D-Day's Sitting Duck
June 6, 2016 D-Day Paratrooper private John M. Steele didn't expect to attend church that morning. His assignment had been straight forward: Jump out of the plane, sail to earth, land near the little village of Sainte Mere Eglise and join his unit. It was June 6, 1944, and Steele was part of the advance wave of soldiers who would storm the beaches of Normandy and begin the fight to eliminate the German occupation of Europe. The plan called for units from F-company to quietly secure the countryside to prepare for the larger landing and cut off German retreat from the beaches. It was some five to six hours before the beach landings. The orders had been changed twice by invasion commanders due to concern over the great concentration of German troops and uncertain weather conditions. It was these conditions that made Steele miss his mark. He found himself landing directly over the town filled with German infantry. He was shot in the foot as his parachute lines got tangled on th...