August 12, 2024 • 24 mins
We dive into Jenn's visit to St Mere Eglise and the dramatic WW2 events of June 5th and 6th, 1944, as paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions secured the French town of Saint Mère Église during D-Day.
We explore the challenges faced by the troops, including navigational errors and strong winds, that scattered the paratroopers. Highlighting the bravery of Private John Steele, who famously dangled from the town church steeple, this episode also covers the aftermath of the town's liberation and its historical significance.
Furthermore, we discuss the broader strategic implications of D-Day and subsequent operations that led to the liberation of France.
00:00 The Calm Before the Storm
02:21 Introduction
02:56 Supporting the Podcast
04:45 Exploring Saint Mère Église
05:22 Historical Significance and Personal Stories
07:44 Challenges Faced by Paratroopers
11:03 The Legacy of Saint Mère Église
16:28 The Airborne Museum
21:44 The significance of Normandy and movement to France
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Scott (00:05):
It was one of many small towns nestled in Normandy, France,
occupied by Nazi Germany for years now.
On the night of June 5th, 1944,its serene streets and humble homes
were about to become the stage fora pivotal moment in World War II.
(00:25):
As the clock struck midnight,the tranquility was shattered
by the hum of aircraft engines.
Paratroopers from the 82nd AirborneDivision were being dropped into
the area with a crucial missionto secure Saint Mère Église and
prevent German reinforcements fromreaching the nearby beaches where
Allied forces would soon land.
However, the operationdid not go as planned.
(00:46):
Strong winds and navigational errorsscattered the paratroopers across
the countryside, and some even foundthemselves landing directly in the town
square, right amidst German troops.
One such paratrooperwas Private John Steele.
As he descended, his parachutesnagged on the steeple of the
town church, leaving him danglinghelplessly above the chaos below.
(01:08):
Steele, displaying remarkablepresence of mind, played dead as the
battle raged on, hanging there forhours in a surreal tableau of war.
Despite the unexpected challenges,the paratroopers regrouped and
launched their assault on the town.
Fierce fighting ensued, withbullets tearing through the night
and explosions lighting up the sky.
(01:29):
By dawn, however, the Allies hadgained control of Saint Marie Eglise.
This victory was a crucial step insecuring a foothold in Normandy and
advancing the liberation of France.
The bravery and determination ofthe paratroopers in Saint Marie
Eglise have not been forgotten.
The town's church steeple Parachute intribute to steel's harrowing experience.
(01:50):
And the Airborne Museum standsas a testament to the soldiers
who fought and died there.
Saint Mere Eglis remains a symbolof the courage and sacrifice of the
allied forces during World War II,a poignant reminder of the high cost
of freedom, and the incredible spiritof those who fought to preserve it.
(02:21):
Welcome to Talk With History.
I'm your host, Scott, here withmy wife and historian, Jen.
(02:52):
but some folks have reached out andsaid, Hey, how can I support the podcast?
You can do that over atthe history road trip.
com.
You can pledge for a month,you can pledge for a year.
And it really is an opportunityfor us because we don't make any
money on this podcast right now.
We haven't for a few years, cause thisis really just a passion project for us.
So if you've ever wanted to support.
(03:13):
Heading over to the history road trip.
com.
It's a free email newsletter that we have.
And if you want to, again, 99, 99percent of what we're going to do
over there is going to be free.
There'll be some occasionalmember only podcasts and
things that we list over there.
But that, that's, that's aplace where we're setting up to.
further share our adventures andfor if you want to support, it's
(03:36):
a, it's a great opportunity.
And we, we have had some folks reachout and said that they were going
to pledge and we're going to turnon that opportunity here at the end
of September, because the end ofSeptember will actually be, I think as
a third anniversary of, of talk with
Jenn (03:49):
Yes, and we are appreciative of any support or donations we can get for
the podcast because like you said, we,we have no financial backing as of today.
And so it really does help us becauseas we're are a history road trip.
channel.
So we actually visit these locationsand it's not inexpensive to do.
(04:09):
So we do appreciate any kindof support you can give.
Please come on over there.
Let us know what youthink of these episodes.
Let us know any suggestions youmight have of places for us to
visit or any feedback, good or bad.
We would love to hear from you.
Scott (04:23):
Yeah.
And we appreciate those out there,you podcast, like Doug, like
Larry, who've proved pledge supportover at the history road trip.
com.
That is the.
T H E, TheHistoryRoadTrip.
com, again, you'll also get a free emailnewsletter with kind of some more, more
in depth dives into some of our topics.
(04:45):
Okay, so today we're going to talkabout a town that, that a lot of
our audience may actually be semifamiliar with because it was featured
prominently in Band of Brothers.
Jenn (04:56):
Yes.
Scott (04:57):
And you got to visit there, and this is a very, I'll call it,
American friendly town in France.
So tell us about Saint Mère Église,one of the first French towns liberated
after the Normandy D Day invasion.
Jenn (05:11):
Yeah.
St.
Marigles.
Like I had to ask people many times howto pronounce it over and over again.
And it's, it's also in the longest day.
So most people will recognize itinitially from the longest day.
