Who better to tell a story than those who were there? We are proud to introduce some of the heroic veterans from The American Road to Victory series.
Veteran Earl Norwood, of North Carolina, recalls sobering memories in the film, The Americans on D-Day, airing on PBS stations across America this summer. He was seventeen years old as he piloted a landing craft off Omaha Beach, on D-Day. Earl came in on the second wave of the landings.
“When the transport door dropped I watched two men get cut in half by machine guns firing from the beach. During the invasion I made so many trips in and out. Then once I was done putting them off on the beach I patrolled the waters to pick up dead bodies. As a 17-year-old kid, it’s etched in my memory.”
South Carolina native, Carl Beck, now lives in Atlanta. No shrinking violet, Carl tells it like it was. Carl annually visits a French family who helped him after he parachuted into an area heavily occupied by the Germans. Following D-Day and the fight in Normandy, Carl went on to battle up Hell's Highway, participating in the largest airborne drop ever attempted in broad daylight. While in Holland, Carl came up against a Tiger tank, which he describes in this clip from The Americans on Hell's Highway.
Hero of the last allied bayonet charge of WWII and survivor of the massacre at Rochelinval (The Bulge), Col Doug Dillard, 551st P.I.B (rtd), appears in The Americans in The Bulge, airing across America this summer.
“When we finally took Rochelinval, we sent a runner down to bring up the guys, who were trapped in the valley.” There is no point, Sir” he said “They are all dead . . . . That earned us the name 'the Lost Battalion'."
Col Dillard went on to fight in Korea and Vietnam and then to work for the CIA. He has written a book about special ops in Korea, and continues to travel frequently around the world.
The American Road to Victory series is airing this Saturday on WETA HD, starting at 1:30 with The Americans on D-Day, followed by The Americans on Hell's Highway, and finally, The Americans in the Bulge. We contacted American Legion DC Post #1 and asked if we could feature a local veteran that fought in one of these campaigns on a blog post. They put us in touch with veteran Demetri "Dee" Paris, a tank platoon leader, who recently stepped down as president of Veterans of the Battle of the Bulgeassociation.
For brave actions during the Battle of the Bulge, Paris' unit were awarded two presidential citations, linked to in this article from the Battle of the Bulge Memories site. He describes his experiences in the Bulge in an excellent interview on the It Took a War site. You can also watch an interview with Dee Paris on the BBC news page.
Demetri "Dee" Paris
Like many young men at the time, Paris wanted to enlist immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbor. But, his boss did not want him to go, and got a deferment to keep him Stateside. Paris, desperate to join the fight, spent months working his way around the deferment, and finally was allowed to join up.
He wanted to work with heavy armor - tanks - a cutting edge form of new warfare at the time. A place in the Cavalry meant scoring well on tests, school and training at Ft. Riley. Paris excelled, and his dream to fight came true as he headed to England in October of 1944. He jumped into action during the Battle of the Bulge.
We often hear about the bitter cold in the Ardennes campain, and tanks were no exception. Imagine sitting in a metal ice box day after day. Paris had to watch his men closely for frozen feet and frostbite.To help fight off the cold, tank crews heated up their rations on their exhaust pipes.
We asked Paris to describe communications in an Allied tank,
"We had excellent communication, intercom to talk to my crew and radio to speak with the other tanks I commanded. I could even communicate with headquarters if the need arose."
Panzer commander uniform used in filming
Paris wore a plastic helmet with built in head phones and microphone under his tanker's helmet, enabling him to hear over the deafening noise of the tank and artillery and command the 24 men in his charge. His German counterpart would have worn a throat mic and large head phones (see photo to left).
Five men worked in a Sherman tank, the driver, assistant driver, gunner, loader, and the commander. The commander stood up in the turret, his head sticking up out of the tank, so he could direct, because visibility within the tank was minimal. Directions were given to the driver using clock references, "Enemy tanker, 2 'oclock!"
The commander also called for the type of ammo to be fired. Types varied, depending on the objective. Paris explained that high explosives were used against small buildings and infantry, smoke for camoflauge and steel balls in canisters against ground troops. Amour peircing, or AP rounds, were utilized against other tanks and vehicles. Unfortunately, Allied AP rounds could not actually pierce much of the armor on the German Tiger tank because, unlike the German 88mm gun, the velocity at which the rounds left the smaller Allied guns was not fast enough, and the rounds were at least 12mm smaller than their German counterparts. It can be safely said that most German tanks were superior to Allied tanks.
