I will be in Normandy in April (2016) to retrace my father's steps as a paratrooper with the 508th PIR. His DZ is known to be in the area WSW of Orglandes. I would be interested in any photos or reconnaissance photos of that area at the time of the invasion. During the drop, the plane's jump light was disabled by ground fire. The plane went over Utah beach, then turned around. Any information on that stick would be appreciated. You may contact me directly at alpg49@gmail.com. Thanks! -Al Gerheim
Hi Al, Welcome to the Forum. Was your father Sgt Harry Gerheim? Also, do you know if the plane dropped the stick on the correct DZ after turning back from Utah Beach? Thanks, Pat
[hr] Yes, that was him! I heard the story about the jump light from another source several years ago. He was nowhere near the intended DZ. I would attach a photo of his marked-up map, but I can't see a button for attachments. The letters on the map cover about 1 square KM, and they're to the West, and somewhat South of Orglandes.
Hi Al, I understand that Sgt. Harry Gerheim was a rigger and jumped in with Service Co of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. I also understand he had spent the first 3 days of the war being hidden by a French family with some other paratroopers in a barn loft. Many of his other fellow riggers from his plane were also captured and initially taken to a German HQ in Etienville. Are you able to tell us anything that your father Sgt. Harry Gerheim may have said or shared about his experiences in France to help us narrow down some details? I thank you for your father's service. John
That's all correct, John, although I didn't personally hear the story of him hiding in the barn. One of my cousins, Jim Wrobleski, has done considerable research, and has been to the area. I will be going with him in April. He is hopeful we can locate the barn, if it still exists. I do recall hearing that he and Tom Cross were surprised by a German column. They hid in a ditch. Tom tried to run and was shot. My Dad never forgave himself for doing nothing, even though it was the only reasonable thing to do. My older brother was named for Tom Cross. We have speculated this was on a road somewhere between Orglandes and Etienville. We believe Dad was assigned to a BAR covering the bridge over the Douve river to deter a German counterattack. The other stories I actually recall involve his coming under sniper fire and surviving. I have to thank the poor marksmanship of the Ost troops. When things settled down, he was assigned to guard POW's. Some of his photos are online at http://k1qn.info/508PIR/index.html, a site I maintain myself. -Al Gerheim
Hello Al, thanks for the link. I've taken a quick look at your site and there are some interesting photos. Several of them seem to be from the Sainte-Mere-Eglise area. The upper left one of http://k1qn.info/508PIR/508PAG~2/index/IMAG020.JPG seems to be a group of buildings on the northern edge of the town. The German assault gun on the photo to the lower right appears to be the German vehicle that came closest to the town on D+1. The number 13 on the sign behind it indicates the N13 highway. It appears someone painted over the original German sign which carried the letter 'V', which referred to the same road. Another assault gun is part of http://k1qn.info/508PIR/508PAG~2/index/IMAG021.JPG This could be the second vehicle lost in the attack. The photo above it might be from Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte. The Sherman on the upper left might not be from Normandy as the building looks different. Are there captions on the back of those photos? We could try to identify the exact locations for you. Before you share higher resolution photos, please be sure to protect them with a watermark or text on the photo. Unfortunately photos have a tendency of floating around the internet and ending up in publications without proper credit. Regarding Tom Cross, it is possible his IDPF (Individual Deceased Person File) has some detail on the circumstances and location of his death. Since this happened behind enemy lines this is far from certain however. It is also possible he was listed as MIA first, which might mean they did more of an investigation. It's all a bit of a long shot but you'll never know. Regards, Niels
Hi Niels, I completely agree with you on the farm complex on the north side of Sainte Mere Eglise and the two German assault gun photos. It appears the gun closest to SME was simply pushed forward a short distance to get it off the road, because it was originally pretty close to the pole. John
Al, Did your father ever share any specific details about where he landed, or describe the farm, or who he was with while there? Without seeing the map, if the map is just a pre invasion marking of their intended drop zone, he may have not even landed within his drop zone... so many did not. But if it is a post war map that he may have marked his actual landing location and route on foot we might be able to locate locations better. I also understand he was wounded on June 18th 1944. Is there anything he shared about that incident? Do you have any of Zig Boroughs books on the 508th? John
Hello there, Niels and John, yes, the farm in the photo is the one just north of Ste Mere Eglise. The barn on the right is still there. Al, do you have any more info on Tom Cross, eg his number? Cheers Sean
I am attaching (I hope anyway. I have to get used to the mechanics of this site...) a digital image of a portion Al's Dad's Invasion map issued to 82nd Airborne and others, we assume marked up in 1944. Please note his "DZ" southwest of Organdes. There are also several markings at and southwest of Pont l'Abbe'. The charcoal grey blobs going SW of Pont l' Abbe' are his pencil markings. They don't show too well here but are clear when viewed live. The entire map file is likely too big to email. I spoke to Mr. Lucien Hasley at his home near "Hill 30" (creator of the 508th PIR memorial wall at his home) who said that there was only one "stick" of men landing as far north as Orglandes, who were squirreled away in the rafters of a "sheep barn." Perhaps this coincides with some things you here might recognize. Also, since we're going over there in April, perhaps there's somethings you might want us to research for you. Not that we can do everything for everybody but if your needs coincide with where we are... we might be of help. Jim (Jwrobles) [attachment=185]
Wow! I didn't know the date he was wounded. When asked about it, he always said, the can opener slipped. Carl Porter, only a few years ago, said my Dad was riding in the back of a truck and suddenly had a terrific cut on his neck. It was assumed at the time that he caught the end of a piano wire strung across the road. My Dad did say the Germans did this and beheaded some of the service company drivers this way. There is at least one photo on my website which shows him with a bandage on his neck. -Al Gerheim [hr] He didn't say anything in particular about the DZ, but I heard second-hand that he was under machine gun fire while in the air, but the gunner aimed at the parachute, not the soldier. Again, my thanks to an unknown "Ost" gunner.