And then it does play a big role inBand of Brothers, but this town is
synonymous with D Day because of whatit means for the allied troops, what
(05:33):
it means in the landing of Utah beachand the airborne, but it's an old town.
Town in France and it's close to theNormandy Beach It's the first major
town behind Utah Beach and not farfrom the beach But it's also on a
major roadway the n13 Which is thismajor road that the Allies would need?
(05:56):
Logistically to get the tanks and thetroops and the men into theater to fight
the Nazis So it's it's a major roadIt's founded in the 11th century, so
the earliest records date back to 1080,and the Latin name means Church of St.
Mary or Holy Mother Church.
(06:17):
So if you think of St.
Mary Iglesias, it's like St.
Mary Church or Mother Mary.
So that's, the name is veryCatholic or Latin Catholic.
Scott (06:30):
that kind of makes sense, because the town chapel, the
town church, is very central.
Jenn (06:35):
It's very central.
And like back in theday, the 10, you know.
Uh, that's what was the Frenchsociety was based around the church.
And so the town was involvedin the hundred years war.
It was involved in the wars of religion.
This is an old town, but when it comesto D Day, it's such a significant part
(06:55):
because it's right behind Utah beach.
And because it's one of thefirst places that it's going to
start to see action that night.
From June 5th from midnight on intoJune 6th is when the first Jumps will
start and they start about 1 40 AM.
You're going to get the 82nd Airborneand the 101st Airborne jumping in that
(07:19):
area to support the landings of Utahbeach again, to, to take control of
these roads logistically, to be ableto get these tanks and these people.
into France.
And knowing that the Germans haveflooded a lot of the farmland,
there's a, there's less roadsavailable and this is a major one.
(07:41):
And so you're going to get this82nd Airborne, 101st Airborne.
Now things don't go as plannedand people get scattered.
That's exactly whathappens to Dick Winters.
He gets, he's far awayfrom where he should be.
Scott (07:55):
And I think that's because a multitude of things, right?
In the opening, we said, part of it'swins and high, and then this and the
other, but also, and we talked about itwhen we did a lot of masters of the air
content a while back, there was pilots andsoldiers that we're talking about, some of
these pilots who were flying were flyingtwice as fast as they were supposed to.
Jenn (08:14):
Yeah.
I mean, people are nervous.
Scott (08:16):
They were nervous, and and that's what happens in
what they call, the fog of war.
You fly too fast, or, the conditionsaren't what you're expecting, and all
of a sudden, these airborne troopers,rather than being within the area that
they had planned on being dropped, they'regetting dropped all over the place.
Jenn (08:30):
Yeah.
And as much as you can practicethis, you have to remember these
pilots are, are relatively new.
They've just been trained to be pilots.
A lot of these guys haven'tflown a lot of missions in war.
A lot of these guys haven'tdropped over theater yet.
Think about it.
This is our first invasion.
This is America's firstinvasion into Europe.
(08:54):
dropping troops.
So, those landings started about 1 40AM, but they result in heavy casualties
because like you said, going too fast,these paratroopers are very heavy.
They're carrying 60,70, 80 pounds on them.
They're hitting these water areas,which I say are flooded and they're
flooded more than six feet or sevenfeet, the basic height of a man.
(09:18):
And when they have all that weighton them, they basically are drownded.
And then there was bombing thatalso happened that night and some
of these buildings in town caughtfire and they illuminated the sky.
So as these men are jumping,they become targets in the sky.
And so the Germans who are made aware ofthis attack happening, come out and are
(09:40):
able to fire on these men as they land.
And you get men, Who are descendingand hitting telephone poles.
They're hitting trees and they'reeasily shot because they're
not, they're not cut down.
And this is where you getthe John Steele story.
Scott (09:54):
Yeah, and so that is, I don't think I realized until we started doing
this, that's based on a true story.
Jenn (10:00):
story.
It's a very unique story when youthink about it, because of all the
things to get hung up on, you'regoing to hit a church steeple like
Scott (10:09):
and then he plays dead, probably for a couple hours.
And I think you had mentioned in thevideo that eventually, he's trying
to cut himself down, he drops hisknife, he alerts the German soldier,
that German soldier tries to shoothim, shoots him in the foot, and
then another paratrooper shoots that.
So he actually gets saved because theGerman who was shooting him gets shot,
that other, his counterpart, gets shot.
(10:31):
Eventually, the Germans capture him.
But when the Airborne takesthe town, he takes the purse.
So it's a very interesting story,especially for a movie like The Longest
Day, which I haven't watched yet.
I need to go watch it.
It's another John Wayne movie.
Jenn (10:43):
Another John Wayne movie, Red Buttons plays John Steele in it.
John Steele is of the505th Parachute Infantry.
He's in the 82nd Airborne.
So you get the 101st 82nd Airbornethat are jumping that night.
And when I'll talk more about the townlooks like today, but like you said,
he gets hung up on the church steeple.
And today there is still a mannequinhanging from a parachute on
(11:07):
the church steeple to tell thatstory because it's a true story.
And it's one of those fantastic.
Truth is stranger than fiction, right?
Like you can telling the truthis so much more amazing than a
fictional story would have been.
Scott (11:23):
Well, and aside from, well, you'll talk a little bit about the
Airborne Museum that's there in St.
