6Z

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A WW II Airmans Story Europe Normandy
through VE-Day
6Z
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Sources Photos by Anando
Kramer Photos Data from Into the
Valley Col. Charles H. Young, 1995 Ys Tales,
York High Year Book Tower 44, Wheaton College
year book Photos from family albums
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Anando Kramer, photographer
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Prologue 1924 to 1942
My Name is Donald Frank Beaumont
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Most Recent Flight 2004 Georgetown, Texas
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76 Years!!!
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The High School Years
Teen Years Family, Church Cars, a Girl Named
Frances
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June 1942 I graduated from
York High School Elmhurst,
Illinois
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List of York Servicemen from Classes
before 1942! Three more
classes were added by wars end.
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The War Years 1943 to 1945
1943
February 1943 Drafted 36737213
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I served in the Army Air Corps Feb. 27,
1943-Nov. 23, 1945
I served in the Troop Carrier Command
96th TCS 440th TCG Aircraft Electrical
Specialist
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Oh, What a difference 61 years makes
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96th TCS 440th TCG February 1944
August 1945 European Theater of Operations
Dropped Airborne Infantry Towed GC-4A Horsa
Gliders Dropped parapack re-supplies Hauled
gasoline jerry cans Repatriated wounded POWs
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96th TCS 440th TCG February 1944
August 1945 European Theater of Operations
D-Day Normandy Op. Neptune Southern France
Op. Dragoon Holland Op. Market
Garden Bastogne Battle of the Bulge Rhine
Crossing Op. Varsity
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February 27, 1943
Chicago, Illinois Induction Physical
Camp Grant, Rockford, Illinois
Induction into army
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March 1943 Assigned to Army Air
Corps
Kessler Field Biloxi, Mississippi
Basic training
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March 1943 Kessler Field Biloxi,
Mississippi
Basic training
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May 1943 Aircraft Mechanics School
Amarillo Field Amarillo, Texas
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August 1943 Aircraft Electrical
Specialist School
Chanute Field, Illinois
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August 1943 Chanute Field, Illinois
E C D A M O F P N
Failed eye exam Not qualified for B-29 flight
crew
Aircraft Electrical Specialist School headed
for B-29 in the Pacific?
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December 1943 Assigned to
the Troop Carrier Command
440th Troop Carrier Group 96th Troop
Carrier Squadron 6Z The C-47 transport!
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Douglas DC-3
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Cockpit of a C-47 Dakota
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December 1943 Sedalia Army Air Field, Missouri
440th Troop Carrier Group 96th Troop
Carrier Squadron 6Z
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440th Troop Carrier Group 96th Troop
Carrier Squadron 6Z
December 1943 Sedalia Army Air Field, Missouri
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January 1, 1944 Pope Field, Fort
Bragg North Carolina
Training with Airborne Infantry
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January 1, 1944 Pope Field, Fort
Bragg North Carolina
GC - 4A glider
Training with Airborne Infantry
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Vs of Vs in Trail
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February 1944 Baer Field, Fort
Wayne, Indiana
Ground Echelon leaves for England Via Camp
Shanks, Orangeburg, NY
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February 1944 Baer Field, Fort
Wayne, Indiana
Air Echelon leaves for England Via South
America North Africa
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C-47 cargo area with ferry tanks
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The War Years 1943 to 1945
1944
England, France, Holland
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February 1944 Camp Shanks, Orangeburg
New York
Ground Echelon Sails for England
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Troop Ship Louis Pasteur Former French Luxury
Liner
E7Port Our assign stateroom
Ground Echelons carrier New York to Liverpool
No convoy 3rd fastest ship at that time!
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March 1944 Landed in Liverpool
Bottesford Air Base Nottinghamshire, England
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March 1944 Bottesford Air
Base Nottinghamshire, England
Training with Airborne and British Horsa Gliders
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Horsa Glider Tow
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England from the Air
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April 1944 Exeter Air
Base Devonshire, England
Getting Ready for Normandy
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Loading a jeep enroute to Exeter
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Where do we sit?
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Enroute to Exeter
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April 1944 Exeter Air
Base Devonshire, England
Getting Ready for Normandy
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Barracks Air Raid Shelters Exeter,
Devonshire
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May 1944 Exeter, Devonshire Group
Review
Note No D-Day black and White Paint yet
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June, 1944 Exeter,
Devonshire Colonel Krebs radar ship painted
for Operation Neptune
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Pathfinder guides to DZs and LZs
Specially trained Troop Carrier flight
crews Paratroopers
Mission 15 to 30 minutes before 1st serial Set
up Eureka (Rebecca) nav aid Lighted or
florescent T panels
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Pathfinders A brief history
1st used in the invasion of Italy (deemed
essential after the bad drop scattering during
the invasion of Sicily). Success in Italyuse on
D-Day Normandy.
Day-Day Normandy 20 C-47 pathfinders 30
minutes before the 1st Serials Only marginally
successful Night landing errors Equipment
failures
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D-Day Normandy Operation Neptune
Exeter
Utah
Omaha
From C H Young 1995
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D-Day Normandy Operation Neptune
June 5-6 Only ETO night drop Planes Gliders
Troops Air Fields 1038 103 17,000
15 England
From C H Young 1995
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D-Day Normandy American Part
801 C-47s 13,000 paratroopers
Formations formed with red green fm
lights Off Normandy red green off, blue fm on
dim 20 minutes from drop remove jump door 4
minutes from drop red cabin light Stand
hook up to static cabin line Descend to 700
feet reduce 140 to 110 mph Green light kick
out parapacks JUMP
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D-Day black white paint job
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Flight Line June 5, 1944 439th TCG
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D-Day Normandy, June 5th-6th
101st Airborne
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Never Forget What They Did!
