US AIRBORNE
FRANCE
The General Eisenhower visits the paratroopers of the 101st before their big jump.
This aerial photo taken before D-Day shows us some of the 101st's objectives. Exits 2, 3, and 4, the Douve River, La Madeleine, and further away Carentan. We can clearly see the flooded areas...
Upottery base, evening of June 5th, two paratroopers from the 101st are finishing the setup of their equipment.
Paratroopers of the 101st in a C-47 before their drop over Normandy.
This paratrooper is a radio operator because he's equipped with the base of the transmitter's radio antenna.
This stunning color photo shows a heavily loaded paratrooper of the 101st, carrying an M9 bazooka in its case, boarding a C-47. A paratrooper’s full gear could weigh up to 82 kilograms.
Privates C.C. Ware and C.R. Plaudo are making the final adjustments to their ritual face paint, typical of the Mohican tribe. Their hair has also been cut in an Indian style, and one can only imagine the reaction of the Germans, as well as the civilians, when these soldiers emerged from the night, disguised in such a way.
These Wacos are on an English airfield, awaiting D-Day.
Hamlet of Ecoqueneauville, June 6, 1944, the Americans are finally here! Immense joy can be seen on the faces of these French people!"
These men of the 101st Airborne are supplying the local population with canned goods. Battle of Normandy – Summer 1944.
Paratroopers are fraternizing with the locals in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont.
Crash of a Horsa glider; the condition of the wreckage explains the violence of the impact and the absence of survivors.
Paratrooper in conversation with a French civilian during the Normandy campaign.
Ranoville, June 6, 1944 – Paratroopers from different units are gathered. Although the censor has obscured the division emblem, we can recognize on the helmets men from the 506th PIR (in the center and in profile) and the 377th PFAB (in front to the left). In the foreground, a Renault UE carrier, of French origin, recovered and used by the Germans, is now in the hands of the American paratroopers.
Paratrooper displaying a captured trophy: a Nazi flag. St. Marcouf, France, June 8, 1944.
In Carentan, these paratroopers have recovered a Kettenkrad abandoned by the Germans.
These men from the reinforcements of the 101st are packed into a barge that will take them to Utah Beach. They are likely from the 1st Battalion of the 401st Glider Infantry Regiment.
American light artillery towed at the intersection of Holgate Street and RN 13 in Carentan, with numerous GIs, including paratroopers from the 101st Airborne. Across from them is the front of the café-restaurant Désiré Ingouf, featuring German road signs. Normandy – Carentan – June '44.
Place de la République, paratroopers from the 101st US Airborne Division are seated with children at the foot of the World War I memorial, where the American flag is flying. The second-to-last paratrooper on the right is wearing the 'E' of the 326th Airborne Engineer Battalion on his helmet. Normandy – Carentan – June '44.
Liberation of Lower Normandy during the summer of 1944, in the American sector. A technical sergeant and a member of the 101st Airborne inspect a ruined Norman house.
Somewhere in a Norman field, German prisoners under the guard of a paratrooper are digging graves for soldiers who died in the fighting.
Paratroopers riding on a German Kubelwagen are crossing Carentan.
Hollande
These Wacos landed safely on the LZ during Operation Market Garden.
Paratroopers over Holland during Operation Market Garden.
Dutch resistance fighters indicate the enemy's position on a map (photo taken near Eindhoven).
These members of the resistance pose in front of the cathedral in Eindhoven with paratroopers from the 101st.
These Dutch civilians are helping a paratrooper from the 101st repair his M1 rifle.
Paratroopers from the 101st patrolling the streets of Arnhem.
BELGIQUE
As the men arrive, they are loaded onto a tarp-less 10-ton trailer, towed by a tractor.
McAuliffe visits the front.
These paratroopers from the 101st are heading to the front.
Exceptional and unpublished photo, taken from the hill facing east towards Bizory on December 19, 1944. The Bois Saint-Jacques is on the left.
Original document delivered to McAuliffe at 11:30 AM on December 22, '44. It was presumably typed by the Germans on a captured American typewriter. The text of the message reads:
'To the American commander of the besieged city of Bastogne.
The fortunes of war are changing. This time, the American forces in Bastogne are surrounded by powerful German units. Several armored units have crossed the Ourthe near Ortheuville, conquered Marche, and reached Saint Hubert, surpassing Hompré, Sibret, and
'To the American commander of the besieged city of Bastogne.
The fortunes of war are changing. This time, the American forces in Bastogne are surrounded by powerful German units. Several armored units have crossed the Ourthe near Ortheuville, conquered Marche, and reached Saint Hubert, surpassing Hompré, Sibret, and
Christmas message distributed in the foxholes to all those encircled in Bastogne. It essentially says:
'Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noël!
Joyful? You might ask, in what way?
We are fighting, we are cold, we are far from home.
That’s true, but we have reason to be proud of the work accomplished with our brave friends from the 10th Armored Division, the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion, and others. We have successfully halted the attacks launched against us from the north, east, south, and west..
'Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noël!
Joyful? You might ask, in what way?
We are fighting, we are cold, we are far from home.
That’s true, but we have reason to be proud of the work accomplished with our brave friends from the 10th Armored Division, the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion, and others. We have successfully halted the attacks launched against us from the north, east, south, and west..
GIs from the 101st are observing the supply drop.
Above the American lines around Bastogne, the airlift heading towards the city puts on an impressive display. The C-47s not only brought weapons, ammunition, essential food supplies, and medicine, but these drops also provided moral support for the GIs, weary from fighting and freezing cold.
As soon as the parachutes barely touched the ground, the first paratroopers were already ready to hide them.
As soon as the parachutes barely touched the ground, the first paratroopers were already prepared to hide them.
The last air supply delivers 10 tons of medicine by gliders.
The last air supply brings in 10 tons of medicine by gliders.
December 31, '44 – Troops from the 101st moving out of Bastogne.
Brigadier General Anthony C. McAuliffe awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by General Patton on December 29, 1944.
General Maxwell Taylor joins his men. Here we see him shaking hands with General McAuliffe at his headquarters in the center of Bastogne.
General Maxwell Taylor joins his men. Close-up of the previous photo.