This June, Sgt. Sam had the opportunity to travel to Normandy, France for the anniversary of the invasion. It was a tremendous trip with a fantastic team. Not content to tour the battlefields by bus, I formed a crack squad of paratrooper reenactors and explored the battlefields of the American Airborne in the rain, dust, and heat. We marched hard, slept little, and ate only enough to keep us moving. We visited incredible locations such as Carentan, Saint Come du Mont, Sainte Mere Eglise, La Fiere, and more. While we were there, we had the privilege of meeting some of the real men who had fought in those very places 67 years ago.
Well, now Sgt. Sam is back from Normandy and hard at work on the next installment of the Soldiering Through History series. Yes, it is going to be about the brave paratroopers who landed behind Hitler's Atlantic Wall on June 6th, 1944. Stay tuned- its going to be good! In the meantime, keep checking back here for photos and reflections from Normandy.
Maybe you have heard of Lt. Col. Robert Wolverton. He was the commanding officer of 3rd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (squad-platoon-company-battalion-regiment-division). A graduate of West Point, Lt. Col. Wolverton was a manly man, a tough soldier, and an excellent leader. On D-1 (June 5th, 1944), as the paratroopers checked their gear and assembled next to their planes, Wolverton gathered his men and gave this prayer:
"God almighty, in a few short hours we will be in battle with the enemy. We do not join battle afraid. We do not ask favors or indulgence but ask that, if You will, use us as Your instrument for the right and an aid in returning peace to the world.
"We do not know or seek what our fate will be. We ask only this, that if die we must, that we die as men would die, without complaining, without pleading and safe in the feeling that we have done our best for what we believed was right.
"Oh Lord, protect our loved ones and be near us in the fire ahead and with us now as we pray to you."
A few hours later, Wolverton parachuted into the night sky over Normandy. He landed in a clump of trees in Saint Come du Mont, became entangled in his parachute, and was shredded by a German machine gun.
On the anniversary of these events, my brothers and I purposed to stop at Saint Come Du Mont, seeking to locate the very spot where Lt. Col. Wolverton died. First we found the old medieval church that stands in the center of the town. Using the photographs in one of our favorite books, Tonight We Die As Men by Ian Gardner and Robert Day, we figured out where the trees should be. We hit the road and sure enough, we found the spot. There was no memorial. There was no sign. I doubt most ever think to look for it.
It meant a great deal to us to stand where Wolverton had died. His story came to life for us there - a sober reminder of the sacrifices made by so many of those paratroopers on June 6th and beyond. We will never forget.
