Normandy 2009 D-Day 65th Anniversary

2011-07-25T14:02:00.000-04:00

Michael J. Young, son of Francis A. Young, donated this set of CY 1181 TT US Army field telephone sets. During WWII Francis Young was sent to John Hopkins Applied Physics Lab in Silver Spring Maryland where they worked on developing the Top Secret Proximity Fuse, AKA VT Fuse. He later served 2 tours in Korea, and retired in 1962 with 21 years of service. The phones weigh 10 lbs each. There is a small crank that you turn to activate the ringing circuit. These are the phones we used in the 83rd Signal Co to check field telephone lines. They will be kept on display at the WWII Museum in Atterbury, Indiana, home of the 83rd Infantry Division. Our thanks to Mike Young (mike@joesautobody.com) for this historic relic.

Army field telephones in Normandy and Brittany

2011-05-17T19:11:00.004-04:00

The US Army field telephone sets (CY 1181 TT) are the ones we used in WWII. Each set weighs 10 pounds. There is a small crank on the side of set that pops out so that you can turn it to activate the ringing circuit. In the center of the phone handset there is a small switch that you hold open only when you are talking or listening –to save the batteries. We used them to check field telephone lines that we were installing, or lines that had been previously installed. In combat, wire was often thrown into the ditch alongside of the country road. At intersections, we would string the telephone wire from wooden or concrete poles. We climbed wooden poles with spurs strapped to our legs to climb 20 or 30 feet. Concrete poles had hollow openings so you could climb them, but my size 12 boots would sometimes get stuck in them if they were too small. The ½ mile reel of telephone wire shown in the photo has very thin insulation. We used a twisted pair that was coated with thick insulation that could take a lot of abuse. We also used two-pair cable (providing at least three circuits) when there was time to make a more permanent installation. The cable was pretty unreliable - if you hung it over a very wide road the weight would cause a break.

I carried a phone when patrolling a line, making periodic calls back to base to verify that the circuit was working. After Normandy, the front lines moved faster and farther every day, so we left the phone set on the truck and only used it occasionally. In Brittany and beyond, we “patched into” commercial lines and no longer had to lay as much wire and cable.

Signals - Field Telephones from WW2

2011-05-15T20:48:00.002-04:00

Dad was talking to the son of on Army guy who served in the Pacific and he said that he had a telephone set. He ended up giving to Dad who is going to put them in the 83rd Infantry Division museum in Pennsylvania. Here are some pictures of Dad and the phones on May 15, 2011.

Dad's WW2 History - Installment One

2011-03-06T10:07:00.003-05:00

My WWII History

1. I took a competitive examination and won a scholarship at Rutgers (Class of 1945) – so did my wife Evelyn (’46). I was going to the exams with several other classmates from East Side High School in Newark, NJ. We met at the Central RR Station on Broad St and realized at the last minute that we were at the wrong terminal. I hailed a taxicab that took us to Penn Station and a train that got us to New Brunswick in time for the exam. (This was a rare example of leadership on my part.). I had read the anti-war novels of writers like John Dos Passos & Dalton Trumbo, so I was aware that war was a serious matter. I had one year of Signal ROTC at Rutgers. Because of the war, summer vacations were dropped, and I completed three years of Engineering in about two years. I commuted by train from Newark and I felt O.K wearing my ROTC uniform once a week. But as the War went on, I felt conspicuous in civilian clothes and tried to get into 1) The Air Ferry Command, whose pilots flew military planes to England. This task was largely taken over by women. I also tried to get into 2) The Merchant Marine like my friend & high-school class president Charlie Tyjewski. In both cases, I was turned down because of poor vision – 20/200 in the left eye. My classmates in Engineering as a rule received deferments until they graduated, after which they went into the Navy. We had an ASTP (Armed Services Training Program) in which I was tutoring young draftees in Physics Lab. With most of my classmates gone, I no longer claimed my deferment. I was drafted and reported to Fort Dix, NJ on 1 September 1943.

