US AIRBORNE

Many thanks you to Delbert Townsend for giving me access to his history and also for giving me some details when I asked him. Thank you very much Del! God Bless you!

Delbert L. Townsend was born on April 6th, 1921, to Norcatur, Kansas. He spent his childhood in a farm near Danbury in Nebraska. He is awarded a diploma by the Decatur Community High School of Oberlin, Kansas in May, 1938. In August, 1939, he joined in Kansas State College and he was awarded a diploma in December, 1942 with a diploma of agricultural economy. He entered the armed at the beginning of January 1943.

 “On 15 May 1943, I was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant of Infantry and joined Company A, 194th Glider Infantry, 17th Airborne Division at Camp Mackall, North Carolina.”

Delbert Townsend was a part of a small group of non-commissioned officer to prepare the new "draftees" who arrived by train of the Camp Hoffman in North Carolina.

 “We completed our “Basic Training” and “Small Unit Training” there at Mackall. Glider training to include “Loading and Lashing” were completed with several Glider Flights out of Laurenburg Maxton Air Field. Several night flights and small unit maneuvers were completed. In early 1944 we moved to take part in the Tennessee Maneuvers. I completed Glider training at Camp Mackall and the Parachute School at Camp Forrest, Tennessee.”

Delbert Townsend was promoted 1st Lieutenant on December 21st, 1943.

Then, Delbert Townsend and his unity is sent by train to the camp Miles Standish. Over there, they embarked aboard US WAKEFIELD, toward England in August, 1944. They parked to the camp Miles Standish near Swindon.

Arrived in England, the 17th Airborne Division joined the war effort in Europe.

Delbert Townsend keeps a painful memory of a training in England:

“In preparation for possible commitment across the channel we continued our small unit and glider training. We used mainly the US CG4A gliders that would carry some 13 Soldiers, a jeep and four men or a 75mm howitzer and a crew of four. Both a single tow and a double tow were used in training.

As part of our training we were “cross training” with the British Horsa Glider. This was a large glider that could carry some 31 soldiers and two pilots. I completed Parachute School in Camp Forrest,

Tennessee and was not required to take a glider flight for pay purposes. Those individuals who did not

complete jump school at Fort Benning or Tennessee were required to participate in a glider flight every three months for pay purposes.

On 12 December, 1944, 31 members of the 17th Airborne Division, (mostly from C Company, 194th GIR) gathered at the Greenham Commons Air Base for a Horsa Glider Flight for training and pay purposes. The flight ended in a horrific crash killing all 31 Members plus the two pilots. I personally knew three of the victims quite well. Major James Klock was the 194th Regimental Surgeon. During my early days at Camp Mackall Major Klock treated me for an allergy to Poison Oak and kept me from being thrown out of the Army. Chief Warrant Officer Ira Smith was an Assistant Adjutant to Capt William Hunter. Lieutenant Charles Albury was a Platoon leader in C Company, 194th GIR who I saw almost on a daily basis.

On 12 December, 1994, through the efforts of Joe Quade, 17th Pcht Maint Co and Walt Wrzeszczynski , 194th GIR Med, a Memorial there on the former Greenham Commons Air Base was dedicated to the Memory of those 33 HEROES who perished in that terrible glider crash on 12 December, 1944. We are deeply indebted to Mr Chris Green of the Royal British Legion for his leadership in the Annual Memorial Ceremonial effort.

The Greenham Common Trust which now occupies and operates a major portion of what was the original Air Base where the Horsa glider crash occurred has been very active in the task of Remembrance and Perpetuating the Memory of our Fallen Heroes who perished in that crash. A major part of this effort is the naming of various streets, buildings, etc in the Business Park after the individuals who perished in the crash.”

During this autumn, 44, Delbert Townsend will be a part of a small group of Lieutenant of the 17th Airborne to leave joining the 82nd which is in Holland to receive an experience of the fight there.

 “I spent nearly six weeks with the 82^nd Airborne Division participating in several combat patrols.”

At the end of December 1944, the 17th Airborne Division is sent to the frontline to participate in the battle of the Ardennes. At the beginning of January, his company was placed in reserve. In the morning of January 7th, his company was aligned to pass in the attack. It will be its baptism of fire, it will be terrible!

“The weather was terrible. There was about 8 inches of snow on the ground and the temperature hovering in the mid 20s.”

“We started the attack about daylight. Lt Ed Thayer's Platoon and my Platoon were the lead units while Lt Supon’s Platoon was in Reserve. Lt (The Mouse) Wright led the Weapons Platoon. By 10:00 AM the forward movement was stopped cold by a German tank some 300 yards to our front. Lt Thayer had been wounded and we had possibly 10 men killed. Due to the cold weather our radios would not work. Lt John Jennings, our Company Executive Officer, was some 600 yards behind us but not in radio contact. Wright and I decided that one of us had to run back up the hill, some 600 yards, to get some help. Lt Wright did not want to go so I volunteered. I told the crew to watch me and if I fell and did not get up to send another volunteer. My run back up the hill was not pleasant. I would run about 10 yards then hit the ground. The machine gun bullets from the German tank were falling all around me and kicking up the snow. My run to the crest of the hill was successful. I found Lt Jennings to relay the situation in person.