Mary Eglis, but it's also away for the town to continue to
recognize what these men did that
Jenn (11:35):
yeah.
So when you think about it,this, these first jumps happened
at 1 40 AM by 5 AM, a force.
led by the 505th Parachute Regimenttook the town with little resistance.
So think about three hours later,John stills hang in for two hours.
He gets cut down.
He's basically prisoner for an hourand then the town is taken by 5 a.
(11:55):
m.
So it's one of the.
first towns liberated by the Americans.
And that the story, the townis so proud of that story.
They were under Nazioccupation for four years.
And here it takes a little less thanfour hours to take the town back.
They just even today they embracethat story so much that John Steele
(12:18):
Mannequin is part of their town.
It hangs in their town square.
Now I don't think it's on the right.
side of the steeple.
I think he actually in real life wason the other side of the steeple,
but because that doesn't face thetown square, they hang the mannequin
on the other side for the story.
Scott (12:34):
in the face.
Is the trip
Jenn (12:35):
Like you said, he drops his knife.
He gets shot in the foot.
He's eventually cut down, but hedoes help capture the town.
He goes on to keep fighting.
The church has since becomevery much like a shrine.
to the paratroopers.
And they have even have stainedglass windows with the Virgin
Mary and paratroopers beside
Scott (12:57):
It's really cool.
If you haven't seen our video, the linkwill be in the show notes of this podcast.
I would encourage you to go to gosee that because one, the movie, The
Longest Day, we put some clips in there.
So it shows it's a good representationof what happened that day.
But to you, you got some shots of thestained glass and it was really neat.
Cause I actually missed it thefirst time when I was looking
through the footage and you said,Hey, no, go back and look at this.
(13:19):
And so I was able to zoom in andyou can see that stained glass.
I've never seen stained glass like thisbefore with, you see kind of the The St.
Mary, you see Mary there, classic pose,head, head bent over a little bit.
But then on the sides right next to herare paratroopers in their paratrooper
green with a helmet on and bootsand a parachute in stained glass.
(13:42):
It's really beautifuland it's really neat.
Jenn (13:44):
Yeah.
And like we have spoken before, forso many things to go right that night.
I mean, things went wrong, butso many things to go right.
that you didn't have as much of adefense by the Nazis and for this
town to be liberated so quickly.
We believe that it was some kindof divine intervention there.
(14:04):
And so for the town to embracethat and put it into something
permanent, like stained glass withthe Virgin Mary beside paratroopers.
It's just a very interesting thing to see.
They also have a Joan of Arc in thereand a just a generic depiction of
Jesus, but it's a very beautiful church.
The church still has remnantsof bullet shots and things
(14:26):
in the side of the church.
So it's very much still a just a relicof D Day and you can go and see it.
And the town square is just beautiful,but they Love the story of D Day
and the liberation of their town somuch so that I was there that day.
80 years later, and they had paradesof American tanks, all these French
(14:51):
men and women dressed as Americans.
It was very neat.
And they just embrace Americans somuch that there is a monument there.
to the 82nd and the 101st Airborne.
And people leave poppies anddifferent things there, but
they've just embraced that story.
And if you walk around the town,there are different areas with
(15:13):
little plaques and things aboutdifferent paratroopers that fell into.
this backyard or into this greenhouse orinto this garden and what they may have
come up against or what happened to them.
And even in different areas, they stillhave parachutes that they'll hang over
trees and things just to give you a senseof what the town felt like that day, that
(15:38):
morning, when all of these, Parachuteis basically descended on the town.
Scott (15:43):
Yeah, it was, it was really neat to watch it and, and seeing the
footage the parade footage with, Imean, these are old tanks that are,
that was even just neat because youdon't see that in the States, right?
You just don't see parades like that.
And, and these are legitimateold World War II tanks that
they're driving through the town.
It was really cool to see
Jenn (16:03):
It was really neat.
And when you think about these roadsare basically a tank wide and they're
driving these tanks down thesecobblestone old roads and people
are loving it and they're waving andthey're just having a great time.
And these tanks look legit.
Like they could havejust, Been made yesterday.
(16:24):
They've taken such good care of them.
Scott (16:26):
It's, it's, it was so cool.
Jenn (16:28):
So what else they have in st Mariglis if Town Square walk around again
see the plaques to the different airbornethat were there that day But they have the
entire airborne museum is there and thatwas a great museum to show what but the
airborne kind of went through that day.
They have an example of what it'slike to board a C 47 aircraft
(16:51):
and jump from a C 47 aircraft.
You get reminiscence of it inBand of Brothers when they're all
lining up and you have the redlight that goes green and they just
start jumping on the static line.
It's the same kind of feeling.
You go through, you walk through,you get to see what it's like,
dark night the jostling of theaircraft, not knowing where you are
and you're basically just jumping.
(17:13):
It also lets you see the amount ofweight these men are carrying on them
because besides their jump gear, they'recarrying on whatever ammunition they need.
They need, they're carrying onwhatever gear they need and just
all the weight they have upon theirbodies as they jump not only makes
them fall to the ground faster.
And since these men were going low andfast, that was put at them a danger.