2. I was initially assigned to the Signal Company of the 63rd Infantry Division at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi, where we were assigned to 8-man tents. There were some permanent buildings, such as latrines & kitchens. We learned the basics of marching (close-order drill, ten mile hikes), marksmanship (WWI Springfield rifles) and sanitation - food and personal. Basic training took place in the red clay fields of Mississippi. The climate was mild and we received food parcels from home, so it wasn’t that bad. Bus transport to town was scarce, but I was able to visit Baton Rouge, LA and enjoy a first class meal at a hotel restaurant. We also visited Louisiana State University on the banks of the Mississippi River, where I met a redhead from Bastorp, LA. I remember going to an LSU football game - the male students were as unaware of the War as I had been as a freshman at Rutgers.

3. In the Fall (date?), 63rd Division elements were transferred to Camp Breckinridge, KY to fill out the Table of Organization (T/O) of the 83rd Infantry Division. I lucked out and wound up in the Signal Company of the 83rd.in which I would serve out the active part of the War. Luxury – we had two-story Barracks with plumbing and heating, as well as canteens and Service Clubs, two Jazz bands and bowling alleys. More training, marching and KP. Next we were moved to our Point of Embarkation (POE) at Camp Shanks, NY. I remember seeing children playing at an Orphanage near our Camp, and wondered what their life would be like. I visited my High School girlfriend in Westport, Connecticut and we shook hands at parting. Back in Newark, my father saw me off, and stuck a pint of bourbon in my pocket (Polish survival rations) as I took the bus to the dock in Brooklyn. As we marched onto His Majesty’s (passenger) Ship (HMS) Orion at midnight, 6 April 1944 in our combat gear and carrying our duffle bags, I had some serious thoughts about what the future held for me.

4. We landed at Liverpool 11 April 1944.. England, with its narrow, cobble-stoned streets and its chimney pots was something we had never seen before, except in the movies. We received further training at Keele Hall in Staffordshire, England and held brief maneuvers in South Wales. I met a young lady from Wolstanton, Staffordshire and we attended concerts and dances together.. British veterans from WWI in pubs in Stoke on Trent and other towns near our camp, would treat us to drinks, usually beer (“bitters”). At times, a whisky or gin bottle would be produced by the bartender and customers would snap up the drinks until the bottles were empty. I was in a pub near our camp when we learned of the D-Day invasion - British wives of service men were wondering where their husbands were that day.. On 18 June 1944, we headed down to the POE at Southampton. We threw our British coins into the streets as our trucks passed through small towns, assuming the currency would be different where we were headed. With time to kill, I had a haircut at a barber shop run by an English “walking” champ. The whole beach area was covered with barrage balloons. We boarded a ship that was loaded with crosses for the first casualties at Normandy. (Note: US military cemeteries in the US have tablet-shaped headstones; our cemeteries in Europe have Crosses and Stars of David.). We landed on Omaha Beach on 24 June 1944, after waiting 3-4 days for the storm to subside.

5. First memories after landing: a house burning near the beach, enemy shelling (88’s) of the footbridge in Carentan morning, noon and dinner time. I saw one of our GI’s get hit there at a distance of 20-30 yards from us. Joe F. from Philly commented: “A guy could get killed in this war.” We were warned not to dig our foxholes in straight rows because the German tanks would spin their treads and smash the GI’s inside. The Allies controlled the skies in the daytime, so the Luftwaffe would bomb the beach at night. After a few days, we were busy taking over and maintaining the telephone lines installed by the 101st Airborne. One hot sunny day I took off my woolen olive drab shirt (we could not wear green fatigues because we would be mistaken for Germans) and I was promptly chewed out by an Infantry officer who was leading his squad into combat – from behind. When things grew quiet, we would look for a substitute for K-Rations. I found a henhouse full of white chickens and promptly taped up the legs of 6-8 of them. As I recall, Capt Harkey asked us what we were up to and I gave some half-vast excuse about liberating the poultry, which we took back to the Signal Co. cook. Another day, a French kid came to our camp and shouted “They are baking fresh bread in Carentan!” Beats K-Ration biscuits. A young Englishman from the Isle of Jersey turned up one day and I assume he was repatriated. We were introduced to Calvados, the local applejack which sometimes tasted like vinegar but packed a wallop. One day some German planes were flying over so I picked up a German Schmeisser with a bipod and started firing. An Infantry squad came along expecting to find Germans and told us to knock it off. The Schmeisser has a distinctive sound, much faster than our burp gun.

