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Norman D. Landing


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General Apathy

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Hi Forum Normandy Readers, Summer started here a couple of weeks back and so most householders have been out working in their gardens and such. Two weeks ago whilst tending my vegetable patch I discovered these three items in the ground. The one is a German belted machine gun bullet minus it's head but retains the belt link rusted to the case, steel case dated 1937 if I can read it correctly. The coin shown in the middle is a French 1942 aluminum 20 Centimes, and a very rusted belt buckle of unknown origin. I also have a large piece of airfield matting rotted in the ground.

 

My village is marked on American invasion maps as a German stronghold, it was cleared by 82nd Airborne soldiers.

 

Nothing wildly exciting but hoping to find other items if I get hold of a metal detector.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent 30 April 2008, Normandy, France.

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General Apathy

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Hi Again Forum Normandy readers, referring back to the above post regarding working in our gardens, my neighbour Tony across the village street found these few items in his garden this week.

 

Shown in the one photograph there are some very dirty pieces of well shredded white parachute, shown to the right of this is a ripped section that he has gently washed and returned back to it's original white color.

 

The item in the second photograph is a thirteen star metal button most commonly associated with American HBT clothing, it still has the rivet in the rear of the button indicating that it appears to have been torn away from the clothing with some force.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, 30 April 2008, Normandy, France.

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General Apathy

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Hi Forum Readers, here's another little item from my collection, it is the wartime telephone directory for the U.S. Army and Army services in London during WWII. The first 40 pages list all the officers stationed in London at that time, it gives their names alphabetically, and giving their accommodation address and telephone numbers.

 

The next 40 pages give the office phone numbers and address's for various commands and all other departments that were required to run the U.S. War Department during the war. It is dated March 1945, and marked ' restricted ' which was rescinded with hand written ink statement ' Released 1 Jan 1946 '. An highly informative piece of information then and even now, however there are far too many departments to begin listing here.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, May 1 2008.

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General Apathy

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Hi Forum Readers, here's another little item from my collection, it is the wartime telephone directory for the U.S. Army and Army services in London during WWII.

 

The second 40 pages give the office phone numbers and address's for various commands and all other departments that were required to run the U.S. War Department during the war. An highly informative piece of information then and even now, however there are far too many departments to begin listing here.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, May 1 2008.

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General Apathy

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Hello Forum Members, A English friend of mine lives down near St. Lo, which is around two hours drive inland from Utah beach. On Saturday Nigel had a hydraulic digger scrapping out a new driveway onto his farm land when it brought up this German helmet in the spoil.

 

If you take a look at the helmet you will see that the helmet has been ripped open outwards from an internal fragment passing through the helmet, evidently if there had been anyone wearing this, it would have been instantaneous death for them.

 

Nigel now intends to do some serious metal detecting on his land, he feels that there should be more to find as in battlefield reports it states that there were some serious tank battles in his area. If more comes to light I will add further reports on this section. Regards

 

Norman D. landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, April 4 2008, Normandy, France.

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PLEASE KEEP THE ARTICLES COMING!!! This has been an amazing read and that is coming from someone who is intersted more in post WW2 history. I really enjoy the pictures and the commentaries are great. I will have to show my father this thread. He loves dug artifacts. Thanks!

Arch

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General Apathy

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PLEASE KEEP THE ARTICLES COMING!!! This has been an amazing read and that is coming from someone who is interested more in post WW2 history. I really enjoy the pictures and the commentaries are great. I will have to show my father this thread. He loves dug artifacts. Thanks!

Arch

 

Hi Arch, thanks for your post and support on these posts that I add to the forum. Hope you father likes this one.

 

On Saturday the 3rd May 2008 I was outside the front of my house talking to my neighbour Tony, who has lived in the village almost five years. The French farmer who lives on the opposite side of my property called us

over and said he had something for Tony, and produced a near new set of WWII HBT trousers. They had appeared whilst cleaning out the sheds at his parents house. I suggested that Tony wash them gently by hand in low temperature water. This he has done and ironed them and they are spectacular, no rips, no damage, no moth.

Also they are a good size 36 waist and around 33 or 34 leg.

