Tag Archives: 101st airborne

All Quiet in the Ardennes

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American engineers emerge from the woods and move out of defensive positions after fighting in the vicinity of Bastogne, Belgium, in December 1944. Note the M1 Garand, M1 Carbine and M9 Bazookas, along with a liberal sprinkling of grenades and spare ammo. (Photo: U.S. Army)

Today is the 75th Anniversary of the last great German offensive of WWII. Launched through the densely forested Ardennes region near the intersection of the eastern borders of Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, some 200,000 Germans fell on less than 80,000 unsuspecting American troops, many of which were recovering from the summer and Fall push through France and the Lowlands.

While the German offensive gained ground at first, eventually reinforcements– including Lt. Gen. George S. Patton Jr.’s Third Army–were rushed to the scene and counterattacked.

However, for the men trapped inside the 75-mile “bulged” salient from St. Vith to the week-long Siege of Bastogne, it was a white hell of exploding trees and an onslaught from 1,000 German panzers that those who survived never forgot.

The U.S. Army suffered over 89,000 casualties in the six-week-long Battle of the Bulge, making it one of the largest and bloodiest battles fought by the nation’s servicemen.

U.S. Army infantrymen of the 290th Regiment, 75th Infantry Division, fight in fresh snowfall near Amonines, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge, Jan. 4, 1945. Note the M3 Grease Gun to the right and M1 Carbine to the left. (Photo: U.S. Army)

For a more detailed look at the men, firepower, and background of the battle, check out the (free) 685-page U.S. Army Center of Military History reference, “The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge” by Hugh M. Cole, as well as the vast records available through the National Archives. For more information about commemorating the battle Bastogne and other events, visit Bastogne 75 and Belgium Remembers 44-45.

D-Day at 75: An Epilogue

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P-47 with invasion stripes knocked out Sherman M4 Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, France, 1944

As The Greatest Generation ages and increasingly drifts from the present and into memory with each passing day, their footprints on those hallowed beaches on Normandy are washed away. With that, I find tributes tying today’s active military units, to their historical forebearers very important, a sign that those heroic deeds will continue forward.

At Pointe Du Hoc, overlooking Omaha Beach, the U.S. 2nd Ranger Battalion climbed the almost vertical cliff face to take out (what they were told) was a battery of strategically placed 155mm guns which could control the entire beach.

U.S. Army Rangers show off the ladders they used to storm the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc, which they assaulted in support of Omaha Beach landings on D-Day M1 Garand BAR 80-G-45716

U.S. Army Rangers show off the ladders they used to storm the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc, which they assaulted in support of Omaha Beach landings on D-Day. NARA # 80-G-45716

Of the 225 men with the 2nd Rangers at the dawn of D-Day, just 90 were still standing on D+1 when they were relieved.

To salute the Pointe Du Hoc Rangers, active duty Rangers of 2nd Battalion, 75th Rangers, some in period dress, reenacted the climb yesterday.

The 101st Airborne and 1st Infantry, meanwhile, had their own representatives on hand to walk in the footsteps of their predecessors that landed on the Cotentin (Cherbourg) Peninsula and on Omaha Beach.

Adm. James G. Foggo III, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa (CNE-A), dedicated a Lone Sailor statue on the seawall over Utah Beach, in honor of the bluejackets who cleared the beaches.

“The Frogmen swam ashore to the beaches of Normandy to make them safer for the follow-on wave of Allied forces,” said Foggo. “The Lone Sailor statue is a reminder to honor and remember their bravery and to act as a link from the past to the present as we continue to protect the same values they fought to protect.”

“The Lone Sailor statue stands on a plaza at the Utah Beach Museum overlooking the Atlantic Ocean from where the U.S. invasion force appeared on that historic morning. Although people come and go from this statue, the Lone Sailor will continue to serve as a universal sign of respect towards all Sea Service personnel for generations to come.”

At the same time, down the beach, CNE-A Fleet Master Chief Derrick Walters and U.S. Navy SEALS assigned to Special Warfare Unit 2 re-enacted the D-Day mission that Navy Combat Demolition Unit Sailors conducted in the cover of darkness to clear the beaches for the main invading force on Utah Beach, to include blowing up a recreated Czech Hedgehog beach obstacle with a bit of C4, as one does.

Meanwhile, the crew of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CV-69), read Ike’s famous D-Day Message

Make no mistake, a few precious Veterans of that Longest Day were able to be on hand in Normandy this week, such as 97-year-old 101st Airborne trooper Tom Price who came in just how he did back in 1944– jumping from a C-47.

As men like Mr. Price rejoin their units in the halls of Valhalla, memory is everything. It echos through eternity.

