Trip to Normandy-- Part 5: Fewer WW II Veterans Still Alive

The 80th anniversary will likely be one of the last big D-Day celebrations to include so many living World War II veterans.  Only about 100,000 of the more than 16 million Americans who served during the  conflict are still living.

It is truly remarkable that inside the 89-bed nursing home in tiny Durand, Illinois, there are thee in one hallway.

The military has an expression:  "We stand on the shoulders of giants."

Kohnke, Vinje and Walstrom are living embodiment: patriotic, wise, humble.  And they retain that dark sense of humor unique to those of us who have experienced the hell of war.

On this warm spring morning, Frank Khonke blurts out something on his mind:  "What if I up and die over there?"

One of his friends deadpans:  "Well, then they'll either send you home in a vase or bury you over there.  Basically the same options you had in 1944 -- and at least you'll go out doing something more fun than napping in a nursing home bed."  

There it is: the old belly laugh.

"You're right," Kohnke smiles.  "I'm going back to France."

--Cooter

Trip to Normandy-- Part 3: In Operation Market Garden

With today being the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Frank Kohnke arrived in France just after the June 6 landings, and on September 17, his 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment participated in the largest airborne operation of all time.  Operation Market Garden sought to capture bridges over the Rhine, allowing the Allies to advance into Germany through the Netherlands and enter the Ruhr industrial region, the heart of the Nazi war machine.

The operation failed and losses were catastrophic.  Nearly 4,000 Americans were killed, severely wounded or taken prisoner.

Eight decades later, Frank Kohnke does not talk about it.

"I don't like to remember the bad things," he said.  "At my age, it is better just to forget them."

--GreGen

Trip to Normandy for an Illinois WW II Veteran-- Part 2: The 'Rendezvous with Destiny'

Frank Kohnke, 98, is emblematic of a great generation that that unceremoniously answered when the nation called.  The Milwaukee teenager enlisted at age 16, lying about his birthday and forging his mother's signature.

He was desperate to be a paratrooper, a bold new military specialty that trained men to jump out of airplanes and float into combat zones under silk chutes and the cover of darkness.

"You look at it now, and you just think: "Stupid," Kohnke laughs.  "But that's the definition of being young.  I was stupid, but, oh, how I wanted to be a paratrooper."

He was assigned to the 101st Airborne, an untested unit that was stood up just days before the end of World War I and never saw action then.  But before World War II, the 101st was reorganized with parachute regiments, and it got the critical assignment of dropping deep behind enemy lines hours before the invasion.

Its commander would famously call the mission a "rendezvous with destiny."

--GreGen

Trip to Normandy Evokes a Time of Action for Illinois World War II Veteran"

From the June 2, 2024, Chicago Tribune by William A. Ryan.

Since there is a lot of news about the 80th anniversary of D-Day, I will be writing about some of it here in this blog as well, of course, in my World War II blog.

In a nursing home about three hours northwest of Chicago near the Wisconsin border on the edge of Durand, Illinois, a town nicknamed "Village of Volunteers," three WW II veterans are talking about the upcoming 80th anniversary of D-Day.

One of them will be traveling to Normandy for the occasion, though he is increasingly frail at the age of 98.  Frank Kohnke is a bit anxious about the trip.

He straightens his 101st Airborne cap and holds up a sepia-toned photograph of him back then.

At the beginning of June, the Army kicks off 10 days in Normandy to commemorate perhaps the most iconic military maneuver in modern history:  the day America and her allies stormed the beaches of France to gain a foothold in German-occupied Europe.

Tens of thousands of visitors are expected to attend, but the guests of honor will be the nearly 130 World War II veterans like Kohnke who are making the the trip on two medically-supported Honor Flights.

--GreGen

Six WW II Innovations That Changed Everyday Life-- Part 1

From April 26, 2021, History site by Becky Little.

Of course, everyone knows about atomic energy and the atom bomb which came out of the war, but there were other developments as well.  Some of these innovations date from before the war, but were able to take off because of it.

1.  FLU VACCINES

The influenza pandemic of WW I motivated the U.S. military to develop the first flu vaccine.  Scientists began to isolate the flu viruses in the 1930s and in the 1940s, the U.S. Army  helped sponsor a vaccine against them.

The U.S. approved the first vaccine for military use in 1945 and for civilian use in 1946.  One of the researchers on this project was Dr. Jonas Salk, the scientist who would later develop the vaccine used to defeat polio.

