Two jumps set 60 years apart

  • Published
  • By Jim Garamone
  • American Forces Press Service
SAINTE-MERE-EGLISE, France (AFPN) --  Combat controllers, aircrews and paratroopers made the drop of almost 700 paratroopers into the historic drop zone outside of here look easy June 5; but do not use that to measure the accomplishment of 60 years ago.

"We can do the same thing day or night, but look what we have to work with," said a combat controller.

Today's combat controllers have state-of-the art communications equipment and the Global Positioning System. A C-130 Hercules can hold twice as many paratroopers, and a C-17 Globemaster III can hold four times as many.

Now imagine the night of June 5, 1944.

Portions of two U.S. airborne divisions and one British division jumped into Normandy. It was dark, the weather was rotten, and there was an unexpected wind that sent the C-47s -- the military version of the DC-3 -- all over the sky. Some pathfinders jumped in early, but their communications gear was primitive and in many cases would not work. They did have lights that signaled to planes overhead where to drop, and they set those up.

Now add to that: Someone is shooting at you.

"It was a tremendously difficult accomplishment from a purely military viewpoint," said the controller.

The late historian, Stephen Ambrose, in his book "D-Day" said that Operation Overlord commander Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was, of all facets of the invasion, most concerned about the airborne operations. Officials at his headquarters estimated the paratroopers would suffer 80-percent casualties.

"We still would have done it if we knew that estimate," said Ralph Harp, one of the men who made the jump in 1944. "For the guys on the beach to be successful, we had to be here. Besides, it was the Army. It wasn't like we had a lot of choice."