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440th TCG Op Neptune June 5-6, 1944
440th TCG 45 C-47s, lost 2 3rd Bat, 506th
Para Inf Co C 326th air eng bat 101st Airborne
Division
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Omaha Beach D-Day!
From Where They Fell
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DZs around Ste-Mere-Eglise
Utah Beach
Ste Mere Eglise
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Ste Mere Eglise in 1999
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Ste Mere Eglise Church Airborne Image 1999
Paratrooper Figure
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Parachute Museum, Ste Mere Eglise
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Col C H Youngs C-47 Argonne Lead the 339th TCG
June 5-6, 1944
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D-Day plus one
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Airborne Infantry on GC-4A Glider
Enroute to Normandy
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Tug C-47
Glider
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Horsa CG-4A Gliders in Normandy
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Horsa glider casualties
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Jeep off loaded from GC-4A Glider
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Waco CG-4A Glider Rommels Asparagus
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Fought with infantry until repatriated
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Ready-made Runway
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Southern France Operation Dragoon
Take-off Italy
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Invasion of Southern France Operation
Dragoon August 15, 1944
France
Italy
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August 1944 Move from Exeter,
England to Reims, France
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August 1944 Reims, France Bombed Hangers
Here by accident! Were C-47s not P-47s!!!
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August 1944 Reims, France Barracks
Air Echelon moved back to England Ground Echelon
moved to Mets, France
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Ground Echelon moved to Le Mans Air Echelon moved
back to England for Operation Market (Holland)
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Invasion of Holland September 17, 1944
Summary Daytime Operation 1532 planes 478
gliders 20,000 Troops 18 Pathfinder C-47s
20 minutes ahead
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Sept. 17th Op. Market Holland
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Sept. 17th Op. Market 440th dropped 82nd
Col Krebs plane lost
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Group CO Krebs C-47 Collided with another
C-47 Returning from Holland Drop
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Freddy Broga Company 2 Weeks with the
Underground
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Re-living the underground
experience The Elevator hiding place
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Sept.18th 440th towed 82 gliders 82nd
Airborne
Sept.23rd 440th towed 96 gliders 82nd Airborne
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Meanwhile back in Le Mans, France
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October 1944 Le Mans, France
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November 1944 Move to Orleans Air Field
Ground and Air Echelons reunited
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November 1944 Orleans, France
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December 1944 Orleans, France Operation
Bastogne
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Orleans Air Base Operations Ardennes Battle of
the Bulge
Dec. 16th 1944 Nazis Attach with 250,000
troops 1,000 tanks
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Meuse River
Bastone
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Bastogne Dec. 26th AM 96th TCS flew one C-47
glider surgical team and supplies PM 10 C-47s
gliders (3 from 96th)
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Bastogne Dec. 27th 439th TCG 50 plane serial
(13 440th) 95th TCS lost 5 of 8 96th TCS lost 3
of 5 OUR WORST DAY of the WAR!!
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The War Years 1943 to 1945
1945
Germany, V-E Day!
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Orleans, France Bombed out German
Barracks
Orleans?, France
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Orleans Air Base hangers
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Winter at Orleans Air Base
Where are the heated hangers?
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Orleans Air Base, France
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Rhine Crossing Op Varsity March 24, 1945
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Op Varsity Crossing the Rhine Summary
biggest airborne ever!
1836 planes 1348 gliders (592 double tow) 17,000
troops
Flew in four lanes three 1 ½ miles
apart fourth 200 feet above Took 3 hours and 12
minutes to pass given point!!!!
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Rhine Crossing
Rhine River
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Rhine Crossing DZs LZs
Flight Path
Wesel
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Drop and Landing Zones
Rhine River
City of Wesel
Dick Erdenberger Sun City Neighbor was right here
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Rhine Return Flight
Rhine River
Wesel Bridge
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Op. Varsity Crossing the Rhine A glider
operation
GC-4A gliders
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Operation Varsity Rhine Crossing Double Glider Tow
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Two Columns of C-47s each with Two gliders
C-47s
C-47s
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Rhine Crossing Runway Lineup
C-47s
C-47s
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Rhine Crossing Runway Closeup
GC-4A glider
C-47
Some other operations for Troop Carrier
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Air evacuation
Stretchers for wounded
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Air Evacuation Nurses 440th TCG
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Loading Wounded
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Prop change lots of help
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Not much fun in the winter
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Glider Pickup
Glider
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Some personal recollections
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Unloading 5 gallon Jerry Gas Cans
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Metz, France May 1945 V-E Day!!!!!
Gasoline to Pattons Tanks
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More Gas for Pattons Tanks
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Our C-46 Getting ready to go to
Japan
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440th TCG Prepares for Japan
J-Day!! 440th Reorganized
Ground Echelon Sails Home!! August
1945
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Camp Grant, Illinois November 1945
Discharged!!
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Home again!!!
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96th TCS, 440th TCG Gone but not forgotten!