(17:36):
But just.
the sheer weight if they're goingto hit water, they just not going to
have the time to cut themselves free.
And that's also when men were hittingburning buildings or burning areas,
they didn't have the time to redirectthemselves because it's so fast and
you're so heavy that you don't havethat opportunity to avoid the fire.
(17:57):
So you have cases of that as
Scott (17:59):
If you ever get a chance to see, somebody parachuting or
something like that, it looks likethey're falling relatively slowly.
You don't realize and you and I Ithink you you did it for My birthday or
something one year we went skydiving.
We did tandem skydiving thing And so Iwas strapped to somebody who you know
knew what he was doing and when you'refalling you realize how fast you're
falling But then also you don't realizeand that when the parachute pulls it's
(18:23):
not violent you slow down But then whenyou get closer to the ground you realize
how fast you are still falling Youknow, and that's modern day parachutes.
These are World War II era, the airborneconcept is still relatively new, a
few years and all the gear and all theother stuff that's going on, right?
(18:45):
You, you, you add all ofthat stuff up together.
together What
these paratroopers were doingand how they were jumping in
is pretty incredible and, and.
very, very dangerous,especially at the time.
Like today we have much betterequipment, much more control for
your average parachuter coming down.
So it really was incrediblewhat they were doing.
Jenn (19:07):
It was, and that's, this town has embraced that story.
And that museum has embraced that story.
They actually have the gliderswere also a big part of that day.
And they have one of the only examples ofthe Waco glider there that you can see it.
So gliders are big.
If we ever talk about the Pegasus bridgeThe English had the gliders where you
(19:29):
could get about 40 men, 30 men in a glider
Scott (19:32):
we referenced them, I think, Latin last week or the week before his episode.
Jenn (19:35):
it's quiet.
You don't hear it and theycan land and they can really
land right under your nose.
That's why they took thePegasus Bridge so easily.
But they have an example of it in there.
I want people to remember two paratroopersas much as they're known for jumping.
Jumping is just the easiestbasic part of what they're doing.
(19:56):
They're soldiers.
They're there to fight.
They're there.
They're infantry.
When you think about it,they're there to fight.
Jumping is just how they get there.
And once they're there, theyjust become, they become
soldiers, ground troops, ground
Scott (20:10):
It's a smaller part of their training than people realize.
Jenn (20:12):
Yeah.
And so yeah, getting the jump rightis so important, but getting the jump
right is, is the easiest basic part.
And then you're going tohave to start fighting a war.
And that's what you know, whenyou see in Band of Brothers,
jumping in is how they get there.
But it's really when they get onthe ground and then they have to
start doing the tactics, the groundtactics that comes into play.
(20:35):
So it's, you're, you're likedouble the soldier there.
But I really loved being in that town.
I recommend if you're going to go visitFrance and Normandy, you have to go to St.
Mere Eglis.
I think of all the towns associated withD Day, it is the most important one.
It is the one that wasin support of Utah Beach.
(20:56):
It is the.
first one liberated.
It is, they have embracedthat story there.
They love Americans there.
You can see the mannequin ofJohn Steele on the steeple there.
And it's just a place.
They have recently unveiled a statueof President Eisenhower, General
Eisenhower, as he preferred to becalled, but in full World War II uniform.
(21:19):
So it looks like the statueat the D Day memorial.
and the statue at his at hispresidential museum in Kansas.
So that is also right therebeside the steeple as well.
So it's a great place to go and visit.
Scott (21:33):
Yeah, it was a fun video to make because it's much more, able
to be a little more celebratorywith a video like this and the
topic was really, really neat.
With the successful securing of SaintMère Église and the other key towns on
D Day, the Allied forces turned theirattention to using these strategic points
(21:55):
to push further into occupied France.
The beaches of Normandy became acrucial supply and reinforcement
hubs for the advancing troops.
From these beachheads, the Alliesinitiated Operation Overlord, the
codename for the Battle of Normandy.
This involved a series ofmeticulously planned operations
(22:16):
to break through German defensesand liberate occupied territories.
One of the first objectives wasto link the five beachheads,
ensuring that they would be safe.
A continuous front line and facilitatingthe movement of troops and supplies.
As the Allied forces advanced,they encountered fierce resistance
from entrenched German troops.
The hedgerows of the Normandy countrysideprovided natural defensive positions,
(22:38):
making progress slow and costly.
Despite this, the Allies pressed on,employing coordinated infantry, armor,
and air support to overcome the obstacles.
key towns such as Carentan,Caen, and Bordeaux.
And Saint Lô became major battlegrounds.
The capture of the French portcity, Caen, in particular was
(23:00):
critical due to its strategiclocation and transportation network.
The British and Canadian forces facedweeks of intense fighting before
finally securing the town in mid July.
The liberation of these towns allowedthe Allies to establish vital supply
lines and command posts, enabling themto sustain their push into France.
(23:21):
The breakout from theNormandy beach has begun.
culminated in Operation Cobra,launched in late July 1944.
This offensive aimed to exploitthe weakened German positions
and achieve a rapid advancethrough the French countryside.
The operation succeeded beyondexpectations, leading to the encirclement
of German forces in the Falaisepocket in their eventual retreat.
