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Howard Huebner of the 82nd Airborne Div, sent this to me.
That evening we returned to St. Mere Eglise for dinner with many WWII paratroopers and glidermen. Hanging from the steeple tower of the XIII century church, the replica of a 82nd Airborne Paratrooper named John Steele (F/505th), who on D-Day found himself dangling precariously above the brutal carnage and death below. Inside the ancient cathedral, are the magnificent stained-glass windows portraying Mary and the Christ-child, protected by American airborne paratroopers.
During the festive evening dinner in St. Mere Eglise, we sat with a Howard Huebner, my son's adopted grandfather for the evening, and his lovely wife Betty. Howard fought with C-Company, 3rd Battalion of the 507th PIR, which was attached to the 82nd Airborne for the Normandy campaign. Huebner was one of the brave men who made the epic charge across the La Fiere causeway. In a recent letter Howard reminisced:
The 507th was stationed in Nottingham, England. During the days leading up to D-Day, we would study the intricate sand tables that depicted the Normandy countryside. All the roads, fields, rivers, farmhouses, and villages were accurately displayed, as well as the landing beaches. At night, we slept in the base's large hangers. To stay busy, we played cards and had baseball and football games. Our morale was high and for most of us, we just wanted to get started on our mission to defeat the Germans and win the war in Europe.
While during the flight over the Channel for the invasion of Normandy, we talked, joked, laughed, and sang paratrooper songs. (A Hell of A Way to Die!) Once over the coastline of France, the seriousness and the fireworks began. We could hear the near misses and shrapnel hitting our plane; it was like a hailstorm! When we went over the drop-zone, I could see a plane burning on the ground and we were quite low. Our jumpmaster hollered to the pilot, "get this son-of-a-bitch up" so we could safely make our jump. When the green light came on, we were out the door in a matter of seconds! We must have jumped at about four hundred feet. My chute opened and I quickly hit the ground, cutting my chin open during the process. I landed in an open-field near a farmhouse that the Germans were using as a barracks. As I quickly cut myself out of my chute, I could hear the Germans hollering, "Muck-schnell toot sweet Americans!" as they started up their motorcycles and headed away from us toward the little town of Pouppeville. I landed about 200-feet from a flooded field and if I had landed in the water, I would have drowned because I can't swim!
Before daylight came we ran into a group of 506th and 501st paratroopers. Together we secured the little town of Pouppeville and took many German prisoners. At around noon, an American tank had come up from Utah Beach. We then marched the German prisoners off to Utah Beach, as we picked up our wounded and dead along the way.
We gave our friends the best seat in the house, right on the beach, enclosed in their own barbwire fencing. It was something to look out and see all the equipment coming ashore and the vast number of ships in the water. One German complained about being on the beach as the Germans were still shelling us at the time. He said to me, "We may be killed! " and so I said to him, "You so and so started this years ago and now you're going to get a be bellyful of it!" He was a German officer and I asked him where he learned his English. The German officer replied that he had attended college in New York! I can remember a truck coming up on the beach that was loaded with ammunition. A German 88 shell hit it, resulting in the loudest explosion I ever heard in my life! I stayed on Utah Beach that night and the next morning found and rejoined my unit, C-Company, 507th PIR as we headed for the La Fiere bridge and causeway.
The 505th PIR defended the bridge and causeway for two long and costly days. The big push to take and keep it open for the Americans to cross came as a result of the 325th GIR and the 507th PIR.. Thus the 505th was pulled back and the 325th and the 507th took over. The night before the attack on June 8th , about six of us from the 507th waded across the "swamp" as the French people called it. The fields were completely flooded by the Germans right up to the causeway. The water came up to the level of our chins and at times and I thought we were all going to drown. We finally made it up into German territory only to see what armament they had. We could hear the Germans talking on one side of the hedgerow while we were on the other.
The next morning our company commander Captain Robert Rae received orders from General Gavin the 82nd Airborne Commander, to take the bridge and causeway, after the 325th had suffered horrendous casualties in making the attempt. We had some cover for a few feet, a few knocked-out tanks, and then nothing at all but sure luck and the good Lord with us. It was running, yelling, and firing all the way! When you see your buddies lying there and you can't help them, you just had to push forward! We were trained to kill or be killed and that's what took us across the causeway, our training, guts, and determination! The La Fiere bridge and causeway cost about five hundred American casualties. When I think about the fight at La Fiere, it brings back some bad memories and horrible visions. The cost was terribly high.
During one of the ceremonies that we attended with Mr. Huebner, a kind and grateful citizen of Normandy presented Howard with an American M-3 trench knife. During World War II, as a young Norman boy, he found the lost Airborne knife on a field near his home. Howard was very moved by this gracious gift.
Howard Huebner is also featured in the outstanding movie documentary and touching tribute, D-DAY: Down to Earth - Return of the 507th.
THIS WAS SENT TO ME FROM A FELLOW THAT WAS IN FRANCE IN JUNE OF 2004 FOR THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF D-DAY. HIS DAD WAS IN THE PARATROOPS ALSO.
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