"The Germans had better tanks, better guns, better ammunition and even better hand arms. Whenever we could, we took German weapons and ammunition for ourselves. I carried a German P38 pistol and German binoculars" - Dee Paris
Many soldiers bemoaned their weapons. But, others don't entirely agree with Dee, citing the M1 Garand rifle, described by George Patton as a "War Winner" because it could loose a whole clip while Fritz was still working his bolt action Mauser after each shot. We've also heard claims that the Colt 45 was a better weapon because it's heavier round had real stopping power, whereas the lighter P 38 rounds high velocity meant they could pass right through someone with minor injury.
In the video below, Ellwood Von Seibold discusses deficiencies of Allied Sherman tank.
German's thirsty heavy armour needed constant refueling. Allied tanks held an advantage when it came to their higher mileage engines created by Ford and Cadilac. And, what they lacked in armour and fire power, they made up for in numerical superiority and reliability. Thousands upon thousands of Sherman tanks were made and shipped to European battlefields.
So, what do you think? Did the Germans out arm the Allies? What weapons gave Allies an edge? Would you rather carry a Colt 45, or a German, Walther P 38 pistol?
Screaming Eagle, Jim "Pee Wee" Martin, landed in France on D-Day, and then fought through Holland to the Battle of the Bulge. In The Americans in the Bulge, Jim describes, in chilling detail, the ordeals soldiers faced during that winter campaign. He says, "I thought I would never be warm again."
Safely home now in Dayton, Ohio, Jim enjoys watching documentaries on public television. He and his wife have supported their local station for thirty years, and he encourages us to do the same.
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."
New Jersey WWII veteran, Harry 'Flip' Kulkowitz, just wanted to be a photographer. He was having a great time until the call came to ship out to Europe. Harry did his part and soon overcame his disappointment. He was too busy taking part in D-Day and The Battle of The Bulge to worry about what might have been. He did manage to shoot a few rolls of film, however and later became an accomplished photographer. Harry appears in both The Americans on D-Day and The Americans in The Bulge. He has some interesting things to say about the ferocious German assault in the Ardennes.
We hope to post some of Harry's War time photographs on this blog over the coming weeks.
It's been a wonderful experience following 101st Airborne veteran, Jim "Pee Wee" Martin, on his first trip back to Normandy since he landed on D-Day, 67 years ago.
101st AB veteran, Jim "Pee Wee" Martin signs the tail plane
at the C-47 Cafe. Ellwood Von Seibold looks on.
Yesterday, he signed Ellwood's tail plane, in the C-47 Cafe. Afterwards, we spoke in the courtyard outside the cafe. During our conversation, we referred to Jim as a hero. He was quick to correct us, saying he did not consider himself a hero.
Yet, after stories of bitter cold and lack of provisions he spoke of in The Americans in the Bulge, and listening to him go through the horrors of Normandy, the facts speak for themselves. Sorry to contradict you, Pee Wee!
One thing is indisputable, Pee Wee Martin is an inspiration. We were touched by the soldiers lined up outside the closed cafe, waiting to shake his hand.
Today we pay tribute to Distinguished Service Cross recepient, Eric Fisher Wood, of Bedford, PA, who waged guerrilla warfare against the Germans in Belgium's freezing Ardennes forest.
This clip is from the film The Americans in the Bulge. We would also like to open our comment section for your Memorial Day tributes.
Vinnie Vicari was a glider infantry officer who saw action in Normandy, Holland and Germany. He talks about his first glider ride, and lasting fear of heights, in The Americans on D-Day.
In The Americans in the Bulge, Vinnie Vicari describes the horrors of Bastogne and remembers seeing McAuliffe respond "NUTS!" to the Germans' attempt to exact his surrender.
Hero of the last allied bayonet charge of WWII and survivor of the massacre at Rochelinval (The Bulge), Col Doug Dillard 551st P.I.B (rtd), appears in The Americans in The Bulge due to air across America this Memorial Day weekend.
“When we finally took Rochelinval we sent a runner down to bring up the guys, who were trapped in the valley.” There is no point, Sir” he said “They are all dead.” “That earned us the name of ‘The Lost Battalion.’
Veteran Earl Norwood, of North Carolina, recalls sobering memories in the film, The Americans on D-Day, airing on PBS stations across America this summer. He was seventeen years old as he piloted a landing craft off Omaha Beach, on D-Day. Earl came in on the second wave of the landings.
