The German had a Russian burp gun?
A great story!
Especially the last line
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Airborne All The Way!
How things can change. In Desert Storm Airborne had a different way of deploying to meet the enemy. Their motto proudly displayed on their transportation was “Death From A Bus.”
What is amazing is that there was another Manley that jumped into Normandy on D-Day with the 101st! Ralph Manley passed away in 2019 at the age of 95 and also was a combat demolitions specialist. He went on to fight at the Battle of the Bulge and Market Garden. After WWII, he returned to Springfield, MO, and served in the Missouri National Guard....he was my platoon sergeant from 1956 to 1957. Sergeant Ralph Manley lost his twin brother, Roland, on D-Day. Roland was in the 82nd Airborne Division.
Thanks for the post - what an amazing coincidence!
Had Eisenhower not been such a warmonger, he could have quarantined the troops in England until the was some significant flattening of the German curve in France.
My dad was there on Utah Beach with the 101st! He later went on to Bastogne and Berchtesgaden. My ever living regret is I didn’t retrace his footsteps while there were living historians that could have helped.