The D-Day Paratrooper Hanging From The Church | Sainte-Mère-Église | Normandy WW2

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On D-Day, June 6, 1944, paratroopers of the U.S. Army's 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions landed between 1:30 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. near and in the town of Sainte-Mere-Eglise in Normandy, France.

Among them was Army Pvt. John Steele, of the 82nd, who landed on the pinnacle of a church tower, where he hung from his parachute for about two hours before being taken prisoner by the Germans.

Steele later escaped and went on to fight for the rest of the war.

The paratroopers figure prominently in the 1962 film "The Longest Day," with Steele portrayed by actor Red Buttons, who also served in the Army during World War II. The film was adapted from Cornelius Ryan's 1959 nonfiction book of the same name. Ryan interviewed Steele and others for the book.

Sainte-Mère-Eglise was occupied in the spring of 1944 by the German soldiers of the 14th company of the 3rd Battalion of the Grenadier-Regiment 1058 and by the artillerymen of the 4th battery of the Artillery-Regiment 191. This town is located on the national road 13 which crosses the Cotentin from north to south. It is also a necessary crossing point because of the convergence of several departmental roads in its center.

The Americans, during the phase of preparation of the airborne operations preliminary to landing in Normandy, place the village of Sainte-Mère-Eglise in the heart of the jump zones of the 82nd Airborne Division. It is the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (505th PIR) commanded by Colonel William E. Ekman who is in charge of seizing the municipality in the early hours of D-Day, which entrusts this mission to Lieutenant-Colonel Edward C. Krause commanding the third battalion. In order to simplify the taking of Sainte-Mère-Eglise, the Americans define a jump zone directly to the north-west of the village, between the Merderet river and the national road 13, coded drop zone “O”).

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