FLASH REPORT

The 313th Troop Carrier Group leading the 52ndWing was first to report Attempted to follow prescribed route but was unable to do so because of weather Weather caused group formation to break up completely and aircraft then proceeded individually to Drop Zone Cloud cover 10 10 with base of 900 feet and tops of 8,000 feet and above which extended to south coast of England Ceiling then lifted and visibility improved and at designated DZ there were scattered 5 10 clouds cover with base of 4,000 feet tops unknown and visibility 10 to 20 miles From sandbar to DZ snipers shot at aircraft What appeared to be 40mm AA fire encountered from Ste Mere Eglise and from west of DZ Machine gun and small arms fire encountered from all around area of DZ Concentrated 20mm fire from Carentan

NEPTUNE ANALYSIS

We need not have worried about all the Germans knowing of our presence when passing the Channel Islands Initial sightings of Allied paradrops were not taken seriously by German intelligence They had been bitten hours earlier by such reports only to find the Allies had dropped many dummy paratroopers These were three foot high rubber inflatable dummies that discharged firecrackers when landed This was part of an elaborate deception plan code name FORTITUDE designed to keep the enemy guessing the where and when of the invasion German divisions were kept in readiness in Norway since there was evidence that tank units were staging in Scotland A couple of inflatable tanks sloppily camouflaged and a jeep pulling a heavy roller with tank treads convinced our enemy's photo intelligence of the build up.

THE ONE MAN RADIO SHOW
Arthur Een's D Day Communications Report

After we were settled in England most of our radio operators including me went back to school We went in groups of two or three and the object was catch up on some of the later developments in radar and also to get acquainted with the amazing radio aids then available to flight crews over the United Kingdom

My friend Sgt A W Hastings was sent to Pathfinder school which practically assured him of being one of the spearheads of the coming invasion The selectors could not have made a wiser choice It is sad to recall that this very polite and unassuming young man was killed as a passenger in a B 24 on his way home after the war

THE BRIEFING

Suddenly we knew on the 4 th of June we were briefed for the paradrop the day had finally arrived I do not suppose it was any great secret to anyone and it must have been the most highly publicized event in the annals of war The Germans knew it was coming and they also knew just about when it had to be launched since weather conditions for a channel invasion were only favorable for a short period But they could only guess at where we would land So when the briefing officer uncovered the map he reminded us that the Nazi high command would give millions of dollars for a good look at it So mum's the word he said We were scheduled to take off at eleven o'clock that night but the weather was so bad that the invasion was postponed for twenty four hours So it was the following day after the meteorologist presented all the facts to General Eisenhower that he gave the go ahead Perhaps because the Normandy D Day was so highly publicized just being part of it was thrilling in itself

Before the end of the war we were to take part in airdrops with still greater numbers of men and planes And certainly our own squadron losses had been much heavier on the second airdrop during the Sicilian invasion But at this date more than thirty years later historians rehash the Grandfather of all D Days .