Hi Al and Jim, I have not had a chance to look through them yet as I was away over the weekend, but I note there are 25 high resolution frames from IGN cover flown in 1947 in your area-of-interest. Well worth a trawl to see if there are any good candidates for an isolated barn or fodder store, which by now may no longer exist. If you have not used the IGN archive before, I have a 'how to' demo here. Regards, Pat
If you guys have the time, and you can obtain permission from the owner, I wonder would you be able to grab a photograph at the Hemevez grove field to see if the line-of-sight matches a photograph taken in the field during the recovery process? I will post the photo tonight. Thanks guys, Pat
I'll get myself up to date with this site but for now, if you can shoot some coordinates my way I'll see what I can do. Jim
Thanks Jim, I was hoping that the jump last June over Hemevez might have come up from your direction, but no such luck - see this YouTube video for footage shot looking out the door. I tracked down the view as the green light comes on. At this point, about 2kms west of the village, I was able to lift enough detail out of the blown highlights to spot the wood and farm buildings at Les Perques Farm, marked '1' and '2' below: As the first jumper wearing the head cam steps up to the door, the grove at Hemevez marked '3' is suddenly overlapped by the shadows of the two aircraft - a very poignant moment indeed: The ground track of the door view is shown below: The ground photo taken in 1944 of the Graves Registration recovery team shows, at least as I understand matters, a view towards the farmyard buildings at the tip of the red arrow, taken along the eastern side of the grove from the hedgerow at the bottom of the red arrow: The seven troopers were buried in the churchyard by the local French civilians, but I wonder why, (if the location of this 1944 photo is where I think it is) the GR team are digging at this hedgerow? My understanding of the events at Hemevez is that the Germans shot the troopers in the grove. However, the more I look at this line of sight, the less it works for me. There is something wrong with the angle of view and I now wonder if this photo was taken down at the church and chateau area. The German Major responsible for the shootings was said to have been billeted in the chateau. So, if you two guys can gain permission to access the field, I would be very interested to see if the 1944 ground photo matches the line-of-sight indicated by the red arrow above. This might also be an opportunity for the two of you to find out if there are local historians in the area who might be able to point out some potential candidates for the barn you seek. There is a very rough sketch map of the 82nd drop patterns in one of my books, which I will scan and post here next. Regards, Pat
Hi Pat, didn't know you were interested in the Hemevez events. I was there last summer with someone who's actively researching this. The more he told me the stranger the events became. It is very hard to explain why things happened the way they did. I won't go into more details here, but let me put it this way: it was not just a simple shooting of prisoners. Things are even more bizarre considering the fact some men from the stick were treated correctly, while the others were killed. We'll probably never know why.
Hi Niels, Yes, a lot of work has been already done on the incident. Apparently, the German major from the chateau was subsequently to be tried for war crimes but died in a PoW camp before the trial date. I thought I had the link to the footage showing the GR team at the church graveyard but can't find it just now. :huh: I refer to the Hemevez incident here as an example of how Al and Jim could possibly 'get under the hood' by making contact with a knowledgeable local historian who might be able to point them southwards in the quest for the barn. Regards, Pat
OK. Thanks for the pics and info. I'll consult my maps and other materials and try to get out there. And I'll keep my eyes on the site here to keep up with your research. Jim
Jim, Can you and Al share what locations you might be visiting? For instance, are you planning a stop on the N13 where the tank photos are from? John
Hi Guys, I have gone through 16 of the 25 reasonably high resolution IGN frames flown in 1947 as indicated by the orange centre points on the IGN extract below: The first and sixteenth frame centre points are circled in red for reference and the extent of cover for frame 16 is shaded orange thereon. I have only searched for isolated, standalone barns, away from both roads and larger farmhouse/farmyard complexes. The only good candidate I can find so far is the one seen in the Google Maps 'street view' here. It's about 640 meters NNW of La Bonneville Church as indicated by the yellow circle below: It could be miles away from the barn you seek, but you never know! Local knowledge will be critical in this quest. I'll search the remaining nine frames for candidates tomorrow. Regards, Pat