MSG John McCarthy’s Road to Lecaudey Farm (Part II)

Discussion in 'American' started by Pat Curran, Dec 11, 2012.

  1. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
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    Oct 20, 2012
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    Hi John,

    Yes, the Fold3 and Knotts photos are without doubt showing the same wreck, and there is a high probability that they also match the Blosville/Les Forges aerial photo, but as you say, the question is - does the wreck add up to a candidate for Keokuk chalk #8?
    [​IMG]
    The rear fuselage in the Koskimaki photo above is very like the damage sustained by the Horsa in the aerial photo at the cemetery field, but of course the intact(ish) tail section has been moved if we follow the line that they might be the same wreck. Moving the tail section would be very understandable at a cemetery or ALG location, so that's not a huge concern of mine either.

    I know its always going to be either up or down (50/50 chance), but can we say with some certainty that the Koskimaki ground photo above shows that Horsa's starboard side wing leaning down? If so, should we not then also be seeing the port wing raised in alignment? A bit too dodgy I think...unless this photo shows the entire wreck, including the wings, tidied up on the inside of the hedgerow :s

    If the Blosville Cemetery/Les Forges aerial wreck is a candidate, where would it have hit the first hedgerow before impacting the second? If it came through the tree line on the western side of the cemetery, I would have expected to see some evidence of damage to the trees, but there again we don't see the full length of this tree line in the aerial.

    No attachment on your post John.

    Regards,

    Pat
     
  2. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
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    Oct 20, 2012
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    More to weaken things I think...

    If I am reading the angle-of-view correctly below...
    [​IMG]
    ...the photographer is standing with his back to the forward cargo door of the intact Horsa and filming the French grave diggers at the top end of the western field boundary - the bit that's missing in the aerial photo. No evidence of 'our' glider having come through that part of the hedgerow either.

    Regards,

    Pat
     
  3. John Szweda

    John Szweda Administrator
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    Oct 25, 2012
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    Milwaukee, Wisconsin
    Hi Pat,
    Maybe I was confused... I thought you were comparing the Fold3 and Knotts photo to each other. I didn't realize you were comparing them to the Koskimaki photo.
    I gave up on my attachment to the soldiers in the ditch. The file size was too big.
    But I wonder if there is some relation between the two.

    John
     
  4. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
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    Oct 20, 2012
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    Email it to me John and I'll put it up on my server...

    Ah!, this post-war photo confirms the angle-of-view to the French grave diggers in my last post - note how the northern part of the hedgerow (with blue line) has a higher density of trees that the part further south visible in the Les Forges aerial of the gliders:
    [​IMG]
    You might spot that the post war layout does not include the area where the Frenchmen are working in the ground footage. This is because the cemetery was being managed single handed by Sergent Elbert E. Legg of the 603rd Quartermaster Graves Registration Company until D+7, when the rest of his platoon arrived and took over from him. He states:

    No gaps in that western hedgerow at all!

    Regards,

    Pat
     
  5. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
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    Oct 20, 2012
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    Just another observation...

    The Tonelli Auction photo below appears to have been shot from the south-east corner of the cemetery field looking diagonally towards the north-west end:
    [​IMG]
    I take the NW corner to be around the location of the red arrow and would wonder if 'our' Horsa is also the object arrowed in green?

    The large tripod, which I take to be a German telephone and/or anti-glider pole, is visible in a high resolution version of the Les Forges gliders aerial photo. If it was rigged as an obstruction, then perhaps that's how 'our' Horsa was damaged.

    The cemetery plots are now far more numerous so I presume this photo to have been shot later in June or perhaps July.

    Regards,

    Pat
     
  6. kgm

    kgm Active Member
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    Oct 26, 2012
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    Last week, I received the Spring 2017 edition of the Silent Wings Museum newsletter. The In Memoriam section of the newsletter includes the death notice of Flight Officer Lynus Ryan who passed away on December 8, 2016. F/O Ryan was the co-pilot of Keokuk Chalk #7 and went on to serve in the Korean War, flying over 155 fire direction combat missions in that conflict.

    http://www.mccolleyschapels.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=4035596&fh_id=13288

    F/O Ryan was one of three D-Day/Keokuk veterans that I had the honor to have personally interviewed as part of this research effort. His recollections of his own landing in Keokuk Chalk #7 and his observations of the crash landing of Keokuk Chalk # 8 are summarized in Post #69 of this thread found here.

