On Monday, July 4, 2016, our boys of the 507th PIR recreated a little piece of history as we marched through the streets of Omaha's Historic Field Club Neighborhood. 73 years ago on May 23, 1943, sixteen 507th troopers and their mascot dog, Geronimo, jumped for 25,000 spectators in Omaha. The jump was done in conjunction with the Field Club Neighborhood Dog Show. For this occasion we chose to represent the men of the 507th as they would have looked in the towns and fields of Normandy following their D-Day jump. We wore our M42 jump suits with full field gear and even blackened our faces. We did two loops around the crowded parade route directly behind the 1820's reenactors from Fort Atkinson State Historical Park. We took some really great photos in front of the Westminster Presbyterian Church which we all thought resembled an old church somewhere in Normandy. We were happy that all six of us were able to be a part of this special event and hopefully we can do it again next year!
0 Comments
The evening of Saturday, June 4, the boys of B Company, 507th Parachute Infantry dropped into Normandy, France near the established 507th objective on Drop Zone T. The men of the company were scattered over a wide area due to heavy German flak as well as poorly marked drop zones. Fortunately, some of the troopers were able to find each other and form a small squad led by Staff Sergeant Krelle. No officers were found in the immediate area. After reconnoitering near a German radar station, our small band pushed to the west toward our main objective, a battery of German 88s which had been discovered by recent arial photo reconnaissance. Upon reaching the location hidden in a grove of cedar trees, we found that the guns had been moved out before our arrival. Our squad decided to hold up for a few hours to see if more lost paratroopers would arrive. We then pushed to the south and found a defensible position where we dug in for the night. Intermittent German gunfire was heard in the distance so Cpl. Hazard, Pvt. Paul, and SSgt. Krelle scouted the area to see what we could find. We engaged a small band of German troops near a ridge line to the northeast of our position and then headed back to our lines. We caught a few hours of shut eye before the sun's first rays rose to greet us. We then grabbed our gear and pushed to the north in search of the rest of the 507th. A short while later, we encountered another group of Germans who we captured and searched for intelligence. They didn't have much on them but we did enjoy liberating a pretty nice flag of theirs as a war trophy.
The boys of B Company, 507th PIR gathered for a rather unique event the evening of Sunday, April 24. We assembled all six of our reinforced M42 jump uniforms to treat them with a canvas waterproofing solution called Canvak. The whole purpose of this event was to get our jump suits to more closely resemble the gas impregnated uniforms worn by the real 507th guys on D-Day. The CC-2 gas impregnating chemicals used on the uniforms would darken the color of the fabric, seal up the fibers making them less breathable, and most noticeably caused the uniforms to stink! We used both a dunk tank technique as well as a hand-brushed method to really get the uniforms coated. Once finished, we let them hang dry while we relaxed over some cool refreshments. All of our hard work was supervised by our new unit mascot, our favorite Brittany Spaniel, Buzz.
On Sunday, April 10, the boys of B Company, 507th PIR met up at Ft. Atkinson, Nebraska for our April training event. The weather was wonderful with periods of sun and clouds and temperatures pushing into the 60s. Our training began with some good ole' fashioned rifle drill on the parade ground to loosen up the squad. Luke then instructed us on the Douglas C-47 followed by Will teaching on the various classes of uniforms and headgear. Matt quizzed us on the finer points of the M1 Garand Rifle and Jon gave us a quick refresher on first aid in the field. Staff Sergeant Krelle led the squad in a rousing rendition of "Blood Upon the Risers" followed by a quick break for some K-Rations at the fort's flagpole. Afterwards we did some field maneuvers around the grounds of the fort. We stumbled upon an old barn that served as a really great backdrop for some unit photos and we visited the fort's Memorial to the Fallen. We ran through a first person exercise that each trooper completed in advance to further explore the life they lived as a World War II soldier. And finally, we ended the day making plans for the coming months. We crammed a lot of great activities into five hours and really enjoyed our time together. A final highlight of the day were the promotions of Corporal Hazard and Private First Class Hinz. Congratulations paratroopers!
A few of the World War 2 Guys put on a display at the Papillion, Nebraska Chick-fil-A on Saturday, March 19. The event was organized by Eli in conjunction with Chick-fil-A's Veterans Appreciation Day. Eli, Jon, Eric and Jeff manned a small display table from 11:00AM to 2:00PM. We got to meet a few folks and talk about some World War II equipment and personal items. The highlight of the day was definitely high-fiving the Chick-fil-A cow and snapping a quick photo of Eli with the cow. It was a nice little event and a chance to get in front of the public for a few hours.
The boys of B Company, 1st Battalion, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment kicked off the month of March with an exciting and educational training day on Sunday, March 6. Our training was intended to simulate the 507th's arrival in Alliance, Nebraska in March 1943. The weather was unseasonably warm and sunny with temperatures pushing into the 70s by the afternoon. Our uniform of the day consisted of HBT Coveralls with basic paratrooper field gear including the Service Gas Mask in the MIVA1Bag. SSgt. Krelle led the training with Sgt. Green, Pfc. Hazard, Pfc. Williams, Pvt. Hinz and Pvt. Paul forming up the squad. The day started out with some basic drill with and without arms. We pulled out some old cadence calls as we marched along dusty gravel roads. We had classroom instruction time on the mission of parachute troops, hand signals, knowing our enemy, and Sgt. Green demonstrated the use of the Service Gas Mask. We performed a road march all the way to the Missouri River where we took a break over some K-Rations, canned peaches and chocolate bars. Afterwards, we brushed up on squad formations in the field as well as dropping to a prone position from a run. We finished our instruction by simulating the attack of an enemy position and clearing a linear obstacle. When all was said and done we had marched over 3.5 miles throughout the day. It was a top notch training event and a great way to kick off 2016 in the field. This was merely one step on the 507th's way to the eventual invasion of Europe!
|
WELCOMERead all about the great events that the World War 2 Guys take part in throughout the year. CATEGORIES
All
ARCHIVES
March 2024
|