6. As our confidence grew, we took part in actions against the enemy. A group of us decided to hunt down an enemy sniper who was shooting from a church steeple. I had a Thompson submachine gun and fired a few rounds. The Infantry came along and told us that the sniper was a 14-year old French kid who had been brainwashed by the Nazis. After that, just about every Church steeple in Normandy was destroyed. Most of the churches have been restored or rebuilt. Circa 2 July, we had a report that the Germans would attack. I spent the night behind a 50 Cal. machine gun mounted on a Signal Co ¾ ton truck waiting for the enemy to come. Fortunately they did not, because I didn’t know how to cock a 50 Cal. and make it ready to fire.
In my memory, July had been a relatively quiet time, bearing in mind that I was stringing wire between 83rd Division Hqs and one of the three Infantry Regiments – this was considered “rear echelon” by the frontline infantry. On 25 July Operation “Cobra,” the breakout from Normandy took place. I recall that the sky was lit up by our huge searchlights starting at dawn. Thousands of bombers came over from England and saturated the battlefield. This was the operation in which General Leslie McNair was killed when some of our bombs fell short. I recall visiting the battlefield afterwards. The bodies had been removed, but I found the backpack of a German soldier with letters from home and photos of his family. There were dead cows and horses stinking up the battlefield and piles of mortar shells, ours and theirs. I picked a few up out of curiosity, fortunately they didn’t explode. On to St Malo and Brittany!

7. Brittany was like a holiday for me, but not for our infantry who met German resistance approaching the fortress city of St Malo. On a warm, sunny day, we had to take phone wire across a body of water to the town center. I took off my GI shoes and swam the last 50 yards to shore. When we reached the Telephone center, there were already Army linguists listening in to phone calls to track down Nazi sympathizers. St. Malo is an interesting town and I have enjoyed my subsequent visits to the old city. On our 50th anniversary trip to France, Belgium & Germany, I stood on the shore with Allen Havens, Co “F” 330th Inf Reg’t, looking across at the Ile de Cezembre. His unit was about to set out to attack that fortress when the news came that the German commander (plus Italian troops) had surrendered.

Nice thank you from Keck from the Reunion book

2010-09-19T19:01:00.003-04:00

Dad is waiting for an invitation...

2010-04-13T21:12:00.002-04:00

To the ceremonies in Moscow commemorating the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Europe (VE Day). Somehow, the participants who were there at the time are the ones who don't get the invitations. Not only was Dad there, but he was with his unit when they crossed the Elbe River and met their Russian counterparts, guessing that VE Day was some months later. VE Day is May 9 for the Russians, May 8 for the other allies owing to time zone differences.

To accompany him on that trip would be a real experience. It would be strange if he met up with some of the Russian veterans who were there at the Elbe. Knowing my father, it would happen as he is the Forrest Gump of his generation. I have the photos to prove it!

Normandy 2010

2010-01-09T21:20:00.003-05:00

I have started a new blog for a possible 2010 trip to Normandy. The purpose of this trip would be different from last year, if it happens it will be to give someone else a chance to experience all that Normandy has to offer both in the current day and in history. We would merely be the hosts and would be there if needed to consume excess beer or cheese as necessary.

Here is the link to the new site: http://www.normandy2010.blogspot.com

Hope to see you there!

New blog for the new year...

2009-12-31T19:02:00.001-05:00

http://normandy2010.blogspot.com/

Nice photo from Jean Paul Pitou

2009-07-29T17:16:00.002-04:00

Final blog (almost) and the Future of the Sainteny Stele.

