FReeper Canteen ~ Joseph R. Beyrle ~ 01 February 2016

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | StarCMC and The Canteen Crew

[Kathy in Alaska]

 

Our Troops Rock!  Thank you for all you do!

For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.

Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!

---

~ Hall of Heroes ~

Joseph R. Beyrle

Info from here and here.

           

Joseph R. Beyrle (August 25, 1923 - December 12, 2004) is thought to be the only American soldier to have served with both the United States Army and the Soviet Army in World War II. Born in Muskegon, Michigan, Beyrle graduated from high school in 1942 with the promise of a scholarship to the University of Notre Dame, but enlisted in the army instead.

Upon his enlistment, Beyrle chose to become a paratrooper, joining the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne's "Screaming Eagles" division, specializing in radio communications and demolition, and was first stationed in Ramsbury, England to prepare for the upcoming Allied invasion from the west. After nine months of training, Beyrle completed two missions in occupied France in April and May 1944, delivering gold to the French Resistance.

On June 6, D-Day, Beyrle's C-47 came under enemy fire over the Normandy coast, and he was forced to jump from the exceedingly low altitude of 120 meters. After landing in Saint-Come-du-Mont, Sergeant Beyrle lost contact with his fellow paratroopers, but succeeded in blowing up a power station. He performed other sabotage missions before being captured by German soldiers a few days later.

Over the next seven months, Beyrle was held in seven different German prisons. He escaped twice, only to be recaptured each time. Beyrle and his fellow prisoners had been hoping to find the Soviet army, which was a short distance away. After the second escape (in which he and his companions set out for Poland but boarded a train to Berlin by mistake), Beyrle was turned over to the Gestapo by a German civilian. Beaten and tortured, he was released to the German military after officials stepped in and determined that the Gestapo had no jurisdiction over prisoners of war. The Gestapo were about to shoot Beyrle and his comrades, claiming that he was an American spy who had parachuted into Berlin.

Beyrle was taken to the Stalag III-C POW camp in Alt Drewitz, from which he escaped in early January 1945. He headed east, hoping to meet up with the Soviet army. Encountering a Soviet tank brigade in the middle of January, he raised his hands, holding a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes, and shouted in Russian, 'Amerikansky' tovarishch! ("American comrade!"). Beyrle was eventually able to persuade the battalion's commanders to allow him to fight alongside the unit on its way to Berlin, thus beginning his month-long stint in a Soviet tank battalion, where his demolitions expertise was appreciated.

Beyrle's new battalion was the one that freed his former camp, Stalag III-C, at the end of January, but in the first week of February, he was wounded during an attack by German Stuka dive bombers. He was evacuated to a Soviet hospital in Landsberg (now Gorzow Wielkopolski in Poland), where he received a visit from Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov, who, intrigued by the only non-Russian in the hospital, learned his story through an interpreter, and provided Beyrle with official papers in order to rejoin American forces.

Joining a Soviet military convoy, Beyrle arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow in February 1945, only to learn that he had been reported by the War Department as KIA on June 10, 1944 on French soil. A funeral mass had been held in his honor in Muskegon, and his obituary was published in the local newspaper. Embassy officers in Moscow, unsure of his bona fides, placed him under Marine guard in the Metropol Hotel until his identity was established through his fingerprints.

Beyrle returned home to Michigan on April 21, 1945, and celebrated V-E Day two weeks later in Chicago. He was married to JoAnne Hollowell in 1946—coincidentally, in the same church and by the same priest who held his funeral mass two years earlier.  Beyrle worked for Brunswick Corporation for 28 years, retiring as a shipping supervisor.

His unique service earned him medals from U.S. President Bill Clinton and President Boris Yeltsin of Russia at a ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House marking the 50th anniversary of D-Day in 1994.

Beyrle died in his sleep of heart failure on December 12, 2004 during a visit to Toccoa, Georgia, where he had trained with the paratroops in 1942. He was 81. He was buried with honors in Section 1 of Arlington National Cemetery in April, 2005.

His son, John Beyrle, was appointed the United States Ambassador to Russia in July 2008.

On September 17, 2002, a book by Thomas Taylor about Beyrle, The Simple Sounds of Freedom, was published by Random House. A Ballantine paperback version, Behind Hitler's Lines, came out June 1, 2004.

In August 2005, a plaque was unveiled on the wall of the church in St. Côme-du-Mont, France, where Beyrle landed on June 6, 1944.

An exhibition devoted to Joe Beyrle's life and wartime experiences opened at the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg in February, 2010 and at the Museum of Great Patriotic War on Poklonnaya Gora in Moscow on May 6, 2010.

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission! 

[E.G.C.]

A very pleasant good Monday morning to everyone at the Canteen and to all our military at home and abroad. Thanks for your service to our country.