2.  PENICILLIN

Before the widespread development of antibiotics like penicillin in the U.S., even small cuts or scrapes could lead to deadly infections.  The Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, but it wasn't  until WW II that the U.S. began to produce mass amounts as a medical treatment.

Military surgeons were  amazed at how much the drug reduced pain, increased chances of survival.  The drug was considered so vital to the war effort, that the Allies produced 2.3 million doses of penicillin for the troops to prepare for the D-Day landings.

--GreGen

Destroyers at D-Day

From Wikipedia "List of Allied Ships at the Normandy Landings."

There were seven battleships, five heavy cruisers, twenty light cruisers and 139 destroyers and escorts.  Of interest, not all were British (85 ships including Canadian ones)or U.S. (40 ships).  There were also 7 Free French and 7 other Allied ones ( 2 Greek, 2 Polish and 3 Norwegian).

According to yesterday's article, three British and three U.S. destroyers were sunk at D-Day.

However, according to this list, just the USS Corry (DD-463) was sunk during the invasion on June 6, 1944.  Also a Norwegian destroyer (see below)

The others were sunk at later dates:

HMS Boadicea (H65) torpedoed and sunk June 13 June
HMS Fury (H76) mined June 21 and not repaired
USS Glennon  (DD-620)  Hit a mine June 8, sunk by German artillery June 10
USS Rich  (DE-695)  Sunk by mine June 10
HMS Swift  (G46)  Mined and sunk June 24 off Normandy

HNoMS Svenner  (GO3)   Norwegian   destroyer  Hit by German torpedo and sunk off Normandy at dawn, June 6, 1944

--Cooter

75 Years Later, D-Day-- Part 4: Showing Respect

"The younger generations don't realize enough what sacrifices those men and women made for our freedom.  The world would have been a much different place if that war had been won by Germany," said Annie Riley, a singer dressed in a World War II-era uniform of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, or WAAF's.

"I do sometimes feel they don't get the recognition they deserve, and then you come to something like this and it is just so humbling to see how loved they are and how respected they are."

The veterans and the families crowded onto the decks.  A few pulled a few pints.  The mood was festive.

This time, however, everyone was looking forward to landing in France, not like the last time.

75 Years Later, D-Day-- Part 3: This May Be the Last Commemoration for Significant Numbers of D-Day Veterans

The events of June 6, 1944, when more than 10,000 Allied servicemen were killed or wounded, still mark the lives of the men who fought that day.  The emotions are even more pronounced this year, as the dwindling group of aging World War II (the British call it the Second World War) D-Day veterans prepare to honor their lost comrades in what may be the last major commemoration that involves significant numbers of the soldiers, sailors and airmen who took part in the invasion.

But, in Dover, as the veterans prepared to set sail, there were bands and veterans from later conflicts  to see them off.  The Swing-Time Sweethearts -- a pair of singers who specialize in period standards such as "The White Cliffs of Dover" and "We'll Meet Again" set the mood.

I figured out that if a soldier at D-Day were 18 years old at the time, he'd be 93 today.

75 Years Later-- Part 2: On Board a British Destroyer That Day

Retired Rear Admiral John Roberts, 95, was a 20-year-old junior officer aboard a Royal Navy destroyer that day and bombarded the German defenses.  Three British destroyers and three American destroyers were sunk on D-Day, but Roberts downplayed the danger he faced.

"I was in a ringside seat, as it were, watching the coast being bombarded by bombers, battleships; everything was firing at the shore.  But the fact is that it was a success, and we knew that really by the end of that day.  We caught the Germans by surprise."

75 Years Later, D-Day Veterans Cruise Back to Landing Beaches-- Part 1

From the June 5, 2019, Chicago Tribune by Danica Kirka.

Retired British Rear Admiral John Roberts, 95,  got back into the military side of his life quite easily as he boarded a ship bound for Normandy, France, and events marking the 75th anniversary of D-Day.  He had his white beret in place, a chestful of medals and began inspecting Sea Cadets line up for him.  Then, he got on a boat, just hoping that after being away from the sea for 40 years that he wouldn't get seasick.

Roberts and about 300 other veterans of the Normandy invasion left Dover Sunday for a six-day trip that will take them back to where they were all those years ago.  They will cruise to Dunkirk and Poole before arriving in Portsmouth, England where British Prime Minster Theresa May and Donald Trump will join other world leaders for a commemoration of D-Day on Wednesday.

They will then leave Portsmouth Harbor that evening and arrive in Normandy the next morning, retracing that famous crossing they made in 1944.

