Memorialized in Glass

Interior, from Alter area, of Angoville au Plain church

 We went to visit Angoville au Plain church the other day. This church served as a field hospital during the Battle of Normandy. In fact, you can still see blood stains on the pews. 

blood stained pew

 The church was in a hot spot, an area that changed hands three times. It survived the conflict because two American medics (Robert E Wright and Kenneth J Moore of the 101st Airborne) treated both German and Allied soldiers here.  When the Germans realized the medics were treating their men, they refrained from bombing the church. One shell entered the ceiling, but, for the most part, the church was "off limits."

mortar hole, ceiling

Exterior view of window

Mark "Sparky" Patterson

While we were there, we ran into Mark "Sparky" Patterson, a battlefield tour guide from Arizona, who commissioned a stained glass window (left) honoring WWII paratroopers and the medics. Mark has a detailed description of the project here. 



He is working on a new project honoring the 82nd Airborne, for the church at Cauquigny, near La Fiere bridge, and we are excited to see it become a reality. Anyone wishing to donate to this stained glass memorial project, please contact Mark at pathfinder.tours at yahoo dot com. 

new project design

It's quite interesting to see recent history memorialized in stained glass. Another window that combines religious symbols with military stories is in Ste. Marie Eglise, and shows paratroopers landing around the church (below). We'd love to hear about more windows or other creative, lasting tributes that we can feature on future blog posts.

D-Day +7 Bloody Gulch

After D-Day, the Germans were starting to re-group. They rushed elite divisions into the battle. In the 101st Airborne sector around Carentan, the  6th Regiment von der Hedte, who had forced the American paratroopers to fight for every inch of ground, were reinforced by the 17th SS.

Troopers of The 101st Airborne liberate Carentan

In the night of the 12^th and the early hours of the 13^th of June, 1944, this combined force tried to re-take Carentan, which was strategically important to both sides. The U.S forces needed the town as a link up point between forces  which had landed on Utah and Omaha beaches, and the Germans desperately needed to drive a wedge between the landing beaches. They attacked at the battle of ‘Bloody Gulch’, one mile southwest of Carentan. The troopers of the 101st Abn came under a sustained and vicious attack by an enemy force with mobile assault guns. At a critical point in the battle, just as the German force showed signs of breaking through the American lines, sixty tanks from the 2nd Armored Division supported by infantry of 29th Inf. Div, arrived on the scene and beat off the German attack. The battle was decisive, and from that moment on U.S forces had secured a lodgement area from which they could launch future operations.

This action was immortalized in the HBO series Band of Brothers.

Germans attack towards Carentan, June 13th 1944

A Historian's View

A great boost from the eminent author and historian, John C. Mcmanus.

''The Americans in the Bulge' is an entertaining, accurate, absorbing look at the American experience in that monumental struggle.  The film brings the past to life, conveying the look and feel of the battle.  Whether you are a novice or an expert on World War II, there is something for you to see in this fine movie.  I wish that all filmmakers would present history this way!"  

John C. McManus, Ph.D., author of "Alamo in the Ardennes: The Untold Story of the American Soldiers who made the Defense of Bastogne Possible," and "Grunts: Inside the American Infantry Combat Experience, World War II through Iraq."

 

"Congrats again on a fine film.  I especially like the wintry mood of the whole thing."

Ellwood on CNN

American Road to Victory host, Ellwood Von Seibold, dressed in a slew of authentic, vintage, military uniforms, has climbed his way in and out of foxholes across Europe, earning the title "The Steve Irwin of battlefield tour guides."

In this video clip, Ellwood spoke with Tracy Young of CNN about The Americans on D-Day.

Digging for history

The garden behind our office has been neglected of late. So, yesterday was spent digging weeds. Then, last night, someone commented on an old Facebook post about objects that were found in the garden as it was being reclaimed. See if you can guess what all these things are, and don't cheat by searching the Facebook archives!

The shell timer to the left was also found in the garden. There was a machine gun set up by the Americans behind this house, guarding the road into the town.

The timer on the right was found in Meautis, scene of massive battles between the German 17th SS and the American 83rd Infantry Division. Obviously, this second one has been cleaned up. The craftsmanship is striking, especially when you think that this is something made to be destroyed.

Return to Normandy

After receiving such good response to our post about Screaming Eagle veteran Jim "Pee Wee" Martin's discussion of why he did not consider himself a hero, we decided to share more of his recent interview here. Here is Jim's response to the question, "How does it feel to be back in Normandy after 67 years?"

Jim served in Normandy on D-Day and beyond, and he is featured in our film, The Americans in the Bulge, for his chilling testimony of the conditions troops faced during that bitter campaign.