D Day Unit Serial Number 44613 Glider

Hq & Service Company 307th AB Engineers, home station Ullesthrope, Leicester, this serial number emarkation personnel roster did not break down any specific gliders theses men were assigned to. My uncle Johnnie A. Witter, Pvt. At time stated they left June 5, 1944 about 930 to 10 pm for flight across to Normandy. Anti aircraft by Gremans and US Ships firing over them. Somewhat crash landed water field but he thought he was by the ocean. He knew then in flooded area. Small arms fire, machine gun mortars fired at them as the got onto some dry land. He states landed right around 2300 hrs. Ordered to protect hedge row area, then heavy German shelling started. They moved into removing mines, teller mostly with trip wires.
I'm looking for craft he was in, somewhere that glider number has to be listed. It look like around 10 men to each glider.

 

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Thanks yes have that book, I thought the same thing but he talked about being moved to several location from Ireland to England by rail plane and ship. When I talked to him he states glider landing that night before started clearing mines etc. before troops landed on Utah. I will go back and list out each move and time of movement prior to dday. I'm trying to shrink or copy items indicating their movement. Made files to large.
Thanks for info Jim
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Interview conducted Saturday October 18, 2008

This is an interview conducted with John A. Witter who served with the 82nd Airborne Division, 307thAirborne Engineers, Headquarters Company, AIB, during World War II. This interview is being conducted at Mr. Witter’s residents, 9608 & 80th Street Terrace, Raytown , Missouri, on day of October 18, 2008.

Interviewers are Jim and Susan Huettenmueller, nephew of Mr. Witter.

1. Background and life circumstances before entering military service

Year Born – January 2, 1922

Place Born – Drexel, Missouri

Hometown – Drexel, Missouri

Education – High School

Parents and Family – Father, Edgar Witter, Mother, Ruby (Holly) Witter, Brothers – Ellis, J.E. (killied auto accident in high school) Sister, Evelyn

I grew up on a farm in western Missouri close to the Kansas state line. My father was a farmer my mother was a homemaker. Attended school and worked on the farm.

2. Describe your entry into military service



I attempted to join the service but was turned down because I was too young; I had to get my parents to sign papers for them to let me in. I was 17 and still in high school. A job came open with Missouri Public Service by way of high school contact and began working there. After this happened I began having second thought about joining the service. It turned out that I was drafted in December 1942. I was drafted into the United States Army. The induction took place on December 10th 1942 at FortLeavenworth, Kansas. The interview went well but I don’t think I could answer them in the way they wanted me to. Can you imagine, a country boy that was 21 years old going in front of a bunch of Coronels and officers, to be interviewed. The question was asked, “What would you do if you were in charge of some men and one of them refused an order that you told them” I knew what they wanted me to say and that was to shoot him, but I couldn’t get myself to say so. I scored high on my test and they wanted me to go into Officers training school, but after the interview I was sent to basic training. I scored high on drafting and basic engineering. I knew if I just worked hard and did everything I was told I could get through this. I meet Joan Mary Jerome and married her on January 27, 1942 in Butler Missouri.



3. Tell me about your basic training.

The date that I entered into active service was on December 17, 1942

I was sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri December 18th 1942 for basic training. I traveled by train to the camp it took several hours to get there. The camp was in the rolling hills of south central Missouri. I went through basic training and learned to use a bayonet, gas mask, rifle M1, and others. Training lasted from December 1942 to April 1943, about 4 months. One of the individuals I can remember was Charles Thomas; he died about two years ago. We did a lot of hiking and marching. There were guys from all over the country there but I remember the guys from New York the most. During the hike they would get tired out and had trouble because they didn’t grow up on a farm like I did. They would get really short of breath and we would carry their guns for them to lighten the load. I completed basic training and was sent to Greenville, Pennsylvania by train and the first shipment that went out, I missed. With my name Witter I had to wait and then I was sent on the next one. They told me I was on the Banana boat headed for Africa. I boarded a troop carrier ship. I don’t remember the name of the ship. I never made it back home after basic training and was sent directly to Africa.



