be commended on the time, effort and money they put into this memorial, which was visited by numerous veterans and their families whilst we were there. D/505 was proud to be able to help out at this event and to provide a memory to the visiting veterans and to the younger generation who had come along to learn and pay remembrance to those who fought and died in Normandy. Thank you Michel from D/505 and “Look Out Below!”. Michel can be contacted at his own website: http://www.d-day-publishing.be/
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and Memories of 82nd Airborne Veterans from Normandy 2004.
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Return to Look Out Below!
Return to D Company 505th PIR