(23:46):
With the German defenses in disarray,the Allies surged forward, liberating
Paris by the end of August.
The momentum continued as they drovetowards the German border, liberating
town after town and village after village.
The successful use of the Normandybeachheads and towns as springboards
for further operations was atestament to the meticulous planning
(24:06):
and bravery of the Allied forces.
Their efforts paved the way forthe eventual liberation of France.
And the ultimate defeat of Nazi Germany,marking a turning point in World War II.
It was one of many small towns nestled in Normandy, France,
occupied by Nazi Germany for years now.
On the night of June 5th, 1944,its serene streets and humble homes
were about to become the stage fora pivotal moment in World War II.
(00:25):
As the clock struck midnight,the tranquility was shattered
by the hum of aircraft engines.
Paratroopers from the 82nd AirborneDivision were being dropped into
the area with a crucial missionto secure Saint Mère Église and
prevent German reinforcements fromreaching the nearby beaches where
Allied forces would soon land.
However, the operationdid not go as planned.
(00:46):
Strong winds and navigational errorsscattered the paratroopers across
the countryside, and some even foundthemselves landing directly in the town
square, right amidst German troops.
One such paratrooperwas Private John Steele.
As he descended, his parachutesnagged on the steeple of the
town church, leaving him danglinghelplessly above the chaos below.
(01:08):
Steele, displaying remarkablepresence of mind, played dead as the
battle raged on, hanging there forhours in a surreal tableau of war.
Despite the unexpected challenges,the paratroopers regrouped and
launched their assault on the town.
Fierce fighting ensued, withbullets tearing through the night
and explosions lighting up the sky.
(01:29):
By dawn, however, the Allies hadgained control of Saint Marie Eglise.
This victory was a crucial step insecuring a foothold in Normandy and
advancing the liberation of France.
The bravery and determination ofthe paratroopers in Saint Marie
Eglise have not been forgotten.
The town's church steeple Parachute intribute to steel's harrowing experience.
(01:50):
And the Airborne Museum standsas a testament to the soldiers
who fought and died there.
Saint Mere Eglis remains a symbolof the courage and sacrifice of the
allied forces during World War II,a poignant reminder of the high cost
of freedom, and the incredible spiritof those who fought to preserve it.
(02:21):
Welcome to Talk With History.
I'm your host, Scott, here withmy wife and historian, Jen.
(02:52):
but some folks have reached out andsaid, Hey, how can I support the podcast?
You can do that over atthe history road trip.
com.
You can pledge for a month,you can pledge for a year.
And it really is an opportunityfor us because we don't make any
money on this podcast right now.
We haven't for a few years, cause thisis really just a passion project for us.
So if you've ever wanted to support.
(03:13):
Heading over to the history road trip.
com.
It's a free email newsletter that we have.
And if you want to, again, 99, 99percent of what we're going to do
over there is going to be free.
There'll be some occasionalmember only podcasts and
things that we list over there.
But that, that's, that's aplace where we're setting up to.
further share our adventures andfor if you want to support, it's
(03:36):
a, it's a great opportunity.
And we, we have had some folks reachout and said that they were going
to pledge and we're going to turnon that opportunity here at the end
of September, because the end ofSeptember will actually be, I think as
a third anniversary of, of talk with
Jenn (03:49):
Yes, and we are appreciative of any support or donations we can get for
the podcast because like you said, we,we have no financial backing as of today.
And so it really does help us becauseas we're are a history road trip.
channel.
So we actually visit these locationsand it's not inexpensive to do.
(04:09):
So we do appreciate any kindof support you can give.
Please come on over there.
Let us know what youthink of these episodes.
Let us know any suggestions youmight have of places for us to
visit or any feedback, good or bad.
We would love to hear from you.
Scott (04:23):
Yeah.
And we appreciate those out there,you podcast, like Doug, like
Larry, who've proved pledge supportover at the history road trip.
com.
That is the.
T H E, TheHistoryRoadTrip.
com, again, you'll also get a free emailnewsletter with kind of some more, more
in depth dives into some of our topics.
(04:45):
Okay, so today we're going to talkabout a town that, that a lot of
our audience may actually be semifamiliar with because it was featured
prominently in Band of Brothers.
Jenn (04:56):
Yes.
Scott (04:57):
And you got to visit there, and this is a very, I'll call it,
American friendly town in France.
So tell us about Saint Mère Église,one of the first French towns liberated
after the Normandy D Day invasion.
Jenn (05:11):
Yeah.
St.
Marigles.
Like I had to ask people many times howto pronounce it over and over again.
And it's, it's also in the longest day.
So most people will recognize itinitially from the longest day.
And then it does play a big role inBand of Brothers, but this town is
synonymous with D Day because of whatit means for the allied troops, what
(05:33):
it means in the landing of Utah beachand the airborne, but it's an old town.
Town in France and it's close to theNormandy Beach It's the first major
town behind Utah Beach and not farfrom the beach But it's also on a
major roadway the n13 Which is thismajor road that the Allies would need?
(05:56):
Logistically to get the tanks and thetroops and the men into theater to fight
the Nazis So it's it's a major roadIt's founded in the 11th century, so
the earliest records date back to 1080,and the Latin name means Church of St.