4. Tell me about your first station or service

We were being shipped out to Casablanca, Africa, on April 29th, 1943, which took about 8 or 9 days by ship. We traveled in a convoy with several other vessels. I remember that for the first few days I didn’t want to go below or sleep below. I slept topside on one of the upper decks because if were attacked I wouldn’t be caught below. After a couple of days at sea our ship broke down and the convoy left us, except for one Destroyer that continuously circled us for protection while repairs were made. It took a couple more days and we were off and caught back up to the fleet. On 10th May 1943, the 82nd landed at Casablanca, from there, they moved by rail to Tunisia. I joined the Glider Unit for 25$ more a month. We took the train and there wasn’t enough room for all of us to ride inside, so we had to take turns riding on top of them. I remember one time even going to sleep on top of one of the rail cars. I thought I would fall off but managed to stay awake after that experience. We were headed for Cariwan, Tunisia. A walled in city, which dated back to the year 700. I wasn’t necessarily scared going to war and to Africa because we were going in with a lot of guys. The 82nd camped outside of town because they were not allowed into the city. I took a jeep to the outskirts of the city with a couple of buddies and found this Arab selling some wine. We bought some and we drank it and I got really sick. Later I found out I was on guard duty that night. Had to set up in some cactus bushes at the top of a small hill most of the night and was still sick from the wine. Next morning we were told we had to fall out because we were going into Sicily. I thought of all the times for me not to feel very good. We went to Sicily to Palermo, and loaded us into Gliders. We had to leave at 6 o’clock that evening and land in around Rome. At 5 o’clock called it off because bulk of German army was there. Then they loaded us on LST landing barges and took us to Salerno, on the way in to the beach landing, we had a German U boat that went under or beside us that they shut the engines down on the LST. Just as they got it shut down the Navy dropped a bunch of depth charges so close to us that shook the landing craft terribly. We thought we had been hit, but we weren’t. When we got close to shore we waded in off the landing crafts. From Salerno we went up to Naples. We were the first ones into Naples but the Germans had just pulled out. We found their barracks and they headquarters and secured them. The Germans kept dropping bombs from planes on us and kept up the artillery bombing. They were trying to kill us and destroy their ownbarracks and headquarters. We engineers’ of the 82nd looked for mines and ordinances left around. About 86 guys from the 82nd were killed by some of the shelling and mines that went off. I was in the 82nd Headquarters Company and this is where C Company got hit so badly. Five of the guys that had been killed and it was our job to take the bodies up the hill to a burial place and put them; we got up there and placed them next to a grave. For Taps to be played our guys used machine guns to sound like Taps. It was strange sounding but without a horn it was the only thing to do. .



We were in Naples for about 20 days and Thanksgiving Day. I heard that the Rangers were up in Naples the same time we were. I went looking for Norman Holy, who was my mother’s half brother. I located where their unit was at in Naples, he was there and went into his tent. At first he wasn’t sure who I was, because he didn’t expect me to be there. We talked for some time and invited him back to our area to my tent and then had him join us for dinner that evening. Strange how we could run into each other, it’s a small world. Do you what? About a month later he was up at the Cassini, ya know, north of Naples and he got hit in the leg and that leg never did heal and even after he had got home. He had just died 3 or 4 or 6 months ago. Then we were loaded back up on a boat. The boat took us around to get us ready to go into Normandy. With the 82nd we were never in one single place for longer than 20-21 days. We were considered “shock troops.” For 22 days were on a boat from Italy back around to Ireland. We were in Ireland for training then we went into England. I remember that in Naples the Rangers and the Marines were always getting into fights with each other because each of them thought they were the toughest, they both were.

In Naples all people were beginning to like us because the Germans had left. I remember one woman came up to me and began saying Bella!, Bella!, Bella!. Of course I was 20-21 years old at the time. The 82nd was the first to reach Naples and liberate it. The gliders were often loaded with jeeps and equipment along with the men. Our Commanding Officer was Lt Col. Robert L. Palmer.

What did you do on D-Day?