    F/O Ryan’s death marks the passing in a span of just 14 months of all three D-Day veterans that contributed to this thread with their oral histories. George Koskimaki (101st Airborne Division Signal Company) who contributed to numerous early posts in this thread passed away on February 6, 2016. Arthur Collins (pilot of Keokuk #3), who spent the night of June 6, 1944 hiding in a ditch with my father, passed away on October 18, 2015 (see Post # 113 here).

    May all of these heroes rest in peace.


    R/
    Kevin
     
  7. marketc47

    marketc47 Active Member
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    Feb 15, 2013
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    Kevin, we are loosing those fine men rather fast these days. Sadly.
     
  8. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
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    Oct 20, 2012
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    Hi Kevin,

    Very sorry to hear this news.

    One thing we can cling to however is that these guys lived in remarkable times and their lives held purpose far above the norm.

    Regards,

    Pat
     
  9. Bill Breihan

    Bill Breihan Guest
    Guest

    Sgt. Edward Ihlenfeld (1920-2016) was my father-in-law. I've been researching his 101st Airborne service. I just finished reading a few dozen of his WWII letters. I'd love see a copy of the Harold Furman letter. Willing to share copies of Ihlenfeld's letters. He and your father may have known each other. wcbreihan@aol.com
     
  10. kgm

    kgm Active Member
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    Oct 26, 2012
    75
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    Bill,

    My father was assigned to the G-1 section and was the senior enlisted man in the Division Headquarters Company. I am sure he knew your father-in-law, whom I believe was assigned to the G-1 section. I sent you the full Fuhrman letter via email and I have reposted portions of the letter here.

    R/
    Kevin

    Fuhrman 1 copy.png

    Posted with permission of Randy Fuhrman
     
  11. Bill Breihan

    Bill Breihan Guest
    Guest

    Thanks, Kevin.
     
  12. kgm

    kgm Active Member
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    Oct 26, 2012
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    #132 kgm, Jun 6, 2019
    Last edited: Jun 7, 2019
    On this 75th Anniversary of D-Day, in honor of my father and all that served that day…


    This trip summary is a bit late, but last December (2018), I had the opportunity to tour portions of the 101st Airborne Division’s WWII encampment areas to the west of London along with the former airfield sites of the supporting 53rd Troop Carrier Wing (TCW). Highlights of this trip included stops at several locations where my father served in 1943 and 1944 during his time in England.

    On Sunday morning, Dec 2nd, my wife and I traveled via train from Paddington Station in London to Newbury in Berkshire, located about 50 miles to the west. Upon our arrival at the Newbury train station we were met by Neil Jones who served as our outstanding tour guide for the day.

    London Newbury.png
    Southern England
    Source: Google Earth


    Starting out at about 10:00 AM and ending just after 4:00 PM, our tour included stops in Newbury and four of the five former 53rd TCW airfield sites in the surrounding area.

    Airfields.png
    Newbury and the five airfield sites of 53rd TCW.
    Source: Google Earth


    Greenham Lodge in Newbury

    GH Lodge Newbury.png
    Entrance Drive to Greenham Lodge.
    Source: Personal Collection

    The Greenham Lodge is located in the town of Newbury in the northwest corner of the former Greenham Common airfield. The building was completed in 1881 for the lord of the manor of Greenham, Lloyd Baxendale. In the autumn of 1943, the 101st Airborne Division established its headquarters here. As the Sergeant Major for the Division Headquarters Company, my father most certainly spent a good amount of time in this building until the Division’s departure for Operation Market Garden in September of 1944.

    During the Cold War, the building served as an Officers Club for the USAF base at the adjacent RAF Greenham Common. Several years after the closure of the air base in 1992, the building was converted to the Mary Hare Primary School for the education of deaf children. Additional details on the Lodge can be found here.


    Greenham Common
    Greenham Common.png

    WWII era and current overhead aerial views of Greenham Common.
    Source: Royal Ordinance Survey and Google Earth

    Greenham Common (RAF Greenham Common - Wikipedia). Located just to the southeast of Newbury and not far from the Division Headquarters at the Greenham Lodge, this former airfield site was home of the 438th TCG and Headquarters for the 53rd TCW. General Eisenhower visited the airfield on the evening of June 5, 1944 and his visit was famously documented in his photo with Co. E of the 502nd PIR. During the Cold War, the airfield continued to serve as USAF facility and was the location of a Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM) base (BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile - Wikipedia). The GLCM bunkers have been abandoned since 1986, but they recently appeared in two Star War movies as a rebel star fighter base. For the most part, the airfield is now public green space and an industrial park.