Army tries out new Airborne Vehicle

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With the looming 75th anniversary this week of the more than 22,000 Allied paratroopers and glider-borne light infantry dropping behind German lines in Normandy on the eve of D-Day, I thought this was relevant. During Exercise Immediate Response 19, the 173rd Airborne Brigade got to test out it’s newest vehicle addition, the Army Ground Mobility Vehicle (AGMV), in Europe of course.

This, obviously, opens us up to a look at the gear, weapons, and special equipment of the 82nd and 101st Airborne during Overlord, as presented by the Army’s Center for Military History.

Pritzker on Southeast Asia

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“Home Cookin’, 1967. A member of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division eats his first hot meal in five days after operating in the Quảng Ngãi Province. Photo by Specialist 5 Robert C. Lafoon, U.S. Army”

“…He was known for his Mohawk haircut. He’s sitting there eating some turkey and some peas. We had been out and had humped all day long and I mean humped—it was mountains. Fortunately, they flew in hot chow. In that unit itself he was known for that Mohawk haircut so I said hey, I gotta get a shot of this guy.”— Photo commentary shared by Specialist 5 Robert C. Lafoon, U.S. Army 1967

Visit the Pritzker Museum & Library in Chicago or go to this website to explore more than 150 images and listen to dozens of firsthand accounts of those who fought and documented the Vietnam War.

Why no polymers for Big Green?

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number mags

With news the Marines have adopted a variant of the Magpul PMAG as standard, four U.S Senators with military service on their resume asked the Army where they stand on polymer mags.

The lawmakers penned a letter to Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley last week, calling the branch’s top officer out when it comes to the fact that polymer mags are not currently authorized.

“We request a response as to why the Army has not approved any polymer magazines for use in combat, or in training, and an update on if the Army is considering approving them now,” noted the lawmakers, pointing out that the Marine Corps recently approved use of a polymer magazine for their rifles after a five-year moratorium on such devices by both services.

More in my column at Guns.com

Of men and steel

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1911 battle of bulge

“Today I held hell in my hands,” said a firearms buff who came across a battered 1911, pockmarked from its wartime service before it was recovered from a World War II battlefield.

Some 71 years ago this week, Hitler launched the last great German offensive through the densely forested Ardennes region near the intersection of the eastern borders of  Belgium, France, and Luxembourg.

Codenamed “Operation Watch on the Rhine” over 200,000 Germans, including some of the most crack units remaining in the Army at the time, fell upon just 80,000 American troops, including many units such as the 101st Airborne, who were under strength following heavy losses and looking forward to some time in a “quiet area” to regroup.

While the German offensive gained ground at first, eventually reinforcements– including  Lt. Gen. George S. Patton Jr.’s Third Army–were rushed to the scene and counterattacked.

However, for the men trapped inside the “bulged” salient from St. Vith to the week-long Siege of Bastogne, it was a white hell of exploding trees and German panzers that those who survived never forgot.

The pistol examined by Daniel ED MacMurray IV, marked with a yellowed tag that reads, “Colt pistol picked up after battle at Bastonge Dec. 1944,” is battered with shrapnel wounds across the top of the slide, muzzle and grip including several that penetrated deep into the steel.

More images and the rest of the story as Mr. Harvey said, in my column at Guns.com

What the heck is a recoilless rifle and what is it doing in Afghanistan?

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Being a male born into a military family in 1974 Georgia, I grew up with a sack of little green army men. These included the regular ‘talking on the radio man’, ‘officer with a 45 man’, ‘machinegun man’, “rifleman” and the “bazooka man”. Later, in the early 80’s I read Steven King’s The Stand and the entire first part of the act of the novel about a dystopian superflu epidemic spoke liberally about US Army soldiers setting up ‘recoilless rifles’ everywhere and thought to myself, ‘what is this?”

It was then, as an inquisitive youngster that I asked by grandfather, a retired regular Army Master Sergeant what a recoilless rifle was and he reached for my army men, now deeded to my younger brother and tossed the ‘bazooka man’ at me.

‘There you go. Look at the sight, it’s a recoilless, not a bazooka” He then explained the concept of the recoilless rifle further and in more detail. About how they used them in just about every conflict in the twentieth century. About how he remembered Air Bases and LZs in Vietnam where the recoilless was mounted looking down at free fire areas loaded with beehive rounds to shred nighttime surprise attacks with a swarm of mutilating flechette darts.

“But they have all but thrown them away now” he advised. “They went to TOW and its little sorry brother, the Dragon years ago”

Well that was in the 80’s and the M47 Dragon, which never really worked well, is long gone. The TOW is maintained but is being phased out by its own replacement the Javelin. However, the humble old recoilless rifle (not to be confused with the bazooka!) is making a quiet comeback.

The 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division’s “Screaming Eagles” fired some 150-rounds through old M67s at the Forward Operating Base Orgun-E range on January 27, 2011. They intend to use the weapon in defensive operations at isolated FOBs in Afghanistan.

If it works, use it