When we went into Normandy there was a few thing that I just can’t remember, I do know the Navy was shooting the big guns over us into France and the Germanys firing artillery up at us. I remember leaving England at night and it was one of the roughest glider flights that I had experienced. The glider up and down side to side and the sky was constantly lit up with ground artillery all around. When they cut us loose in the glider we went down and landed pretty hard on the skids. We weren’tsure where exactly we landed. I remember walking up to a beach and there were 4 Germans we had captured and that one of them spit at me. We went into Ste Mere-Eglise. That was our mission to take and secure Ste Mere-Eglise. First paratrooper got there around midnight and he was west of town, I got there, north of town sometime after that, but we had been on the ground already for about an hour. We got into some fights after we landed. There was mortar fire, machine gun and small arms fire going on. We had to clear the bridges and we set charges and blew some of them and left others for the ground troop to come in on. The night was pretty tough. We also cleared German land mine and set some our own. We landed somewhere north of town in the Glider. It was around 2300 or so on the 5th of June. It was about 5 or 6 days it seemed before we ended up connecting with the beach forces. We got scattered around all over the area. It was sometime in the first 2nd or third day that we were there that we got reports that the Germans were going to drop their paratroopers in on us. Luckily they didn’t. I got hit by several pieces of shrapnel in the right leg. I didn’t want to go to the medic station because I knew if I did that they would send me to some other unit when I healed up. I didn’t want to get separated from the guys so I just had it bandaged up and took the shrapnel out later. We got into constant battles and were shelled by these German buzz bombs. They were so loud and went on constantly. At times it seemed you couldn’t take it anymore. We were in Normandy about 22 days then they jerked us out and sent us back to England. At this time part of the guys went to Nijmegen. Some gliders went into this area while for some reason I got took down to France. When the guys got done in Nijmegen they came down to France also. December 18th they came to us and said hey guys we got to go to war again. The 101st is trapped up at the Bulge. We then loaded on trucks and headed up that way. They dumped us out up near the forest there. The snow ways deep and cold and we had quit a walk into the area. One day I was driving a jeep up there and I thought there was some tracks where some trucks had been but an infantry man said, Hey buddy, you better get out of here, those aren’t truck tracks those are German tank tracks. They had to push me to get me out of there. We, the 307th, set up mine field and blew a couple of bridges and cleared other German mine fields. There was a lot of shelling and shooting. It seemed at times it would never stop. The nights were cold and the foxholes were even colder. On December 25, Christmas day it cleared up and that’s when the Air force came in and hit the Germans there. Things were bad up there and everybody was out of supplies but that’s just they was it was. Some infantry guys needed some bazookas, so I and another guy picked some up and we began running across this field where they we located. One of them yelled “you better stop or someone is going to end up shooting your ass off.” Well, we stopped and went back to the tree line and found another way to get those guys the bazookas. Wounds received Belgium January 29, 1945. After this some guy said one of the clerks from battalion had gotten sick and they needed someone to take over his job. I threw my hands up and thought this is the best thing that could happen. It was about ten miles back down to the station in Stallautt. After the Battle of the Bulge we were sent over to Cologne Germany crossed the Rhine River. The Germans we on one side of the river and we were on the other. Two of our guys they were Dare Devils they had boat and they went across that river to a brewery over there and got a keg or two of beer. They brought it back and boy did we have beer that night. When we were in Cologne we had to go through all the houses. The city had been bombed heavily but the Germans needed to be cleared out. I remember I went in one house, I went upstairs and we were to check everything out. There was a woman up there with a suitcase over in the corner. I pointed my rifle at it and she just shook scared to death. I made her open it up and dump it out and it was full of kids’ clothes. She had been hiding her children upstairs in the closet. Took two or three days to clear all the houses then we crossed the river. All the Germans were throwing their weapon in the ditch and the river. After a certain time there I had enough points to get sent home. They asked me if I wanted to go to Berlin as occupation troops. I said, “I have been over here for three years I’m ready to go home.”

On the way home by ship, a lot of the guys had quite a bit of money from their pay. Craps were played all the times. I remember one of the guys I knew won over 22 thousand dollars. He actually hired someone to guard him on the ship because he was worried someone would have thrown him overboard. The ship landed in Boston after 31 months in Europe.

