A tribute to heroes
Former Parachute Regiment soldier Craig Allen reports on D-day75 from his Td5 90
FOR the last several years I have made an annual pilgrimage to Normandy in my Td5 90 to cover the commemorative events for the Parachute Regiment. This year, of course, was something special marking 75 years since that great sea and airborne invasion of the continent. For me it was the airborne element that was the main focus and driving off the ferry late on the first evening I headed for a familiar campsite at Ranville. After setting up camp by the lights of the Land Rover I turned in, contemplating a busy week of events ahead.
In the morning I drove down to nearby Pegasus Bridge for a breakfast of coffee and croissants at the Gondree Cafe, the very first building in occupied France to be liberated. An audacious glider-borne assault on the night of June 5, 1944, saw men of the Ox & Bucks Light Infantry seize the bridge from the stunned German defenders, marking the opening of the airborne assault. Close on their tail were the Pathfinders of 6th Airborne Division leading the way for the paratroopers of the 3rd and 5th Parachute Brigades. They were followed by the Gliders of 6th Airlanding Brigade, many arriving at DZ-N just north of Ranville. Along with the assault on Merville Battery and the American drops, these airborne landings marked the opening of the hard-fought battle to secure the Allied bidgehead in Normandy.
The commemorations began with a small service at St Vaast-en-auge on June 4, followed by a similar gathering at Putot-en-auge in the evening. I find these smaller events among the most moving, with local people and veterans coming together to honour the memory of the fallen.
The following day saw a major event at the Airborne Memorial close to Pegasus Bridge, with veterans awarded the Croix-de- Guerre in honour of their wartime service.
Following this I drove the Land Rover over to Sannerville and DZ-K, an original wartime drop zone. Two large parachute drops were planned, the first by members of the British 16 Air Assault Brigade along with French Paras followed by Daks-over-normandy. This second drop would see re-enactors jump from some of the 30-plus C47s and Dakotas gathered for the commemoration. Walking out onto the DZ itself there was a sense of anticipation and the air was soon filled with the sound of aircraft as the first stream came in. The sky was soon full of parachutes as the modern-day paratroopers jumped to commemorate their wartime