US AIRBORNE

All my thanks to Douglas Dillard for answering all my questions as for his kindness and his availability. Thanks also to Hélène for the translations and always being present.

Douglas "Doug Clark Dillard" was born on September 14th, 1925 in Atlanta in Georgia.

He had a very happy childhood during the Great Depression.

"I was well loved by my parents and grandparents. Everyone suffered during the great depression. My family gathered together and shared war ever we had to make life a bit more pleasant."

His father was already military, when the war began, he was in North Africa.

"My father was with the 62d US Army Signal Battalion during the invasion in N. Africa. He performed well and had no real problems."

He was at the secondary school before entering the army on July 3rd, 1942. He is 16-year-old then.

He goes volunteer for the airborne troops.

"The airborne was the newest form of warfare at that time and it attracted the young enlistees."

After a hard training, Doug is considered paratrooper. He joins the Company A of the 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion.

"I found the training very challenging but my youthful age and my desire to succeed carried me through the tough training periods."

After this period, his battalion is sent to the zone of the Panama Canal in December, 1942 to prepare an airborne assault on the island of Martinique which was under the control of the government of Vichy (pro-German) and which could be used as base for German submarines. But the politics of the island changed and the government supports the General de Gaulle. The mission of the 551st PIB was cancelled.

The men returned in the United States to get ready for the European conflict.

"We were credited with the American Anti-submarine campaign in the American Theater."

In May, 1944, the 551st is sent first of all to North Africa, then to Sicily and finally to Italy to prepare the airborne assault on the South of France the operation Dragoon. Douglas Dillard makes its first jump of fight on August 15th, 1944. The flight was made without problem, the weather was magnificent, warm and no wind. The jump was made without problem, the men of the 551st PIB engaged the fight directly.

"I was a Sergeant of communication in Company A of the 551th PIB."

"My battalion landed on the farm of Val Bourges near the city of La Motte, France, we later moved to capture the larger city of Draguignan."

As operator radio, Douglas Dillard had at his expense two operators and the equipment of transmission to be able to communicate with the battalion.

"My initial thought on this operation was the fact I would be in combat for the first time and my concern of being wounded."

"That feeling was quickly resolved when I discovered my radio equipment bundle had dropped into a tree and I with my two radio operators spent our initial time on the ground looking for that bundle, we desperately needed the radio equipment to communicate with the battalion. We finally found it and had some trouble getting it out of the trees."

During the first two days, his battalion arrested two general Germans very important, the General mayor Bieringer commanding of the zone and the Lieutenant General Neuling commanding of body of the region.

"Their capture disrupted the entire command and control structure in S. France."

In November, 1944, the battalion is removed from the front and sent by train to Laon in France. They will have no time to settle down there that the battle of the Ardennes begins.

"But, we were not really tired because we had been in the French Fort resting from the travel from S. France."

On December 21st, 1944, the 551st PIB is sent to the front and assigned to the 30th Division of Infantry strengthening the positions in and around Francorchamps, around Ster and around Stavelot in Belgium. The Christmas Day, the battalion was attached to the 82nd Airborne near Rahier in Belgium in support to the 508th PIR.

Doug in the Ardennes. December 1944.

On order of the General Gavin, the battalion executed reconnaissance missions to capture prisoners and to determine the German units which were opposite.

Of January 1st of intense fire of German artilleries slowly decimated the rows of the battalion while that this advanced through forests inhabitants of the Ardennes to strengthen positions on the West of the river Salm.

On January 8th, the 551st PIB is sent to Juslenville to rest.

"The fighting in Belgium was awful, lots of losses of really wonderful young men.

General Ridgway and Gen. Gavin visited the unit and told us the unit would be dissolved and we would be reassigned to regiments of the 82nd."

The men of the 551st PIB were assigned to the various companies of regiments, to the units which more needed it.

"I went to Company C of the 508th regiment."

"I was no longer a communications sergeant, but became a platoon sergeant with a promotion to Technical Sergeant The troopers of the company were very nice to me and I felt welcome in the new unit. I was evacuated because of frozen feet to England on 8 January 1945 so I rejoined the unit in February in Soisson, France."

It is within the 508th PIR as 1st Sergeant that finished Douglas Dillard the war.

"The 508th regiment moved to an airfield outside Paris to respond to orders to reinforce or drop in advance of Patton's Third Army, but the War ended without that happening. I and all the men were glad to hear the War was over; many just wanted to go home as soon as possible. In May 45, the 508 moved to Frankfurt and began duties to guard Eisenhower's headquarters."

"I received the Bronze Star for service in WWII."

Durant les combats, Douglas et ses camarades méprisèrent les Allemands.

"Especially the SS troops. After the War, we adjusted our mental outlook and started thinking about our peacetime role in occupied Germany."

Douglas Dillard thus returns at him, but he decides to make a career within the army.

"I immediately reenlisted in the Army with no break in service In Korea I served with the "Behind the Lines 8240th Army Unit. The unit wass called the Far East Command Liaison Detachment."

For 35 years, Douglas Dillard served under flags in the sector of "The Intelligence" and researches for piece of information on the enemy. He fought in Korea and in Vietnam then served in Europe during the cold war.

"I dropped agents and partisans all over North Korea and also served on their front line with the 1st Marine Division taking agents through the lines to collect intelligence. In Korea I was a 1st Lt, Infantry.

"I became an intelligence officer and served tours in Europe working at thetime of the Hungarian Revolution."

"In Vietnam, I worked with the CIA in the Mekong Delta of South Vietnam coordinating the attack on the Viet Cong Infrastructure I was a Lieutenant. Colonel at that time.Vietnam was very bad and we suffered many losses, but it wasdifferent war from WWII."

"I held staff positions, commanded a Battalion and two Military Intelligence Groups during my career. I also served as the Chief of US Army Military Intelligence Branch"

"I retired as a colonel in September 1977."

In 1990, he was put in the honor in Military Intelligence Hall of Fame de Fort Huachua, Arizona.

Of its uniform of time, Douglas kept nothing.

"I do have several medals and ribbons I took off of Captured Germans."

Douglas Dillard got married and had 4 girls who live quite close from his home, to Bowie, Maryland.

He continues to work for veterans' associations and specially his very first unity, the 551st PIB with which he fought during the WWII and the 8240th in Korea.

During the last 20 years, Douglas Dillard returned several times in Belgium, in France and in Germany to participate in ceremonies and remembrances.

But because of the problems of health of his wife, he did not travel any more.

"The Second War as well as the other two I fought in I consider an awful thing mankind does to itself, the losses of life and treasure is just stupid."