Wife Jo Mary went to work at Missouri Public Service for John while he was away at war. Jo Mary’ssister Inez and her lived together in Warrensburg while John was away in Europe. When I went into the service my sister gave me this little bible and I carried it everyday in my left chest pocket. I always had it with me and used it whenever I had a chance. For three years I carried it with me, night and day, always. When I could sleep in the hills and mountains, I had it with me always. Very seldom for three years did I hear from Jo Mary. It’s not like today with the cell phones. Everything that I would write to back home was censored. It was 2 months at a time before we would ever receive mail when we were in the field, so it was great when we got mail. I wanted to tell Jo Mary about what it was like when we were in Africa but the Military would censor it and cut it out. Some of my worst places was down in Italy, and then Normandy of course. When I came home Jo Mary and I never talked about the war. She died before I was able to talk about it. I was employed withMissouri Public Service for 46 years; I never talked about the war in all those years. Never did any of that until about 2 or 3 years ago. One of my scariest places was in Normandy, we had foxholes dug and dug round ones because if you dug long one the German tanks would roll right over you and kill you. That’s what we were told, and I could dig fast. When I was centered around, Ste Mere-Eglise when I first went in. One evening there, it was about dark the German airplanes would come over and bomb the areas, and the mortars would begin. I was outside my foxhole and had to run to get back to it. As I was running I dove into the foxhole but dropped my rifle a little way out. When the shelling was going on I got caught outside the foxhole and had to get back to it. I was there to guard the hedgerows and not let anyone get through. About this time someone came running across the field directly at me. I yelled halt a couple of times, but he didn’t stop. It was dark and it was hard to see who it was. I knew that I had to do something because he was going to be on me in notime. So I jumped out of that foxhole and shouldered my rifle and took it off safety and was in the process of firing a round or two. Then the guy yelled at me, in English, It was a guy I knew. But I never did shoot him, the Germans where all around us. It just scared me that this happened and it was so close. I didn’t go up to Nijmegen but a lot of our guys did, they took the boats across the river and Bridge area. I knew more of what happened over there when I got home than I did when I was there. Brother Ellis was in the Navy in the pacific at the same time. When I got ready to come home I was transferred out of the 82nd and placed into the 17th Airborne. The Eagle claw insignia, we didn’t like it because we were of the 82nd Airborne and was proud of it. We called the claw of the 17th the “Shithook.”In the 17th Airborne the military would increase your pay and you would go to Berlin as Occupation troops. I wasn’t interested in spending anymore time there. I had spent almost three years away from home already. I left for home on September 7, 1945.

I remember being around Mt. Vesuvius. The Germans used this Mountain to make their bombing runs. The sounds of those bombs mane the most eerie sounds as they came down. There was a lot of German propaganda material that was either posted around or dropped from aircraft on the U.S. Troops. Took the Ship the USS Joseph D. Dickman, from Naples Italy across to Ireland. On Thanksgiving Day 1943. On the boat for 22 days. Everytime we stopped we got under the truck and played cards.

In Belgium some of the farmers would let us sleep in their barns when it snowed. One of the family’s I remember a husband and wife and two children. They later had another child who they named John. I got a postcard from them after I returned to the United States. It was written in German and had to have a friend of mine interpret it for me. They were scared of the German troops and a few days the family slept down in their cellar and we would sleep upstairs in their living room on the floor. They were very gracious to us sharing some food and accepting us into their home even togh we were dirty and a bit scary looking to them.

I remember “opening the gates” that is at the concentration camps around Belgium. The camp name ways Wöbbelin, a sub camp of the Neuengamme concentration camp. Faces! I don’t remember them well but the people’s legs I remember. They were skinny and boney.

Never really had to fight moral and ethical problems within the troop, you just did what you had to and what you were told. I wanted to be the best soldier I could possibly be, follow orders and do exactly what I was told.

While in England I had to answer the phone several times and I will never forget that number, it was Lear 3 double 2, our Unit station number.

June 6 1944 Presidential Unit Citation.

Company A, 307th Cited for extraordinary Heroism and outstanding Performance while on duty in action on the initial assault on the coast of Normandy June 6th 1944. The Company landed the Glider on the Cotentin Peninsula in the face of Artillery fire and heavy machine gun fire and antiaircraft fire from organized enemy position. During the night almost total assemble was affected and company proceeded to carry out assigned missions at various points in support of combat elements of the division. They cleared mines and secured road in the area, set mine fields outside those positions andestablished road blocks and repaired roads and cleared for tanks and vehicle for infantry assault over the bridge and causeways. And taped a safe path through the mined submerged road across the Bridge south of all accomplished under intense mortar and small arms fire. The courage of the division shown by members of Company A, 307th Engineers Battalion they performed numerous and various duties under fire without hesitation and utter disregard for personal safety are worthy of emulation and reflexes the high traditions of the Army of the United States. Below the enlisted men of Company A 307th Airborne Engineers battalion is authorized to wear the Unit Citation. Major Bedell, B.E. Franks Lt. 82nd Airborne Engineers Battalion