((HUGS))Good morning, Ladies. Thanks for this morning's thread, Star. How's it going?

[E.G.C.]

A very pleasant good Monday morning to everyone at the Canteen and to all our military at home and abroad. Thanks for your service to our country.

((HUGS))Good morning, Ladies. Thanks for this morning's thread, Star. How's it going?

[E.G.C.]

A very pleasant good Monday morning to everyone at the Canteen and to all our military at home and abroad. Thanks for your service to our country.

((HUGS))Good morning, Ladies. Thanks for this morning's thread, Star. How's it going?

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[beachn4fun]

Good morning, Canteen.

Good morning to our

Military, our Allies, and their families.

Thank you, Star, for preparing
the Canteen for today's activities.
WOW, what an awesome story of another American hero!
R I P Joseph Beyrle
Job well done!
I found this interesting piece:

It is interesting to wonder if he ever
thought of his old comrade, Samusenko,
the woman who saved his life.
Sadly, she died some 70 km outside of Berlin,
run over by friendly tank caterpillar tracks in the dark.
Beyrle had said she was
a symbol for Russian courage and fortitude.
He, undoubtedly, a symbol of the same for the Americans.

I hope everyone had a grand weekend.
Our weather was springish, so
we had more melting, but
the piles are still everywhere.

I've been 3 months straightening out
my insurance and retirement issues.
I believe I have finally gotten it done as best I can.

Too all you young ones out there:
save, save, and save as much as you can.
Don't depend on the government to do
what's in your best interest.

Gotta make my rounds;
I have an early morning appointment
and will run a few errands while I'm out and about.

But please stay right where you are.
Chat up the military or a family member.
No need to fret...you know I'll be back!

The FR Canteen is

Come in and sit for a while.
There's always plenty of coffee, tea,
pancakes, conversation, silliness,
and plain old BS

REMEMBER THEM ~ DEFENDERS OF FREEDOM

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT

Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allied military and the family members of the above. Honoring those who have served before.

[MEG33]

GOOD MORNING TO THE CANTEEN

What a great story of hero,Joseph R. Beyrle, Kathy!

I WISH YOU A GREAT WEEK
*HUGS*

[E.G.C.]

((HUGS))Good morning, Beach. How’s it going?

[M Kehoe]

Good morning.

Ya'all do a great job with the Canteen.

5.56mm

[SandRat]

[beachn4fun]

Good morning Meg ((HUGS))

Happy Monday

[beachn4fun]

Good morning EG ((HUGS))

All is well. Breakfast done and dressed and ready for my morning appointment.

Howz it out your way?

[beachn4fun]

OMG! Ain’t that the truth! Especially having to deal with them on the roads.

Good morning SR ((HUGS))

Happy Monday

[SandRat]

Winter storm threatens Monday’s commute

A fast-moving weather system that is expected to bring snow and wind gusts up to 60 miles per hourcould make driving conditions hazardous early Monday morning.

Chris Rasmussen, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Tucson, said Sunday the weather front was expected to arrive in Cochise County around 3 a.m. and move through the area dumping accumulations of 1 to 3 inches of snow on elevations above 4,500 feet.

He said a High Winds Warning has been issued for Sierra Vista and Fort Huachuca, meaning winds could exceed 30 mph with gusts of more than 60 mph.

[E.G.C.]

It’s going OK. Enjoyed some nice weather and some lake time with Bo yesterday. One more nice day, then it turns cooler.

[MEG33]

Glad you enjoyed some spring like weather! It was 81 here yesterday...winter returns tomorrow.
Happy Monday To You

[PROCON]

Happy Monday Beachie!

Well, we did get rain on Friday after all, but the rest of the weekend was sunny and pleasant.

Son came over Saturday to eat and hang out.

And next Saturday I'm heading to Seattle to visit daughter, she has a few fix-it jobs for me to do.

I've been avoiding the political forums lately, just getting an early burn-out on all matters political.

Not much planned other than seeing what the part time job market has to offer.

Have a great day!

[luvie]

Shhhhh....I'm hiding from Monday!
...AND work!
Enjoying my kids and grandgirls!

[Callie]
It's pretty chilly and sunny here!
No snow here, Sandy!
Hope all of YOU have a Mahv'lus Monday!
And [you at work] have an easy day!
((((hugs))))

[E.G.C.]

((HUGS))Good morning, LUV W. How’s it going?

[luvie]

Howdy, EGC! (((hugs)))

All is well here in the OKC area! Kinda chilly but it shouldn’t stop you and Bo from trekking to the lake. Probably not in shorts this time, though. LOL!

Have a great day! :)

[HiJinx]

What’s this?
A hundred just sitting here, unattended, lonely, vacant?
Gotta fix that...