2009-06-19T13:06:00.034-04:00

Corrinne Delacout of "La Presse De La Manche" noted that Mayor Michel Lepourry and organizer Jean Paul Pitou wish to continue the ceremony honoring the 83rd Division and the accomplishments of all the Allied Troops (French, British, American, and Canadian) that liberated Sainteny and Normandy. This is wonderful news as it means that our children will have the opportunity to observe what my father, my son and I experienced and what families and veterans for 65 years have experienced, a day long remembrance and celebration of the return to the village of liberty and freedom. In addition to the ceremonies and playing of anthems, let us not forget that the community of Sainteny can throw a party, too.

This blog will chronicle June 7, 2009 in photos as completely as possible.

First ceremony : Re-Dedication of the Stele of Sainteny, anthems, moment of silence, gifts from the children, photo ops, Reeanactors, speeches.

Walk to Flag Room.

Gift of Flag of the District of Colombia to the Flag Room of Sainteny.

Walk to the School Hall for Champagne toast.

Walk to Community Hall for Lunch, Wine and Calvados.

Goodbye's and warm farewells.

Mayor Michel Lepourry and Jean Paul Pitou.

2009-06-16T19:21:00.009-04:00

The Mairee's office was closed when we first stopped by on June 4, but a workmen in a van said to knock on the door, the Mayor will be there even though it was not opening hour yet. And sure enough the the Mayor came out and the first of many warm welcomes started. He was very enthusiastic about the upcoming ceremonies and there was no sign that 25 years as mayor had made him less so. From that point onward the Mayor included us in everything while still fulfilling his role with the community. On June 7 we went directly to his office again and knocked, and this time the same workmen in the same van told us he was at the stele (memorial) and so there we went and there he was. Many echoes of small town America, where strong communities and beloved Mayors define the quality of life, we were glad for the reminder....

Jean Paul Pitou was equally tireless and demonstrated again that he can organize events. It seems that he even arranged for perfect weather, and there was not one point of criticism. Everything was perfect! I wish I had more pictures of Jean Paul but he was usually attending to something. I will wait for a future post to pay tribute to Jean Paul, so here is the Mayor in action....

Thank you note in La Presse De La Manche

2009-06-16T07:00:00.006-04:00

Corinne Delacoute put my "thank you" note (translated by Annie Gubser) in the newspaper along with nice photo and article. I will have to print a copy and send it to Robert Keck as he does not have internet access.

Views around Normandy from a Gite

2009-06-15T19:56:00.016-04:00

As soon as we arrived in Grandcamp Maisy we felt at home. We had stopped in Le Cambe at a wonderful shop run by a charming lady and picked up the essentials of life: bread, butter, pate, soft cheeese, Camembert, some peaches and twelve bottles of Kronenbourg. When we got to the Gite the sun was strong even though the hour was late and everyone had a beer and almost everyone slept.

Thanks again to Marc Chaperon at Les Pieris in Grandcamp Maisy for his unlimited hospitality and advice. He was a trip saver before we left and continued to be throughout. Robert Keck, the Pennsylvania farmer and former 83rd Infantryman, enjoyed trading notes on Marc's collection of chickens, turkeys and sheep. This was a big part of the experience.

Every morning we left the cottage early and came in late and Marc had made the beds and made sure that everything was ready for us when we came "home", and after a couple of days it really felt like home. We all got accustomed to fresh air, open roads, green fields and a daily nap or two.

That pretty beach is the beach at Colleville-Sur-Mer, known now to us as Omaha Beach. Dad arrived in Normandy very close to that spot on June 24, 1944.

The German Cemetery at La Cambe

2009-06-14T20:06:00.012-04:00

The adjoining community to Grandcamp Maisy is Le Cambe, site of the German Cemetery. For the first time, American soldiers were invited to the annual ceremony at Le Cambe, and everyone was grateful for this show of friendship and unity. John Cipolla of the 101st Airborne was present at the ceremony, paying his respects, as were many of the British Army and Royal Marines who participated in the D-Day invasion. Apologies for including his photo but it was special to meet up with one of our Airborne's finest. Everyone else thought so too and John was photographed with many active servicemen and women.

