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LITTLE DID WE KNOW
There was a great debate going on in the high command about whether the
airborne troops should be used at all Air Marshal Trafford Leigh Mallory
a prominent Wing Commander in the Battle of Britain predicted that 50 to
70 percent of the Troop Carrier aircraft would be shot down in the assault
Leigh Mallory asked Eisenhower to cancel the American Airborne phase of
the invasion
Eisenhower quietly agonized over his air advisor's request against Bradley's
revisions Bradley who had the support of the American Airborne commanders
acknowledged the risks but thought them necessary for the overall success
of the invasion In the end after many agonizing hours of self debate Eisenhower
agreed to continue the airborne assault We know the rest 4
THE HEART OF THE MATTER
War Stories More Stories and Facts
From the Troop Carrier point of view the historical cost of all this confusion
is enormous It is also understandable The pilots fully understood the problems
caused by the weather while the paratroopers in the back could only speculate
There are no flight instruments back there no altimeter no airspeed indicator
and no way of determining position
Most paratroop veterans realize now that they couldn't have possibly known
how desperately the pilots were trying to save the mission nor was there
any way of knowing that some of the pilots were sacrificing their lives
to stay with their airplanes Lt Marvin Muir of the 439 th Troop Carrier
Group for example received the Distinguished Service Cross DSC posthumously
for giving his life and the lives of his crew for holding his burning C
47 level so his 101 st Airborne paratroopers could jump
Some troopers also learned later that some of the flights that were judged
harshly from the ground were manned by other crew members reported to have
been reaching for the controls over dead or disabled pilots The Normandy
pilots and crews were fully committed to completing the mission and they
were determined to do so Official airborne records also show that the airborne
troops in general were dropped close enough to their objectives to allow
all three airborne divisions to accomplished their major missions by the
end of the first day
The spirit and dedication of all this is exemplified by the briefing
Col Charles H Young Commander of the 439th Troop Carrier Group gave his
pilots on 5 June 1944 Col Young flew as lead pilot of the 439th Troop Carrier
Group The main thing we're interested in tonight even above our own safety
repeat even above our own safety is to put a closed up intact formation
over our assigned drop zone DZ at the proper time so these paratroopers
of ours can get on the ground in the best possible fighting condition Each
pilot among you is charged with the direct responsibility of delivering
his troops to the assigned DZ Their work is only beginning when you push
down that switch for the green light Remember that
BUT REALLY NOW HOW WAS IT?
Yet even today the authors the publishers and the producers of the TV documentaries
still tend to blame the pilots entirely for erratic flights that some of
the paratroopers reported
In a History Channel presentation on April 8 2001 of 101 st Airborne Division
activities the clouds and fog that caused the loss of effective control
of the formations were mentioned only in passing The heroic efforts of
many of the Troop Carrier crews attempting to salvage the mission on their
own initiative were not recognized at all
The paratroopers were among the first into action and the first to be
relieved from the front lines The rough ride some of them got was the reason
for the quick judgments they carried with them into battle and there was
no way to cross check the details in that short time
It was also the impression many carried with them back to the streets and
pubs of England Reporters and correspondents eager for sensational stories
jumped on these impressions and passed them on to their editors quite often
without documentation It was much too early for the refinements and filtering
of the bull sessions and debriefing conferences that followed later
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