At the crest of the hill, possibly 15 yards behind a small beet pile, I was explaining to Jennings our situation. I was prone on the ground and Jennings, some three feet away from me, was up on one knee. I kept telling Jennings to get down . A few moments later a mortar round exploded possibly 10 yards in front of us. Jennings was killed instantly and I was seriously wounded. The irony of my story is that Lt Wright was killed that night at nearly the same spot where I had left him that morning. Lt Jennings had two small sons, ages 5 and 7, as I recall. Lt Wright and I were both bachelors. My question that only the good Lord can answer is Why was 1st Lt Townsend spared that fateful day, 7 JANUARY, 1945, and Lt Jennings and Lt Wright taken away?”

“After nearly two months in the Hospital I worked a deal to get back to my unit, the 17th Airborne Division, in France rather than going through the Replacement Depot System. I managed to get back to the Company possibly around the 15 of March 1945.”

Of return of its stay at the hospital, in England, Delbert Townsend joins its former unit, the Company B. Further to the reorganization of the regiment, Del is finally sent to the Company A. To prepare the operation, the unities his sent to Marshaling area.

 “The Marshaling Area it was “Tent City” surrounded by a very heavily guarded barbed wire fence. The exit and entrance was very rigidly controlled.”

The men spent time preparing the equipment to learn all the details of the operation. A memory stays in minds of Delbert:

 “Lt Tyrrel  Devolin was a platoon Leader in Co A. He was an excellent leader and his men would do anything to please him. Tyrrel thought it would be great if every man in his platoon received a “Mohawk Haircut”. As a result every man in his platoon, including Lt Devolin, had Foster Lickliter, our Company barber, give each individual a  “Mohawk aircut”.     Both sides of their head  was shaved with about a one inch and a half down the middle .about an inch long. The troops in the marshaling area thought it was great but Lt Colonel Barnett thought differently. As a result Lt Devolin was disciplined and every man in his platoon had their head shaved to eliminate the “Mohawk Appearance”.

March 23rd, 1945, gliders were ready. The Glidermen received their assignments of glider. Delbert Townsend and his Captain, Stuhrman verified, again and again every glider.

Early in the morning of March 24th, 1945, the company received a substantial breakfast. Then, after a religious ceremony, they embarked on trucks, towards gliders.

Delbert Townsend noticed that gliders were attached by two to a plane tug boat.

As 1st Lieutenant, Delbert took the place of the co-pilot.

 “As the Executive Officer, Company A, 1^st Battalion, 194^th Glider Infantry, my manifest included the Company 1^st Sergeant , Robert M Kepler, and 11 other enlisted men from Company A. The Pilot was in the left seat and I was the Co-Pilot and sat in the right seat. During many training flights I had been in the right seat and learned how to follow the instructions from the Pilot  on releasing the tow rope and applying the appropriate amount of “flaps” upon landing. We loaded up and waited for take-off. ”

It was neighborhood 8 hours o'clock when its glider took the air. The flight lasted between the hour 30 at two o'clock. For these two hours, Del Townsend remembers 3 incidents which talked him of deep anxiety.

 “1. Being on the “short tow “glider it is a very uncomfortable feeling to have the long tow glider bear to their left so that their  tow rope is on the right wing of our glider. Being in the right seat I could see their tow rope banging on our right wing. Our Pilot was frantic and attempted to fly our glider further to the left and avoid the tow rope. At that time our Pilot discovered that we had lost communication with the tow plane. For reasons unknown we had no communications with the tow plane. The constructions of a glider with the aluminum tubes covered with canvas won’t stand many hard knocks. That tow rope banging on our wing was a very uncomfortable feeling. This tow rope incident happened about three times during our flight.

1. Possibly some eight to ten miles  west of the Rhine River we observed that the Rhine River had been smoked. We could still see the River but during our briefings in the Marshaling Area nothing was ever said about the Rhine River being  smoked. At our altitude of some 1,500 feet the smoke did not bother us.
2. At approximately five to seven miles from the Rhine River we saw a “British four engine Bomber”to our left front. It was at our same altitude, coming directly toward us and on fire with heave black smoke trailing the plane. About two miles or so in front of us we saw several parachutes open up so we assumed the crew had escaped. About a mile in front of us the plane went into a steep dive. When it hit the ground it exploded with a very loud bang. Just seconds later it seemed like our glider jumped about ten feet in the air. Why our glider did not disintegrate and crash is a miracle.”

Because of this cut of communication with the tug boat, the pilot of the glider of Delbert Townsend could not more than observe what the other gliders made and make the same thing. The pilot and waited him to see the first glider to fall down. Once the crossed river, they began to see the small clouds white with the flak. They were able to see the first devices in distresses.  