Sainteny stele - Flag waving children.

2009-06-13T20:17:00.006-04:00

What a sight! School children in Normandy waving American and French flags, 65 years after British, Canadian, American and French troops returned to the Omaha, Utah, Sword and Juno beaches.

WE ARE THE FORTUNATE ONES, SAY WWII VETERANS

2009-06-11T15:37:00.004-04:00

From the Tocqueville Connection:
http://www.adetocqueville.com/200906051619.n55gj9a16768.htm
One of those American troops was Robert Keck, who spent his 19th birthday on the banks of the Rhine, serving with the 83rd Infantry Division in theBattle of the Bulge and the advance towards Berlin. Arriving in the freezing Ardennes forests on the second day of 1945, Keck was wounded in the leg and face -- he only recently had some shrapnel removed -- and had several near brushes with death. "Once I was on a night patrol and I was trying to get up on the bridge when the Germans blew the bridge on me," said Keck, who told of being left for dead when his platoon was forced into a retreat. "That's a horrible feeling. They thought I was killed. But of course I was lucky. I could tell a lot of stories like that, close calls that we had." One of the 200 US veterans on hand to attend Saturday's ceremony in Colleville, the 83-year-old, who settled after the war in Mountville, Pennsylvania, was returning to France for the first time since 1945. "I'm so overwhelmed," he said, looking out over the sea of white crosses. "There are so many guys that we lost that can't be with us, and I'm here. You wonder why."

Colleville-Sur-Mer the American Cemetery

2009-06-10T07:38:00.002-04:00

Sainteny and the School Children

2009-06-05T09:27:00.004-04:00

Rudy and Bob are opening the exhibition of photograps of Sainteny before and after the war. Two sets of children were on hand to ask questions of the veterans. The photo exhibition is in the church across the street from the Mayor's office (Michel LePourry). The hall of flags is next to the mayor's office also.

Preparations part 2

2009-05-29T15:19:00.007-04:00

I have begun preparing for the trip, mostly with photographic supplies. I was debating on buying a digital camera for the trip but have ultimately chosen to document our travels on film. I just picked up the camera I will be taking along, it's a medium format 6x7 rangefinder. Here is a picture:

I have also picked up about 80-90 rolls of film so I should have plenty to capture everything. We will also be taking along a few smaller digital cameras as well. I am going to try to upload some digital photos as we go along, be it from the camera phone or from our digital cameras if possible. This should hold anyone over until I can get the film processed and up on the web which will take a bit longer due to processing and scanning. That's all the report so far on the photo end!

Invitation received and schedule of events.

2009-05-27T21:51:00.002-04:00

It reads: Dear Rudy Zamula,

We are pleased to send you this invitation to the joint Commemoration Ceremony on June 6 at the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France...

I have RSVP'ed for grandpa and his friend and Normandy Veteran Robert Keck

Here is the schedule of events..

June 3 Arrive Charles de Gaulle Airport and travel to Grandcamp Maisy (nr. Omaha Beach)

Thursday, 4 June we will spend at the Sainteny Church with the school children. The first group at 1:00 PM (13:00 hours). Rudy has a short speech (en Francais) to give to the children, and a longer speech for the ceremony at Sainteny on 7 June. Two groups and we finish about 4:30 PM. Here we will also meet Robert and Rudy's friend Jean Paul Pitou.

Friday 5 June ceremony at Carentan 15:30 until 19:30 hours. We have also been invited most generously to a reception at CHÂTEAU DE COLOMBIÈRES at 14:30, please visit their spectacular website.

Saturday 6 June ceremony at Omaha Beach/Colleville sur Mer, with Obama & Sarkozy, 15:00 departing from the Caen Exposition Centre.
Also on this day FIREWORKs all along the coast of Normandy!