Mary or Holy Mother Church.
(06:17):
So if you think of St.
Mary Iglesias, it's like St.
Mary Church or Mother Mary.
So that's, the name is veryCatholic or Latin Catholic.
Scott (06:30):
that kind of makes sense, because the town chapel, the
town church, is very central.
Jenn (06:35):
It's very central.
And like back in theday, the 10, you know.
Uh, that's what was the Frenchsociety was based around the church.
And so the town was involvedin the hundred years war.
It was involved in the wars of religion.
This is an old town, but when it comesto D Day, it's such a significant part
(06:55):
because it's right behind Utah beach.
And because it's one of thefirst places that it's going to
start to see action that night.
From June 5th from midnight on intoJune 6th is when the first Jumps will
start and they start about 1 40 AM.
You're going to get the 82nd Airborneand the 101st Airborne jumping in that
(07:19):
area to support the landings of Utahbeach again, to, to take control of
these roads logistically, to be ableto get these tanks and these people.
into France.
And knowing that the Germans haveflooded a lot of the farmland,
there's a, there's less roadsavailable and this is a major one.
(07:41):
And so you're going to get this82nd Airborne, 101st Airborne.
Now things don't go as plannedand people get scattered.
That's exactly whathappens to Dick Winters.
He gets, he's far awayfrom where he should be.
Scott (07:55):
And I think that's because a multitude of things, right?
In the opening, we said, part of it'swins and high, and then this and the
other, but also, and we talked about itwhen we did a lot of masters of the air
content a while back, there was pilots andsoldiers that we're talking about, some of
these pilots who were flying were flyingtwice as fast as they were supposed to.
Jenn (08:14):
Yeah.
I mean, people are nervous.
Scott (08:16):
They were nervous, and and that's what happens in
what they call, the fog of war.
You fly too fast, or, the conditionsaren't what you're expecting, and all
of a sudden, these airborne troopers,rather than being within the area that
they had planned on being dropped, they'regetting dropped all over the place.
Jenn (08:30):
Yeah.
And as much as you can practicethis, you have to remember these
pilots are, are relatively new.
They've just been trained to be pilots.
A lot of these guys haven'tflown a lot of missions in war.
A lot of these guys haven'tdropped over theater yet.
Think about it.
This is our first invasion.
This is America's firstinvasion into Europe.
(08:54):
dropping troops.
So, those landings started about 1 40AM, but they result in heavy casualties
because like you said, going too fast,these paratroopers are very heavy.
They're carrying 60,70, 80 pounds on them.
They're hitting these water areas,which I say are flooded and they're
flooded more than six feet or sevenfeet, the basic height of a man.
(09:18):
And when they have all that weighton them, they basically are drownded.
And then there was bombing thatalso happened that night and some
of these buildings in town caughtfire and they illuminated the sky.
So as these men are jumping,they become targets in the sky.
And so the Germans who are made aware ofthis attack happening, come out and are
(09:40):
able to fire on these men as they land.
And you get men, Who are descendingand hitting telephone poles.
They're hitting trees and they'reeasily shot because they're
not, they're not cut down.
And this is where you getthe John Steele story.
Scott (09:54):
Yeah, and so that is, I don't think I realized until we started doing
this, that's based on a true story.
Jenn (10:00):
story.
It's a very unique story when youthink about it, because of all the
things to get hung up on, you'regoing to hit a church steeple like
Scott (10:09):
and then he plays dead, probably for a couple hours.
And I think you had mentioned in thevideo that eventually, he's trying
to cut himself down, he drops hisknife, he alerts the German soldier,
that German soldier tries to shoothim, shoots him in the foot, and
then another paratrooper shoots that.
So he actually gets saved because theGerman who was shooting him gets shot,
that other, his counterpart, gets shot.
(10:31):
Eventually, the Germans capture him.
But when the Airborne takesthe town, he takes the purse.
So it's a very interesting story,especially for a movie like The Longest
Day, which I haven't watched yet.
I need to go watch it.
It's another John Wayne movie.
Jenn (10:43):
Another John Wayne movie, Red Buttons plays John Steele in it.
John Steele is of the505th Parachute Infantry.
He's in the 82nd Airborne.
So you get the 101st 82nd Airbornethat are jumping that night.
And when I'll talk more about the townlooks like today, but like you said,
he gets hung up on the church steeple.
And today there is still a mannequinhanging from a parachute on
(11:07):
the church steeple to tell thatstory because it's a true story.
And it's one of those fantastic.
Truth is stranger than fiction, right?
Like you can telling the truthis so much more amazing than a
fictional story would have been.
Scott (11:23):
Well, and aside from, well, you'll talk a little bit about the
Airborne Museum that's there in St.
Mary Eglis, but it's also away for the town to continue to
recognize what these men did that
Jenn (11:35):
yeah.
So when you think about it,this, these first jumps happened
at 1 40 AM by 5 AM, a force.
led by the 505th Parachute Regimenttook the town with little resistance.
So think about three hours later,John stills hang in for two hours.
He gets cut down.
He's basically prisoner for an hourand then the town is taken by 5 a.
(11:55):
m.