    GH Runway 11.png

    Looking east from the SW corner of the airfield down the former Runway 11. Fence line for the former GLCM bunker complex is to the right.
    Source: Personal Collection


    GLCM GH.png
    GLCM bunker complex in the SW corner of the former airfield.
    Source: Personal Collection


    Aldermaston

    Aldermaston.png
    WWII era and current overhead aerial views of Aldermaston
    Source: Royal Ordinance Survey and Google Earth

    Aldermaston (RAF Aldermaston - Wikipedia). Located eight miles to the east of Newbury, this former airfield site was the home of the 437th TCG and the airfield where my father departed in a 72nd TCS glider (Chalk #4) as part of the Keokuk Mission on the evening of D-Day.

    The Greenham Lodge at Newbury and the airfield at Aldermaston are essentially where my father began his “D-Day Journey to Lecaudey Farm” on the afternoon of June 6th. He provided some of the details of that afternoon in George Koskimaki’s book, D-Day with the Screaming Eagles. (Comments in italics are mine):

    Master Sergeant John McCarthy was one of the few soldiers to fly into France without spending time in a marshaling area. He recalled, “As a member of the G-1 (Personnel Department), my group had been taking reports coning in from the beachhead areas. (Most certainly, this activity took place somewhere in the Greenham Lodge complex.) Two hours before departure time (scheduled for 6:30 PM), I had been driven to the field (Aldermaston). I had a meal in one of the mess tents, and then reported to my glider which was number ‘4’ in the serial.”​


    434thTCGKEOKUKmission6June1944numbredvoorsite copy.jpg
    The Keokuk Mission preparing for departure from Aldermaston during the evening of June 6, 1944. Photo looks to the SE towards the approach end of Runway 26. My father’s D-Day Horsa glider is indicated with the red #4.
    Source Hans den Brok’s Airborne Trooper Carrier website

    The Aldermaston site now serves as the United Kingdom’s Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) (Atomic Weapons Establishment - Wikipedia). Unfortunately, because of the security restrictions related to that status, there is no access to the old airfield. However, I was able to obtain some photos from the fence line.

    Aldermaston Gate.png
    Photo taken from the fence line at the NW corner of the Aldermaston AWE looking south towards the departure end of the former Runway 26.
    Source: Personal Collection


    Membury
    Membury.png

    WWII era and current overhead aerial views of Membury.
    Source: Royal Ordinance Survey and Google Earth

    Membury (RAF Membury - Wikipedia). Located 11 miles to the NW of Newbury, this former airfield site was the home of 436th TCG. This location now supports civilian recreational flying and includes an industrial park and a rest stop on the M4 motorway.


    Ramsbury
    Ramsbury.png

    WWII era and current overhead aerial views of Ramsbury
    Source: Royal Ordinance Survey and Google Earth

    Ramsbury (RAF Ramsbury - Wikipedia). Located 12 miles to the WNW of Newbury, this former airfield site was the home of the 437th TCG. On September 17, 1944, my father departed from this airfield in a Waco glider (Chalk #2 of that serial) as part of Operation Market Garden. This former airfield is now farmland with just a small portion of the runway surfaces still in place.

    This stop on our tour was probably the highlight of the entire day. Neil drove along what served as the airfield perimeter road on the east side of the field to a farm structure built on portions of the remaining old runway surface that once served as the approach end of Runway 26. On September 17, 1944, the 437th TCG Waco gliders and C-47 tug aircraft were staged in sequence from this point to the west along the runway. On that day, 101st Airborne Division troopers (including Signal Company and Division Headquarters personnel) made their way along an access road from the marshaling area to the eastern end of this runway. Walking west from this point along the line of aircraft, the troopers then made their way to their assigned gliders. My father had to pass this location, pictured in the photo below, as he proceeded to Chalk #2. Also, as Neil reminded me, this was the last spot where my father would ever walk in England. After the extended Market Garden operation, the Division would ultimately move on to Bastogne and then on to Berchtesgaden, never returning to England.