June 6, 1944-- D-Day: Other Events That Happened on June 6 Through the Years

Today marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day here in the United States.  In most of Europe, June 6 was yesterday because of the international dateline.

From the June 6, 2019, Chicago Tribune "On June 6."

Here are some other events that took place on June 6.

1918--  The World War I battle of Belleau Wood, which resulted in a U.S. victory over the Germans in France.  This was a great day in the history of the USMC.

1925--  Walter Percy Chrysler founded the Chrysler Corporation.

1933--  The first drive-in movie theater opened in Camden, New Jersey.

1942--  Japanese forces retreated in the World War II Battle of Midway, regarded as the turning point in the war in the Pacific.

1944--  Allied forces launched their invasion of Europe, landing on the beaches of France in what became known as D-Day.

--Cooter

D-Day: 70 Years Ago Today

From the front page of today's Chicago Tribune "For D-Day vets, history still vivid" by Mitch Smith.

"Hank Rossetti clutched a black-and-white snapshot showing five young World War II veterans enjoying a meal and grinning for the camera.  'The guy in the middle is the only one still alive,' Rossetti said.

"The guy in the middle was Rossetti.

"Seventy years ago, the smooth-faced teenager with a white medic's band tied to his arm parachuted into the Nazi stronghold of Normandy, France.  That day, D-Day, marked the beginning of the end of Adolf Hitler's reign of terror.

"Rossetti still drives his car, walks around his Southwest Side home without a cane and recalls the horrors of World War II vividly.  But, he's part of an increasingly exclusive club."

To Be Continued in My other Blogs Today As I mark the 70th Anniversary of The Longest Day.

Dead Page: Developed Radar in World War II

LEE DAVENPORT, 95

Physicist who developed radar that helped the United States and Allies win key battles during World War II.

Mr. Davenport was among hundreds of scientists working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Radiation Laboratory, even before the entrance of the country into the war.

developed the SCR-584 system, letters standing for Signal Corps Radio, a microwave radar built into a semitrailer with a parabola on top that tracked enemy planes and helped direct anti-aircraft batteries.

Used with great effectiveness against the German Air Force and at Anzio, Italy in 1944.

In 1944, Mr. Davenport went to England to waterproof the trailers which were floated ashore at Normandy during the June 6, 1944, D-Day invasion. Later, he was sent to France to continue developing applications for the radar. He was classified as a captain in the Signal Corps, otherwise, had he been captured by the Germans as a civilian, he would have been considered a spy.

Born in 1915.

One of the Greatest Generation.

Beautiful Normandy Still Bears Scars-- Part 2

Ten miles west of Arromaches is the Longue-sur-Mer Gun Battery which is four German casemates and the only original coastal artillery still in place. Here was a place where Germans kept watch on the English Channel.

In the nearby American Cemetery at St. Laurent, just above Omaha Beach, are nearly 10,000 graves of US soldiers who gave their lives to free Europe. The cemetery's visitors center has a database with the story of every US serviceman who died in Normandy.

There is a path from the center down to the beach where the highest casualty rates of the invasion occurred. During good weather, the beach is filled with people on holiday, but other times it is tranquil.

The most-heavily fortified German position on the coast was at Pointe du Hoc where the place was bombed heavily before 300 hand-picked US Army Rangers scaled the cliffs. Today, visitors can see smashed German bunkers and bomb craters. Picknicking is forbidden here as it is considered a gravesite.

Steves also recommends a trip to the Memorial Museum at Caen, the first large city liberated by the Allies.

A Definite Stop for Me If I Ever Can Afford to Go Back to Europe. --Cooter

Beautiful Normandy Still Bears Scars-- Part 1

From the June 5th Chicago Tribune by Rick Steves.

Earlier this month we observed the 67th anniversary of D-Day. Two years ago there was a huge observance held in Normandy, France. It is unlikely that too many of the veterans will be able to mark the 70th anniversary.

The region of Normandy remains particularly fond of Americans. Steves remarked that while there, an elderly French man approached him and sang a few bars of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

The Normandy sites are spread along 75 miles of coastline and it takes a full day to explore them. Steves suggest a rental car or a minivan tour. "As you travel the narrow lanes of this still-rural area, you get a taste of the boldness, complexity and hardships of the Allied undertaking."

A good place to start the tour is at the town of Arromache. Here, the Allies built a make-shift harbor and in just 12 days, positioned massive concrete platforms and built roads nearly a mile long that floated on pontoons. It was here that more than 300,000 more troops and equipment came ashore after the initial fighting. There is a small D-Day Landing museum in the town.