307th AIRBORNE ENGINEER BATTALION (Lt Col Robert S. PALMER + Maj Edwin A. BEDELL) B Company (less 1 Platoon attached to the 505th Prcht Inf Regt) jumped with the 508th Prcht Inf Regt at 0210 hours . Some Engineer personnel took up defensive positions at LA FIERE in support of one group of the 508th Prcht Inf Regt, while other personnel joined the 508th Prcht Inf. Regt group west of the MERDERET RIVER . One ‘stick’, which included the Battalion Commander, was dropped over ST-SAUVEUR-LE-VICOMTE, and only a few men escaped . Part of Headquarters and A Company landed by glider at 2300 hours and started to assemble under heavy enemy artillery and small arms fire. The remainder of the Battalion prepared to take off from airfields in ENGLAND (Lt Col Robert S. PALMER was captured on D-Day, and replaced by Major Edwin A. BEDELL as fromJune 8)

Dec 22, 44Battle of the bulge 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion – blew the bridge at ROCHELINVAL . An officer patrol dispatched to PETITE LANGLIRE blew a vital bridge over the RONCE stream which was being used by the enemy.

Dec. 23, 1944, The 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion – executed demolition of stone culvert 1 ½ miles south of SALMCHATEAU after the last vehicle of the 7th Armored Division had passed

Dec. 24, 1944 The 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion – upon receipt of the withdrawal order, prepared extensive obstacles on the defense line, mined approaches, and prepared bridges and culverts on the withdrawal routes for demolition

Dec. 25, 1944 The 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion – laid minefields, constructed abates, and blew bridges to form a barrier along the Division front

Dec. 29, 1944 The 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion placed additional minefields.

23​ Dec. 30, 1944 The 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion continued to place more minefields

Johnnie A. Witter

United States Army, 82nd Airborne, 307th Engineers, Headquarters Company, Aib, Glider Unit, European Theater Africa, Sicily, Naples-Foggia Italy, Normandy, Battle of the Bulge, Rhineland, Ardennes, Germany, Purple Heart​Awards – 7 Bronze Stars, Purple Heart, Unit Citation, Good Conduct Medal. No time Lost Lapel Button, European-African Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Ribbon, Overseas Bar, Bronze Arrowhead. Date of Service, December 17, 1942 to September 15, 1945.
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Hey, thanks for info, I counted 66 troops listed on the serial of the ship embarkation, subtract 5 officers, 6 extra men, in Jackson County Historical Society, John Witter pointed out landing area near Ste Mere-Eglise. I think several of these guys were pulled off and sent in by glider the rest landed by glider. I might be totally wrong but this uncle most honest, honorable guy you would ever run into. I have his original unit citation for glider landing. Again who knows if everyone might have received this in the 82nd and a company, headquarters company of the 307th Engineers. I would like to get photos and copies to you but scans could be emailed if it's ok.

 

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I wouldn't doubt that this probably was happened. My understanding from him that he didn't know some or most of the guys on the glider. He was kinda close to and knew General Clark and Ridgeway. Company photo I have shows Clark reaching over several other glider infantry guys placing his hand on his shoulder and there both smiling. He also got picked up in Ireland while walking back to camp there by General Isenhower.
I really believe several of these glider troop engineers were spread out on different gliders to ensure that they absolutely completed their mission. He states after they were on the ground CO ordered him to dig in and guard hedge row and let no one come by. That's when German howetzers, machine gun and small arms fire started off. A little later he got together with other engineers and began removing mines trip wires inland. I will try send picture where he point to where his glider landed, he pointed it out. I think he said about a mile north of Ste Mere-Eglise.
I think there were probably a lot of last minute changes with the 82nd, 307th Aib.
Thanks, now you have me looking a different direction of gliders. I think these guys were secret and didn't want anyone to know who and where they were most of the time. Interview with Jackson County History Soc. He talks about being move a day or two before d day and making like 5 or 6 different moves Belfast to England airfields.
Thanks for you help, I will upload photo ASAP
Jim

 

Thanks I'm in the process of writing a documentary on a more personal record of his service with the 82nd 307th engineers. I have the manifest book and the We Maintain the Right. I began going over the interview recording I did with him in 2008. It's like 6 hours long has a lot of good specific info. Also used the recording of his recording of interview with Jackson County historical society it was an hour long. Lot of photos and documents just know beginning to understand what when and were. They were a pretty busy unit. Training and going into areas early. He stated things were very secret all the time. He starts lights turned off trucks during rain middle of night as they were headed to the Webb Miller. They didn't want German planes etc.. to notice movement. He tells exact movements and towns in lreland and britian. Also in North Africa, Sicily, France. He traced it out on maps each movement.
Keep in touch I'm going to figure this all out I just want to be accurate.
Thanks Jim