    Rambury PH1.png
    (Photo #1) Looking west from the approach end of Runway 26 at Ramsbury. Photo in upper right insert was taken from approximately the same location on the morning of September 17, 1944. The Ramsbury at War website (Ramsbury at War) includes additional photos from that day.
    Source: Personal Collection with insert from Ramsbury at War website/D. Ferriolo

    Kevin and Neil.png
    (Photo #2) Looking west, Neil Jones (right) and I standing on what remains of the original concrete surface at the approach end of the former Runway 26 at Ramsbury. My father passed this point as he made his way to his assigned glider on the morning of September 17, 1944.
    Source: Personal Collection

    Ramsbury PH2.png
    Current aerial view of the Ramsbury airfield. Arrow points at a farm structure built on remaining concrete surface of the old runway.
    Source: Google Earth

    Ramsbury PH3A.png
    Expanded view of the approach end of Runway 26. Photo #1 and 2 arrows correspond to locations where the photographs immediately above were shot.
    Source: Google Earth


    Welford
    Wellford.png

    WWII era and current overhead aerial views of Welford. Photos are not oriented north-up.
    Source: Royal Ordinance Survey and Google Earth

    Welford (RAF Welford - Wikipedia). Due to time constraints, we were unable to include a stop at this former airfield located six miles NNW of Newbury that served at the home of the 435th TCG. This airfield site now serves as an ammunition storage facility for the USAF.


    Littlecote House

    With daylight waning before a 4:00 PM sunset, Neil then made an unexpected stop at Littlecote House, an estate that served as the Regimental Headquarters for Colonel Robert Sink and the 506th PIR during the Division’s time in England. (Littlecote House - Wikipedia)

    LC House.png
    Entrance to Littlecote House
    Source: Personal Collection



    Chilton Foliat
    On our way to the train station in the town of Hungerford for the return trip to London, we made a brief stop at the entrance to the Chilton Lodge near the town of Chilton Foliat. This estate served as the Regimental Headquarters the 502th PIR and the Division’s jump school. By that time, it was too dark to take any useful photographs. With that final stop, a truly memorable day came to an end.


    This visit to Newbury and the surrounding airfields sites where my father served in 1943 and 1944 joins my trip to Normandy and Bastogne in 2012 as one of the top highlights of my ongoing seven-year research effort. I would like to thank Neil Jones again for offering to spend an entire day of a pre-holiday weekend with us. His knowledge of the area and the associated history is outstanding and his passionate desire to properly honor and remember the legacy of those that served in WWII is truly commendable. I will be forever grateful for his generosity and his friendship.


    More on my trip to England in a follow-on post.


    R/
    Kevin
     
  13. kgm

    kgm Active Member
    Researcher

    Oct 26, 2012
    75
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    #133 kgm, Nov 11, 2020
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2020
    On Veterans Day, in honor of my father and all those who have served in our nation’s Armed Forces.


    The summary report below is long overdue and serves as follow-on to my previous post from June of last year.


    With the help of his two sisters back home in Chicago, my father kept a scrapbook that chronicled his military service during the war. My father passed this scrapbook on to me prior to this death in 1980, and this book has served as an outstanding starting point for several of my research initiatives. Two of the entries in that scrapbook provide insight into my father’s off-duty activities throughout the United Kingdom in the months prior to the D-Day invasion.


    The first entry was a studio photograph of my father that serves as my avatar on this Forum. The studio stamp on the back of that photo, along with a postmarked envelope utilized for the return of his processed postcard photos, indicates that my father traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland during the first week of February 1944. That trip included a stop at the Renfield Studios at 153 Leith Street in Edinburgh on February 5, 1944. This address, just a few blocks from the central train station, is now the current site of the Omni Entertainment Center.

    Renfield Card 2.jpeg
    Backside of the Renfield Postcard Photo dated February 5, 1944


    Renfield Envelope.jpeg
    Return envelope from Renfield Studios postmarked February 23, 1944


    In early April of 1944, my father also traveled to London. A second entry of interest in his scrapbook was a tattered theater playbill and a ticket stub for the Piccadilly Theatre in London dated April 4, 1944.

    Piccadilly Playbill Post 1.png
    My father’s ticket stub and outside covers of the Panama Hattie Playbill


    Piccadilly Post Playbill 2.png
    Inside pages of the Panama Hattie Playbill

    Opened in April of 1928, The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel in the City of Westminster. Showing that day in April of 1944 was Panama Hattie, a play that premiered at the Piccadilly Theatre in November of 1943 and ran for 308 performances.