So it's one of the.
first towns liberated by the Americans.
And that the story, the townis so proud of that story.
They were under Nazioccupation for four years.
And here it takes a little less thanfour hours to take the town back.
They just even today they embracethat story so much that John Steele
(12:18):
Mannequin is part of their town.
It hangs in their town square.
Now I don't think it's on the right.
side of the steeple.
I think he actually in real life wason the other side of the steeple,
but because that doesn't face thetown square, they hang the mannequin
on the other side for the story.
Scott (12:34):
in the face.
Is the trip
Jenn (12:35):
Like you said, he drops his knife.
He gets shot in the foot.
He's eventually cut down, but hedoes help capture the town.
He goes on to keep fighting.
The church has since becomevery much like a shrine.
to the paratroopers.
And they have even have stainedglass windows with the Virgin
Mary and paratroopers beside
Scott (12:57):
It's really cool.
If you haven't seen our video, the linkwill be in the show notes of this podcast.
I would encourage you to go to gosee that because one, the movie, The
Longest Day, we put some clips in there.
So it shows it's a good representationof what happened that day.
But to you, you got some shots of thestained glass and it was really neat.
Cause I actually missed it thefirst time when I was looking
through the footage and you said,Hey, no, go back and look at this.
(13:19):
And so I was able to zoom in andyou can see that stained glass.
I've never seen stained glass like thisbefore with, you see kind of the The St.
Mary, you see Mary there, classic pose,head, head bent over a little bit.
But then on the sides right next to herare paratroopers in their paratrooper
green with a helmet on and bootsand a parachute in stained glass.
(13:42):
It's really beautifuland it's really neat.
Jenn (13:44):
Yeah.
And like we have spoken before, forso many things to go right that night.
I mean, things went wrong, butso many things to go right.
that you didn't have as much of adefense by the Nazis and for this
town to be liberated so quickly.
We believe that it was some kindof divine intervention there.
(14:04):
And so for the town to embracethat and put it into something
permanent, like stained glass withthe Virgin Mary beside paratroopers.
It's just a very interesting thing to see.
They also have a Joan of Arc in thereand a just a generic depiction of
Jesus, but it's a very beautiful church.
The church still has remnantsof bullet shots and things
(14:26):
in the side of the church.
So it's very much still a just a relicof D Day and you can go and see it.
And the town square is just beautiful,but they Love the story of D Day
and the liberation of their town somuch so that I was there that day.
80 years later, and they had paradesof American tanks, all these French
(14:51):
men and women dressed as Americans.
It was very neat.
And they just embrace Americans somuch that there is a monument there.
to the 82nd and the 101st Airborne.
And people leave poppies anddifferent things there, but
they've just embraced that story.
And if you walk around the town,there are different areas with
(15:13):
little plaques and things aboutdifferent paratroopers that fell into.
this backyard or into this greenhouse orinto this garden and what they may have
come up against or what happened to them.
And even in different areas, they stillhave parachutes that they'll hang over
trees and things just to give you a senseof what the town felt like that day, that
(15:38):
morning, when all of these, Parachuteis basically descended on the town.
Scott (15:43):
Yeah, it was, it was really neat to watch it and, and seeing the
footage the parade footage with, Imean, these are old tanks that are,
that was even just neat because youdon't see that in the States, right?
You just don't see parades like that.
And, and these are legitimateold World War II tanks that
they're driving through the town.
It was really cool to see
Jenn (16:03):
It was really neat.
And when you think about these roadsare basically a tank wide and they're
driving these tanks down thesecobblestone old roads and people
are loving it and they're waving andthey're just having a great time.
And these tanks look legit.
Like they could havejust, Been made yesterday.
(16:24):
They've taken such good care of them.
Scott (16:26):
It's, it's, it was so cool.
Jenn (16:28):
So what else they have in st Mariglis if Town Square walk around again
see the plaques to the different airbornethat were there that day But they have the
entire airborne museum is there and thatwas a great museum to show what but the
airborne kind of went through that day.
They have an example of what it'slike to board a C 47 aircraft
(16:51):
and jump from a C 47 aircraft.
You get reminiscence of it inBand of Brothers when they're all
lining up and you have the redlight that goes green and they just
start jumping on the static line.
It's the same kind of feeling.
You go through, you walk through,you get to see what it's like,
dark night the jostling of theaircraft, not knowing where you are
and you're basically just jumping.
(17:13):
It also lets you see the amount ofweight these men are carrying on them
because besides their jump gear, they'recarrying on whatever ammunition they need.
They need, they're carrying onwhatever gear they need and just
all the weight they have upon theirbodies as they jump not only makes
them fall to the ground faster.
And since these men were going low andfast, that was put at them a danger.
(17:36):
But just.
the sheer weight if they're goingto hit water, they just not going to
have the time to cut themselves free.
And that's also when men were hittingburning buildings or burning areas,
they didn't have the time to redirectthemselves because it's so fast and
you're so heavy that you don't havethat opportunity to avoid the fire.
(17:57):
So you have cases of that as
Scott (17:59):
If you ever get a chance to see, somebody parachuting or
something like that, it looks likethey're falling relatively slowly.
