LESS WE FORGET:

It was a dark night above Normandy , Europe was waiting for that day in History , D-DAY or decision day,Europe was waiting for the allies to come and liberate them from the German occupier , present on his soils since 1940 .Suddenly it began ....on the night of 05.06.1944 leading to 06.06.1944 , the first liberators , jumping from airplanes were hitting the soils of Normandy France , the begin of the ending of the German occupation ,the way to the liberation was now opened .Young men from every state of the USA came to fight the war in a continent they mostly didn't know ...many came and many went on ...but sadly enough many stayed there for ever , burried in the grounds of Normandy , France . In this part we're going to try to remeber what happened now 60 years ago ...LET'S NEVER FORGET THESE HEROES !!  IT'S OUR DUTY TO CONTINUE TO REMEMBER ALL OF THEM , THOSE WHO DIED AND THOSE WHO SURVIVED ,LEAVING US BEHIND LITTLE BY LITTLE . 

101st Airborne division Honor Roll of Normandy

101st Airborne Division

HHC, 101st Airborne Division
327th Glider Infantry Regiment
401st Glider Infantry Regiment
502d Parachute Infantry Regiment
HHB, 101st Airborne Division Artillery
321st Glider Field Artillery Battalion
907th Glider Field Artillery Battalion
377th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion
81st Airborne Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion
101st Airborne Signal Company
801st Airborne Ordnance Company
426th Airborne Quartermaster Company
326th Airborne Engineer Battalion
326th Airborne Medical Company
101st Counter Intelligence Corps Detachment
Military Police Platoon, 101st Airborne Division

 

 

506th PIR TROOPERS WHO DIED ON THE LINE OF DUTY

 

1st Lt Thomas Meehan was the handsome and intelligent company commander of Easy 506th as they departed England to jump into Normandy on D-Day. He had been briefly assigned to Company 'B' before replacing Sobel as C.O. of E/506th. On the plane before takeoff, Lt Meehan penned a quick note to his wife, then handed it out the door, to a friend who promised it would be delivered. The note read:

Dearest Anne:
In a few hours I'm going to take the best company of men in the world into France. We'll give the bastards hell. Strangely, I'm not particularly scared. But in my heart is a terrific longing to hold you in my arms. I love you Sweetheart-forever. Your Tom

The plane bearing Lt Meehan and his entire stick of jumpers was hit by German ground fire near St Mere Eglise. All aboard were lost when the plane went-in between Beuzeville au Plain and Haut Fornel. A monument was dedicated on 6 June 2000, at Beuzeville, listing the names of those aboard. Excerpts from a thoughtful letter written by Lt Meehan, plus more biographical information, can be found posted by Barrie on the AWON website (see Links). Courtesy Barrie Meehan Meller and Dan Potter-posted by the webmaster on Tom Meehan's birthday, July 9th(2001).

Above, a photo taken in June 2000, showing the plaque on the Beuzeville monument which lists the victims of the C-47 crash. This is on the road about 5 minutes east of St Mere Eglise, near the Beuzeville church.
(article by Mark A Bando)  

William S. Evans






1st Sgt. William Evans was killed in action on June 6, 1944 in the D Day invasion of France. 1st Sgt. Evans was killed with 16 other Currahees when the aircraft they were in was hit and exploded over Ste. Mere-Eglise, Normandy, France.

1st Sgt. Evans was buried with 22 others in Ste. Mere-Eglise. The remains were brought back to the United States in 1952 and reburied in a mass grave at Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, MO.

A Memorial was dedicated in France on June 3, 2000 commemorating this D-Day crash.



 



Cosmo Ciano




Pvt Cosmo Ciano was killed in action on June 6, 1944 in the D Day invasion of France. He was missing in action for a four days. His tombstone reads:

COSMO CIANO

23 years old - Died on June 6, 1944

SACRIFICED HIS YOUNG LIFE

ON FRENCH TERRITORY

HIS REMAINS RETURNED TO HIS NATIVE SOIL

MAY HE REST IN PEACE



Remembered by Carlo Di Nitto and his hometown Gaeta Italy.



IN MEMORY

OF OUR FELLOW CITIZEN

COSMO CIANO

WHO DEDICATED HIS YOUNG LIFE

TO THE ALTAR OF LIBERTY

MAY HIS SACRIFICE NOT BE IN VAIN

I Marinai di Gaeta

(The Sailors of Gaeta)

 




Elmer L. Murray Jr.






Sgt. Elmer Murray Jr. was killed in action on June 6, 1944 in the D Day invasion of France. 1st Sgt. Evans was killed with 16 other Currahees when the aircraft they were in was hit and exploded over Ste. Mere-Eglise, Normandy, France.

Sgt. Murray was buried with 22 others in Ste. Mere-Eglise. The remains were brought back to the United States in 1952 and reburied in a mass grave at Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, MO.

A Memorial was dedicated in France on June 3, 2000 commemorating this D-Day crash.



 





PVT. Charles T. Risner
D Company 506th PIR
Killed in Action June 8, 1944


All photo's courtesy of Franck Rossell



PVT. Charles T. Risner's grave at Colleville sur Mer, Normandy. Block F, Alley 4, Number 38.

Murray Roberts






SSgt. Murray Roberts was killed in action on June 6, 1944 in the D Day invasion of France. SSgt. Roberts was killed with 16 other Currahees when the aircraft they were in was hit and exploded over Ste. Mere-Eglise, Normandy, France.

SSgt. Roberts was buried with 22 others in Ste. Mere-Eglise. The remains were brought back to the United States in 1952 and reburied in a mass grave at Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, MO.

A Memorial was dedicated in France on June 3, 2000 commemorating this D-Day crash.

Remembered by; his son Harry, his brother John, and his sisters Grace Sible, Dorothy Cooper, Evelyn Galbraith, Ruth Toenes, and Josephine Weaver.



 



Currahee Mass Grave

Jefferson Barracks St. Louis, MO.




Seventeen Currahees from E Company were killed in action on June 6, 1944 in the D Day invasion when the aircraft they were in was hit and exploded over Ste. Mere-Eglise, Normandy, France.


THE CURRAHEES

Tec 5 Herman Collins	Pvt George Elliott
1st Sgt William Evans	1st Lt Thomas Meehan III
Pfc William McGonigal	Pfc John Miller
Pfc Sergio Moya	Sgt Elmer Murray Jr
Pvt Ernest Oats	Sgt Richard Owen
Sgt Carl Riggs	SSgt Murray Roberts
Pfc Gerald Snider	Pfc Elmer Telstad
Tec 5 Ralph Wimer	Pfc Thomas Warren
Tec 5 Jerry Wentzel

 

THE FLIGHT CREW

1st Lt Harodl Cappelluto	2nd Lt John J Fanelli
2nd Lt Bernard Friedman	Sgt Norman E Thompson
Sgt Albert R Tillotson

 


These Currahees were buried in Ste. Mere-Eglise with their flight crew. They were brought back to the United States in 1952 and reburied in this mass grave at Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, MO.

Remembered by the daughter of E Company Commander 1st Lt. Thomas Meehan III, Barrie Meehan Meller.



 



 

 





 

            These troopers died in Normandy