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 the church steeple.
It was an odd welcome for the liberators. Impaled by the faith of the French, Steele struggled to free himself. He dropped his knife trying to cut his way out and decided he might survive if he played dead. The Germans let him hang for their amusement, a silent witness to the carnage below. As the Allies advanced, he was taken prisoner. Steele later escaped from the Germans and rejoined his division after US troops of the 3rd Battalion captured the village.
Twelve men of F-Company were killed, wounded or captured that day as they parachuted into the town square. All the while, Private Steele watched, hanging helplessly from his perch as the battle became an Allied victory.
Sainte Mere Eglise would become known to history as the first village liberated during the Normandy invasion. Private Steele was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor and a Purple Heart for being wounded.
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 the church steeple.
It was an odd welcome for the liberators. Impaled by the faith of the French, Steele struggled to free himself. He dropped his knife trying to cut his way out and decided he might survive if he played dead. The Germans let him hang for their amusement, a silent witness to the carnage below. As the Allies advanced, he was taken prisoner. Steele later escaped from the Germans and rejoined his division after US troops of the 3rd Battalion captured the village.
Twelve men of F-Company were killed, wounded or captured that day as they parachuted into the town square. All the while, Private Steele watched, hanging helplessly from his perch as the battle became an Allied victory.
Sainte Mere Eglise would become known to history as the first village liberated during the Normandy invasion. Private Steele was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor and a Purple Heart for being wounded.
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