You don't realize and you and I Ithink you you did it for My birthday or
something one year we went skydiving.
We did tandem skydiving thing And so Iwas strapped to somebody who you know
knew what he was doing and when you'refalling you realize how fast you're
falling But then also you don't realizeand that when the parachute pulls it's
(18:23):
not violent you slow down But then whenyou get closer to the ground you realize
how fast you are still falling Youknow, and that's modern day parachutes.
These are World War II era, the airborneconcept is still relatively new, a
few years and all the gear and all theother stuff that's going on, right?
(18:45):
You, you, you add all ofthat stuff up together.
together What
these paratroopers were doingand how they were jumping in
is pretty incredible and, and.
very, very dangerous,especially at the time.
Like today we have much betterequipment, much more control for
your average parachuter coming down.
So it really was incrediblewhat they were doing.
Jenn (19:07):
It was, and that's, this town has embraced that story.
And that museum has embraced that story.
They actually have the gliderswere also a big part of that day.
And they have one of the only examples ofthe Waco glider there that you can see it.
So gliders are big.
If we ever talk about the Pegasus bridgeThe English had the gliders where you
(19:29):
could get about 40 men, 30 men in a glider
Scott (19:32):
we referenced them, I think, Latin last week or the week before his episode.
Jenn (19:35):
it's quiet.
You don't hear it and theycan land and they can really
land right under your nose.
That's why they took thePegasus Bridge so easily.
But they have an example of it in there.
I want people to remember two paratroopersas much as they're known for jumping.
Jumping is just the easiestbasic part of what they're doing.
(19:56):
They're soldiers.
They're there to fight.
They're there.
They're infantry.
When you think about it,they're there to fight.
Jumping is just how they get there.
And once they're there, theyjust become, they become
soldiers, ground troops, ground
Scott (20:10):
It's a smaller part of their training than people realize.
Jenn (20:12):
Yeah.
And so yeah, getting the jump rightis so important, but getting the jump
right is, is the easiest basic part.
And then you're going tohave to start fighting a war.
And that's what you know, whenyou see in Band of Brothers,
jumping in is how they get there.
But it's really when they get onthe ground and then they have to
start doing the tactics, the groundtactics that comes into play.
(20:35):
So it's, you're, you're likedouble the soldier there.
But I really loved being in that town.
I recommend if you're going to go visitFrance and Normandy, you have to go to St.
Mere Eglis.
I think of all the towns associated withD Day, it is the most important one.
It is the one that wasin support of Utah Beach.
(20:56):
It is the.
first one liberated.
It is, they have embracedthat story there.
They love Americans there.
You can see the mannequin ofJohn Steele on the steeple there.
And it's just a place.
They have recently unveiled a statueof President Eisenhower, General
Eisenhower, as he preferred to becalled, but in full World War II uniform.
(21:19):
So it looks like the statueat the D Day memorial.
and the statue at his at hispresidential museum in Kansas.
So that is also right therebeside the steeple as well.
So it's a great place to go and visit.
Scott (21:33):
Yeah, it was a fun video to make because it's much more, able
to be a little more celebratorywith a video like this and the
topic was really, really neat.
With the successful securing of SaintMère Église and the other key towns on
D Day, the Allied forces turned theirattention to using these strategic points
(21:55):
to push further into occupied France.
The beaches of Normandy became acrucial supply and reinforcement
hubs for the advancing troops.
From these beachheads, the Alliesinitiated Operation Overlord, the
codename for the Battle of Normandy.
This involved a series ofmeticulously planned operations
(22:16):
to break through German defensesand liberate occupied territories.
One of the first objectives wasto link the five beachheads,
ensuring that they would be safe.
A continuous front line and facilitatingthe movement of troops and supplies.
As the Allied forces advanced,they encountered fierce resistance
from entrenched German troops.
The hedgerows of the Normandy countrysideprovided natural defensive positions,
(22:38):
making progress slow and costly.
Despite this, the Allies pressed on,employing coordinated infantry, armor,
and air support to overcome the obstacles.
key towns such as Carentan,Caen, and Bordeaux.
And Saint Lô became major battlegrounds.
The capture of the French portcity, Caen, in particular was
(23:00):
critical due to its strategiclocation and transportation network.
The British and Canadian forces facedweeks of intense fighting before
finally securing the town in mid July.
The liberation of these towns allowedthe Allies to establish vital supply
lines and command posts, enabling themto sustain their push into France.
(23:21):
The breakout from theNormandy beach has begun.
culminated in Operation Cobra,launched in late July 1944.
This offensive aimed to exploitthe weakened German positions
and achieve a rapid advancethrough the French countryside.
The operation succeeded beyondexpectations, leading to the encirclement
of German forces in the Falaisepocket in their eventual retreat.
(23:46):
With the German defenses in disarray,the Allies surged forward, liberating
Paris by the end of August.
The momentum continued as they drovetowards the German border, liberating
town after town and village after village.
The successful use of the Normandybeachheads and towns as springboards
for further operations was atestament to the meticulous planning
(24:06):
and bravery of the Allied forces.
Their efforts paved the way forthe eventual liberation of France.
And the ultimate defeat of Nazi Germany,marking a turning point in World War II.
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