Sunday 7 June ceremony at Sainteny stele at 10:30 AM, 11:15.Rudy will open the Flag Room & give short speech (en Francais). Reception and private lunch for my group.

That is all for now...

Limited Seating...

2009-05-25T21:17:00.000-04:00

For American Citizens
The ceremony on June 6, 2009 at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial for the 65th Anniversary of the Landing at Normandy is an invitation-only event with extremely limited seating capacity. Only requests for invitations received by May 28 can be considered.
To request an invitation, please email this address Normandy65@state.gov with the following information for each person.
1.
Name:
2.
DOB:
3.
Address in France:
4.
Email Address:
5.
Twenty five words on your connection to the Normandy Landing

from
http://france.usembassy.gov/root/pdfs/ddayjun09.pdf

Official Program for June 4, 2009 to June 7.

2009-05-23T16:51:00.000-04:00

Rudy Zamula, 83rd Infantry Division Association President (2007) and Robert Keck, President 2008.

From Jean Paul:
"
Thursday June 4th appointment at 1 pm in the church to welcome the children of the SAINTENY school.
You will open with them the display.
The first group had 15 children
The second group have 17 children. Again we will open the display.
The presentation will finish at 4h30 pm.
Then we will stay to speak and will take pictures.

The Sunday june 7th Ceremony at the SAINTENY stèle at 10h30 am.
Then at 11h15 am you will open the Flags Room.
After the reception will be and the private lunch where you will be invited with your family. "

Michel LEPOURRY, Mayor of SAINTENY has been informed of our visit, unsure if he will attend.

(We will take digital pictures and post them whenever an internet connection is available.)

Tristan will be present to serve as translator. David will drive.

Return in the Urn & The Quest for Tickets

2009-05-20T15:27:00.000-04:00

Grandma called yesterday to say that if Grandpa "didn't make it" I am to have him cremated and the return trip would be made via "urn".

I'm thinking that applies to all of us. If something happens to me, take what you want and send the ashes home.

Currently trying to find entry passes to the ceremony at
Colleville sur Mer (14) 10.00 am - 10:30 am: Ceremony at 1st Infantry Division monument. If anyone has infomation on this please contact me.

Angry Grandma....

2009-05-04T11:46:00.000-04:00

Less than a month now until we take off. On that subject, Grandma is not happy about the tab for air travel. I made all the bookings except for Tristan, who made his own. Tristan is travelling to Paris from New York via London, and was able to get a reasonable airfare ($790). His stop-over is a safe two hours, but his arrival coincides with Gramps and me so he has made good arrangements.

Gramps and I are travelling direct to Paris from Washington Dulles, and the tickets together are $2386. For a direct flight, not bad, but Grandma is not pleased. Anyway, I am picking up the car rental and the accomodation and Grandpa is paying for the wine, women and song, so it should work out alright in the end.

Another development is that one of Grandpa's old 83rd Infantry Division buddies has nowhere to stay so he might be staying at our very modest Gite near Utah beach. This should work out fine, there is room in the car and he can pitch in for petrol at the local Fina station. The fogey to non-fogey ratio is still favorable so not worried yet.

Another photo of Gramps

2009-04-22T19:21:00.000-04:00

Army Induction Photo at age 20

2009-04-22T19:17:00.000-04:00

Preparations

2009-04-22T17:38:00.000-04:00

We started our travel plans and knew at the outset that it would be difficult to find hotel or bed and breakfast rooms on the late date of April 16, less than two months before travel. Using the IHA.com website, I emailed several B&Bs starting at distances of 35 miles away from Carentan and then moving closer. I got two "sorry" replies and no replies to my other inquiries. However, the day before, I had asked a kind B&B proprietor if he knew anyone had a place they could let us have for the week, and a couple of days later came an email with the attached photos. This was my first attempt at finding some place. As dad says, he slept in slit trenches in Normandy and this looked just fine for him. I have to agree...