“As we approached our “Landing Zone” for some reason “Our tow plane pilot cut us off and the tow rope wrapped around the nose of our glider”.      Both the Pilot and I tried to release the tow rope from our glider without success. I could not see the long tow but I was concerned the tow rope, still attached to our glider, would get snagged on a tree or some other heavy object and cause us to crash. In the midst of all this confusion we had to spot our “Landing Zone” and get the glider on the ground. With the tow rope still attached I followed the instructions of the Pilot on operating the “flaps” and we made a hard landing. A bit of dirt piled up in the nose of the glider but we were able to get out of the glider with no problems. We scrambled to form a defensive position around the glider and to link up with other crews who had just landed.”

“From my perspective the first 24 to 36 hours on the ground was very chaotic. Crashed and burned out gliders were all around us as we tried to get organized. Individuals glider crews that did not land in their assigned landing zone were directed to their assigned area on the ground. News on casualties spread like wild fire. One of the first major losses that I learned about was the glider that Major Hundley, (the 1^st Battalion Executive Officer) and Lieutenant Loomis, (the Battalion S-3) plus their entire crew were killed when their glider was hit and set on fire while landing. All aboard were killed. Late in the afternoon of the 24^th the supply planes came over our area in droves dropping supplies of all kinds. Unfortunately the Anti Aircraft hit several of the supply aircraft setting them on fire and causing them to crash. One of the most disturbing sights that I personally observed was a C-47 flying over our area at possibly 1,000 feet altitude with the crew pushing our supply bundles. In the midst of the supply bundles a crewman came out of the plane with no parachute.   The sight of that crewman falling to his death will never be forgotten.  Several planes crashed while on supply missions but the crash sites were beyond our perimeter by several miles.” 

In the head of his men, Delbert Townsend secured the positions of the Company and of strengthened its positions with the aim of the attack towards the city of Munster.

March 26th, 1945, attack towards the German city begins. The enemy resistance is rather weak. During this advance, they made many prisoner.

“As we approached the outskirts of the city we noticed that the Germans had taken two trolley cars and placed them end to end to block entrance to the street. The trolleys were almost covered with dirt and extended from building to building with no room to get past them without going over the top. We were being supported by a British Tank Company. We were about 200 yards from the street block when the British Tank Commander asked Captain Jerry Stuhrman, our Company Commander “If he would like the tank to give the road block “A BIT OF A THUMPING”? Of course Jerry Stuhrman said yes.    The tank backed off about 300 yards then fired some three rounds from the main gun. After that with the block pretty much intact the Tank Commander put the main gun in “Travel Lock” and took a run at the block from about 200 yards. Not much happened so he backed off about 400 yards and made a second run at the trolleys. This time the tank went all the way through the trolley block with trolley parts flying all over.  Shortly after the attack on Munster the war was over. As we all know VE Day was 8 May, 1945.”

A little time after May 8th, 1945, the 194th GIR is moved to Duisburg on the Rhine.

The company A until the day of the victory had.

At the end of the war, he was transferred to the 82nd Airborne Division in June, 1945 for short period in Berlin. 

 “I returned to the States with the 82nd Airborne for the big parade in New York City in January 1946. Following the parade I moved with the Division to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where I spent the next five years in various airborne assignments. I accepted my Regular Army Commission in February 1947.”

The rest of its military service is rather standard for a career officer. He finished Advanced Infantry School, Command and General Staff College, and Industrial College of the Armed Forces. During this "school" period, he returned in Europe, to Berlin. Then, he made 13 months in Korea, 3 years to become ROTC at the university of Kansas and then 12 years to the Pentagon in 3 steps separated.

 “I did manage to spend a year in Fort Rucker, Alabama learning how to fly an airplane and a helicopter. This was followed by two tours of duty in Vietnam with the 52nd Aviation Battalion and the 16th Aviation Group. I retired from the US Army on 1 July 1973, in the grade of Colonel, after nearly 31 years of service.”

The decorations of Delbert Townsand include Glider and Parachute Wing, the Senior Pilot Wings, the Combat Infantry Badge with 3 Battle Star for the European Campaign. He was decorated with Silver Star, with a Distinguished Flying Cross, with a Purple Heart, with 4 awards for Legion of Merit, of two Bronze Star, of 2 Army Commendation Medals, some Air Medals, and 3 decorations of the Vietnamese army. He also made 68 jumping and he has more than 2.500 hours of flight in his asset as pilot.

These decorations and medals are in a frame situated in the ward of the Decatur High School.

After the active service and 11 years as commercial in the retailing, Delbert Townsend took civic and community activities.

“My major accomplishment to date has been the establishment of the Colonel Delbert L. Townsend Scholarship Program at the University of Nebraska Foundation and at the Kansas State University Foundation.”

These two foundations finance 8 graduates of every university during 1 the years. In October, 2007, Delbert was reelected as president of the 17th Airborne Association. In 2008, he will be to his 4th mandates.

Today, The retired Colonel Delbert Townsend life in Fort Washington in the Maryland where he participates in the community activities. (Premises Civic Community Activities) Besides, he is always very active in the " colonel Delbert L. Townsend Program" of grants.

This photo dates from the Vietnam War.
Delbert Townsend was then Colonel commanding the 16th Aviation Group.
South Vietnam - August 1969.