The sheer magnitude of this supply effort is amazing. Without new supplies, amminition and troops, the tenuous Allied toe-hold in Normandy could not have been sustained.

More to Come. --DaCoot

D-Day Anniversary: 67 Years Ago

"Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark on the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you..."

The beginning of US General Dwight D. Eisenhower's order of the day for June 6, 1944. The invasion of Normandy would be the largest military operation the world had yet seen.

As he met with the men of the 101st Airborne Division before they boarded their planes, Eisenhower reminded them that the allies would accept "nothing less than full victory."

But, I have seen his announcement that he had had prepared to make had the invasion failed. Glad he didn't have to make THAT announcement.

The Longest Day. --DaCoot

Some More on the German Occupation of the British Channel Islands

The Channel islands are located near the French coast at the east end of the English Channel.

German forces began occupation in July 1940 and it continued until May 9, 1945, the day after the official German surrender in Berlin. During occupation, the Germans built massive fortifications facing toward Britain, many bunkers and observation towers still exist and some have been turned into museums.

Nearly 2,000 Channel inhabitants were deported. Those who were Jewish were sent to concentration camps.

So strong were the German defenses, that the islands were bypassed on D-Day and no attempt made to attack them afterwards. The food supply to the German occupiers was cut off and starvation loomed. This, unfortunately was also bad for the civilian population.

A little-Known Aspect of the War. --DaCoot

Lt. Smith's Remains Found 66 Years Later

From the Feb. 11th Sydney Morning Herald.

RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) Flight Lt. Henry Smith's Spitfire was shot down June 11, 1944, five days after D-Day, while flying a mission in northern France.

He tried to crash land his damaged plane but came down in the Orne River upside-down and he apparently died strapped into his cockpit. The remains of his plane were spotted by a couple walking along the river at low tide back in November.

This April, his remains will be buried at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery at Ranville in Normandy.

There is a chance that the RAAF might be interested in the remains of the Spitfire.

He was a member of the RAAF's 453 Squadron and had married an English girl he had met in the Women's Auxiliary Force just six months before his death.

It Is Always Great When a MIA is No Longer MIA. --Cooter

Talking About D-Day-- Part 2

Continued from Oct. 28th entry from Time Magazine Nov. 2, 2009.

This was the Lev Grossman review of a new book at the time ""D-Day" by Antony Beevor. It must be quite a book just looking at the information in the review.

Allied commanders knew that Omaha Beach was going to be the hardest to take because of its curve (great for crossfire) and imposing cliffs. Bombers were supposed to soften the defenses, but attacked too late and, for fear of hitting attackers, missed the bunkers altogether. "All it's done is wake them up!" remarked one officer.

The attack on Omaha Beach succeeded partly to the bombardment by destroyers and the courage and determination of the soldiers. But, as Beevor says, the purpose of valor is usually to make up for someone else's stupidity. (This would seem to hold true for all wars.

The crossing of the English Channel, alone involved the assemblage of the largest fleet of shops ever assembled, almost 5,000.

This large book, 592 pages, which would mean it would take me forever to read it, is the first comprehensive account in twenty years. Beevor had access to a lot of new material though there are no major revelations, though many surprises in his account.

More to Come, Hopefully Not in Two Months. --Cooter

Talking About D-Day-- Part 1-- Sherman DD Tanks

From the November 2, 2009, Lev Grossman Time Magazine review of Anthony Beevor's new book "D-Day."

Five thousand yards offshore June 6, 1944, a cluster of ships was waiting along the French coastline between Vierville-sur-Mer and Ste.-Henorine-des-Pertes which had now been code-named Omaha Beach for D-Day purposes.

Two companies from the 741st Tank Battalion were waiting to drive their tanks ashore. These were no ordinary tanks, but Sherman DDs (duplex-drive) which, along with standard features, had floatation devices and propellers.

Even under best conditions, they barely floated, but the seas this morning were very heavy. They launched those 5,000 yards away and 27 of the 32 ended up on the bottom of the English Channel. In the opening scenes of "Saving Private Ryan" you hear Tom Hanks yelling "We got no DD tanks on the beach!"

Of the five that survived, three of them had their launching mechanisms jam and they were landed directly on the beach. In all, 33 men drowned.

I don't recall the line from the movie and had never heard of these tanks, but it was an interesting concept for a new weapon.

Much More to Come. --DaCoot