Posted: 05 March 2008 at 9:33pm | IP Logged

Mike has asked me to post this poem my Dad wrote upon returning to England after his D-Day jump when he landed int the town of St Mere Eglise, France.  Dad was a radio operator assigned to D & HQ, 2BN (I think) 506th, 101st ABN.  Dad titled the poem..., PARATROOPER'S 'D' DAY

We boarded planes as darkness fell, and headed into France.  To jump into a pot of hell, our lives staked on a chance.  Little did we know or dream, what waited for us there.  But our mission was a vital one, to fail we did not dare.  We hit the silk hours before, the dawn began to show.  And many of our pals that morn, never saw the sun's bright glow.  Sad were the sights we saw of some, that were caught still in their 'chutes.  Their clothes stained red from the wounds they bore, Lay lifeless in their boots.  The fight went on through the morn and night, into what seemed endless days.  And every man a hero was, in a hundred different ways.  For the boys that fought, and gave their lives, They had not given them in vain.  For the job they did was one more step, towards the freedom of the world again.

They call me "Ramps"..., Dad was on the DZ and pinned his WWII wings on me when I made my 5th jump.  I was an AF Security Policeman in Vietnam 1965-66.  I joined the Army after my 4 yrs in the AF.  I served with 19th SFGA, PSYOPS, and as an Instructor in US Army Schools & NCO Academies.  Sorry about the way the spacing worked out in the poem..., your forum format is totally foriegn to me.