    More than likely, back in 1944, my father traveled that Tuesday from the 101st Airborne Division Headquarters compound at the Greenham Lodge in Newbury via train on the Great Western Railway to the Paddington Station in London. This was the same train route that I utilized in December of 2018 as I made my way to Berkshire to meet with Neil Jones for our day of touring the 53rd Troop Carrier Wing (TCW) airfields that supported the 101st during the war.


    Three days after our visit with Neil, my wife and I walked from our hotel near the Paddington Station to the Piccadilly Theatre with copies of my father’s 1944 Panama Hattie playbill and his ticket stub in hand.


    Theatre Front.jpg
    Piccadilly Theatre; December 5, 2018


    Mid-afternoon, I walked through the theatre front door to the box office and presented the attendant with the ticket stub from 1944. The gentleman immediately called for his supervisor and members of the theatre’s management who all quickly arrived and welcomed us with open arms. While we did have wait a few hours in a restaurant across the street for a rehearsal session of the then current play to end, early that evening we were then treated to a personal tour of the entire facility. First stop on the tour was the seat that my father sat in on April 4, 1944. My father had a great seat that day, as his assigned seat was center stage, second row, in a 1,200-seat auditorium. The theatre staff mentioned that many of the auditorium seats were the originals, dating back to the theatre’s opening in 1928, so there is a good chance that I sat in the actual seat that my father sat in almost 75 years earlier.

    Seatjpg.jpg
    Orchestra Stall 16, Seat A 15, Piccadilly Theatre, London

    Seat 2018.JPG
    Sitting in my father’s theatre seat, almost 75 years later


    During our walking tour of the facility, the staff pointed out specific seats on the north side of the auditorium and mentioned that the theatre had been bombed during an air raid during the war, resulting in the death of the two service members sitting in those seats. Following the bombing, the theatre was closed for several months for repairs. While the staff couldn’t recall the exact time frame of the bombing, I suspect it was during the blitz of 1940 and 1941.


    The Bomb Sight Project, a joint University of Portsmouth and National Archives initiative, is a census of bomb drop locations in the London metropolitan area during the German blitz (October 7, 1940 – June 6, 1941). A mapping program on the project’s website provides an outstanding visual summary of the thousands of bomb drop locations in London during this time period.

    Central London.png
    Bomb Drop Locations in Central London during the German Blitz of 1940/1941. (Source: bombsight.org)


    Looking closely at the area around Piccadilly Circus, two bomb drop locations appear to be in the immediate vicinity of the theatre.

    Bomb Sight Org.png
    The Red Circle “2” indicates the approximate location of two high explosive bomb drops that likely struck the theatre. The structure immediately to the west of the circle is the Piccadilly Theatre. (Source: bombsight.org)

    Aerial Picadilly.png
    Current 3D aerial view of the Piccadilly Circus area that mirrors the bomb drop map above. (Source: Apple Maps)

    This visit to the Piccadilly Theatre was the second time that week that I was able to trace the very steps that my father took in 1944. It was truly a memorable day. My thanks to the entire Piccadilly Theatre staff for the hospitality that they extended to my wife and me on that day in December of 2018.


    R/

    Kevin
     
  14. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
    Staff Member

    Oct 20, 2012
    2,547
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    Co. Kilkenny, Ireland
    Hi Kevin,

    Great post and many thanks for sharing the items in your collection.

    Have you seen the colour footage of London shot by Jack Lieb probably towards the end of May 1944. Fascinating to watch how Londoners just got on with life during the War.


    Regards,

    Pat
     
  15. marketc47

    marketc47 Active Member
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    Feb 15, 2013
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    I recently received some paperwork from a veterans collection. It included an edit version of F/O Goulden's experence, one of the few glider pilot accounts among the paperwork, all Normandy related. Not sure if this add some new information for Kevin and this topic.

    From F/O Goulden report:
    I was carrying a jeep, trailer filled with ammunition, and three airborne infantrymen. A Pfc., and a Master Sgt. sat in the rear of the ship while a Second Lt. sat directly behind the cockpit doors. I'll Always remember him because he was one of the coolecst men I've met. This was his first ride in a glider and a D day ride at that...but he munched a couple of seasick cure pills and said he thought he'd be okay. his name sort of typifys the type of guys in the Airborne...ot was Maguire.

    I landed with the brakes on and full flaps, ground looped to keep from crashing into the trees at the other end of the field. The field was L shaped and we slid sideways around the L (editor added it instead of L) coming to a grinding stop intact.

