By Stephen P. Pedone, Lt. Col., USAF, Ret. Late on the evening of 5 June, 1944, two brave young Americans among many were poised for the greatest challenge and risk of their lives. D-Day, “Operation Overlord”, had arrived in Europe, and Airborne Invasion forces would be the “point of the spear” to cross the English...Continue Reading

Provided by Pat Lewis-Bodilly, son of Don Lewis, C-47 pilot based at RAF Broadwell, England with 512 Squadron Just before midnight on the 5th of June, 1944, Flight Lieutenant Don Lewis lifted into the night carrying his crew and the 9th Parachute Battalion of the 6th Airborne Division of the British Army. His C-47 Dakota...Continue Reading

101st Airborne Division – 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment – 3rd Battalion / G Company D-Day / Market Garden / Bastogne / Berchtesgaden – 1942 – 1945 One of Colonel Sink’s original “Toccoa Men”, Jim Martin joined the now famous 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment at Camp Toccoa in July, 1942. He was soon given the nickname...Continue Reading

Compiled from the memoir of Flight Officer Charles E. Skidmore, Jr., Glider pilot with the 91st Troop Carrier Squadron, 439th Troop Carrier Group. Charles (Chuck) Skidmore, Jr. knew right from his pilot’s briefing for the Invasion of Normandy that a glider pilot’s life could be a short one.  His group briefing was somber right up...Continue Reading

By Jil Launay Gordon K. Smith was my father… Gordon K. Smith joined the United States Army in 1938. As a 2nd Lieutenant, he was sent to Fort Benning, GA and assigned to the 501st Parachute Battalion Company C on December 13,1940. His first jump was on January 17,1941. After tours in Alaska and Panama,...Continue Reading