    This is a short extract from the 14 pages (some of those are double) in which F/O Goulden describes the preparation for the mission, his experiences in the field and until getting back in England. Need to scan the pages.
     
  16. kgm

    kgm Active Member
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    Oct 26, 2012
    75
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    Hans,

    Thank you for posting this portion of the report. I look forward to reviewing the other 14 pages. Hopefully, F/O Goulden’s summary will contribute to this research thread. This is the first significant find of new information on this topic in several years.

    My father’s account of his D-Day glider landing in George Koskimaki’s D-Day with the Screaming Eagles matches and adds to the information in Goulden’s report:
    Our glider contained a jeep and an attached trailer filled with equipment. The jeep was for Colonel Gerald Higgins, the division chief of staff, who parachuted in with the division headquarters group. The jeep was driven by T/5 Leo Plotke. The only other person aboard besides the two man crew was an officer from CIC who had arrived in England only two days before. Needless to say, he was overwhelmed with all the rapidly moving events of the past few days.

    The link below provides a brief summary of the Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) role with the 101st on D-Day. A Captain McGuire is mentioned, but no 2LT Maguire.
    CIC Agents on D-Day

    Interesting comments from Goulden concerning his landing:
    I landed with the brakes on and full flaps, ground looped to keep from crashing into the trees at the other end of the field. The field was L shaped and we slid sideways around the L (editor added it instead of L) coming to a grinding stop intact.

    My father’s description of their landing provides another perspective:
    Our pilot did a superb job as he dropped onto the soft field. The tricycle landing gear prevented it from nosing over and the glider came to rest twenty yards from a hedgerow.

    Both descriptions of the landing corroborate that the glider came to rest intact. However, if accurate, Goulden’s account may create some doubt about the field south of Pratt Field being the likely landing field of my father’s glider (Keokuk Chalk #4). During a quick review of aerials US7GR 1875_4051 and _4052, I did not see any clearly L-shaped fields other than perhaps Pratt Field itself. However, based on my interview with F/O Lynus Ryan (Keokuk Chalk #7) in 2013, it is clear that even a pilot’s own description of their landing field may be subject to some interpretation. Pat and John; any thoughts on possible candidates for the field referenced by Goulden?

    John Szweda’s discovery a few years ago of a photo in Gary Dettore’s Screaming Eagle Gliders might also add a different perspective concerning my father’s likely landing field. Dettore’s book includes one specific photo that may contribute to the research effort here. The photo, while not a direct overhead shot, was probably taken over the vicinity of Vierville and it looks to the west. This shot provides a clear view of the east side of the tree line on the western boundary of the field south of Pratt Field. While low resolution, the photo appears to indicate that there is only one, not two, Horsa gliders on that tree line. This is counter to the long held theory in this thread that there were two gliders on that tree line (Keokuk Chalks #3 and 4). While I strongly believe that the field south of Pratt Field is still the best candidate to be my father’s likely landing field, I would like to reopen this discussion once we can review Goulden’s full report. Long delayed, but I also plan to contact Gary Dettore in the near future to determine if he would be willing to share a higher resolution shot of the photo referenced above.

    Once again, my thanks to Hans.

    R/
    Kevin
     
  17. marketc47

    marketc47 Active Member
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    Feb 15, 2013
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    Hi Kevin,

    Usually I put the 1944-1945 report on top of reliable sources compared to post war accounts. That said, sure those reports can en do have mistakes as well.
    So for the rank of McGuire, that might be a mistake. The misspelling is an understandable mistake. So I assume that it would be Capt. McGuire instead of Lt. Maguire.

    Same for the landing field. The L-shape might not be that hard of an L, and just have a curve.
     
  18. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
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    Oct 20, 2012
    2,547
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    Co. Kilkenny, Ireland
    Hi Guys,

    Nice find Hans.
    Very interesting description of the landing and in my view puts your 'LB B' back in the game Kevin.

    I would also wonder now if the Pond Field's southern boundary hedge is sufficiently low to have it considered part of the L shaped field - with the field to the south forming the other leg of the shape?

    Could Chalk #3 be on the other side of this low hedge in the Pond Field? IIRC, we had looked at a ground photo which might match this Horsa; it had a rubber dingy beside it.

    Regards,

    Pat
     
  19. kgm

    kgm Active Member
    Researcher

    Oct 26, 2012
    75
    2
    Before we resume the Keokuk Chalk #4 discussion, I want to quickly go back and revisit a post that I have made twice in the past; first in late 2012 on the old Battlebus Forum and again in February of 2013 on this Forum.

    In June of 1944, somewhere in Normandy, my father picked up a copy of an Allied appeal to German troops in the Cotentin that they surrender. (See below.) After the war, he filed it away in his scrapbook and there it remained without a translation until 2012. When I first posted this flyer on the Battlebus Forum that summer, another online member graciously provided a German-to-English translation. Unfortunately, when the Battlebus Forum crashed forever that year, the translation was lost. I posted the flyer again on this Forum in early 2013, looking for someone to provide a translation of the document. That effort was unsuccessful until recently when a co-worker’s son with German language skills offered to complete the translation. My thanks to Reginald V. Hall for making the translation that is provided below.

    Front Side
    [​IMG]


    Soldiers of the 709th, 243rd, and 77th Infantry Divisions!

    Soldiers of the Marine units in Cherbourg!

    Cherbourg is surrounded. None of you can get out at this point-- and nobody can break you out. All [sea], land, and air routes are closed.

    Your situation is hopeless. Your command has written you off. You can't salvage the situation-- but anyone who wants to can save his own life.

    Whoever gives himself up to Allied troops can rest assured that he'll be treated decently. [More than] 15,000 of your comrades from other units in Normandy have already had this experience.

    Come one by one or in small [groups]. Our soldiers have been ordered not to shoot anyone who wants to surrender and is waving something white, or waving his helmet, or waving his rifle.

    If you can't get yourself directly to us, break off into the surrounding area and wait until we show up. It's best for you to wait until our infantry gets there. Bring your cookware with you.


    Back Side
    [​IMG]

    German Soldier!

    We're not promising you paradise if you're captured. You can, however, certainly count on the following:

    1. Decent treatment,as befits a brave foe. Prisoners of war keep their rank and decorations. Your immediate superiors will still be your comrades in the Wehrmacht.

    2. Good food.As prisoners you will get the same food our troops do.

    3. Top-quality medical treatment for diseases and wounds. As per the Geneva Conventions, prisoners of war get the exact same medical treatment as we give our troops.

    4. Post-office delivery to home.You may write three letters and four postcards a month. Our post-offices are reliable and relatively quick. You may also receive letters and parcels.

    5. Salary.As per the Geneva Conventions, you'll still get your paycheck. You'll also be paid for any extra volunteering you do. You have the right to shop in your camp canteens as well

    6. [Jobs Training]. If you wish it, you'll be given the opportunity to receive jobs training. Germany will need skilled workers after the war.

    You will be treated like soldiers. After the war, you'll of course get to go home.

    Note: The text in brackets throughout the translation is an assumption of what was missing/unreadable due to damage in the document.

    Again, my thanks to Reginald V. Hall.

    R/
    Kevin
     
  20. kgm

    kgm Active Member
    Researcher

    Oct 26, 2012
    75
    2
    #140 kgm, Mar 14, 2021
    Last edited: Mar 14, 2021
    Hans’ recent discovery of the F/O Winfield C. Goulden’s Keokuk After Action Report has provided a significant amount of pertinent information that I believe will assist us with our ongoing Chalk #4 discussion. After reviewing this report, I reestablished contacted with F/O Goulden’s widow, Mrs Sylvia Goulden. Early in 2014, about eight months after her husband’s death in May of 2013, I first contacted Mrs. Goulden. At that time, she provided me with copies of her husband’s pilot logbook book entries for his Keokuk Mission flight. (See Post #83 of this thread here for additional details.)

    Last month, for the first time, Mrs. Goulden provided me with several WWII-era photographs of F/O Goulden. Both photographs are posted with her permission.

    Winfield C Goulden. Army Air Corp  1943.jpg
    F/O Winfield C. Goulden, 1943


    Winfield C Goulden. Army Air Corp  Glider Pilot 1943.jpg
    F/O Winfield C. Goulden, 1943


    For ease of reference, I have reposted the Keoukuk Mission pages of his logbook here.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    With permission of Sylvia Goulden

    Summary of D-Day log book entry:
    6/6/44, From: “467”, To: France, Horsa RAF Glider, Duration: 2:30, Combat Night. Remarks: Invasion of Europe, Co-pilot Frank Blalock, 1 AB LT, 1 MSGT, 1 PFC, jeep, trailer, supplies, ammo.

    R/
    Kevin
     

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