 

The attached photo shows them prior to washing and laid on the roadway just as he was given them. So there are still some nice things to be found even after all this time.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, April 7 2008.

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Johan Willaert
April 7 2008.

 

Ken,

 

I see you've completely adjusted to the French way of life.... After living in France for about 6 months, you're one month behind..... :lol:

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General Apathy
Ken,

 

I see you've completely adjusted to the French way of life.... After living in France for about 6 months, you're one month behind..... :lol:

 

 

Hi Johan, so you reckon that I am a month out and it's now May, this may you talk about, is that may be this month may be last month. It's o.k. really, my friend Nick Heighes reckons that now I live in Normandy every days a Saturday for me. thumbsup.gif

 

If you want further proof that I have fallen into the French way of life read my next post, which I will get onto as soon as I finish this trivia.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, May 9 2008

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General Apathy

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Hi Normandy forum readers, yesterday ( 8 May ) was a French national holiday to commemorate Victory in Europe and remember fallen allied soldiers.

 

So we celebrated victory in Europe day yesterday, however I made a big mistake forgetting to have breakfast before I went to the event. My village has a little parade from the town hall to the French memorial across the road in the church yard, there the names of the dead from the village are read out and after each name the assembled group repeat ' Mort La France ' .

 

We then all drove to the memorial on the outskirts of the village to the Americans that fought in this area and raise American and French flags, lay a bouquet of flowers and observe a minutes silence. Mentioned on the three sides of the memorial are, 4th Infantry, 70th Tank Battalion, 82nd Airborne, 9th Infantry, 79th Infantry, 1st Engineer Amphibious Brigade, 101st Airborne, 746th Armored division, 90th Infantry.

 

I am led to believe that the field behind the memorial was an American cemetery for 6,000 troops between 1944 and 1948 when they were moved to the cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer ( Omaha Beach ). An older gentleman there, was fifteen in 1944 and his family owned the land that the cemetery was located on, he helped to dig the graves in 1944.

 

Then we returned to the village hall for a small speech by the mayor and drinks paid for by the village, our glasses of wine were topped up five times ???, thankfully I only had to walk down the hill to my house.

 

This is were my missing breakfast came in, I never normally sleep during the day but I had to have an hours sleep, due to the wine and the heat, welcome to France ????

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, May 9 2008

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Jeeper704

Looks like you had a fine time.

Vive la France! twothumbup.gif

 

They sure have good Calvados and Cider there, hehe.

Luckily for me, I did not have to drive then.

 

Erwin

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General Apathy

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Hi Erwin and fellow members, if your in Normandy this summer this is what I presently toot around in, a U.S. import Ford Ranger stepside pickup, registration plate ( tag ) G.I. NDL ( G.I. Norman D. Landing ). thumbsup.gif

 

Feel free to stop me and buy me a beer. HeeHee :lol:

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, May 9 2008

 

Hi Admin, any chance I could claim petrol expenses for filing these forum reports. w00t.gif I thought not

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You better hold your breath when a dark blue 1999 Cherokee Classic stops next to your Ford Ranger. :lol:

Will you attend Memorial Day at Colleville - Saint Laurent?

Looking forward to pictures of that if possible.

 

Erwin

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General Apathy

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Well I was a lucky boy two days ago, when I was given this dug up clip of Garand rounds, I don't have the exact location but it is in the area of my village. It's nice to have these little surprises pop up here and there. According to a French neighbour who lived in the adjoining house to mine during the war when he was a lad, I should take a closer look throughout my garden as he remembers items being buried by older members of his family during the fighting, unfortunately the boundaries of the gardens have altered over the years.. :unsure: ??????

 

 

 

Will you attend Memorial Day at Colleville - Saint Laurent?

Looking forward to pictures of that if possible.

 

Erwin

 

Hi Erwin, will do my best to get there and take photographs if I can, it is starting to get a real busy time as we get closer to June, along with family I have ten Jeeps and twenty guys visiting first week June. w00t.gif

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, May 11 2008

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Johan Willaert
it is starting to get a real busy time as we get closer to June, along with family I have ten Jeeps and twenty guys visiting first week June.

 

And a couple of crazy Belgians.... :blink:

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General Apathy
And a couple of crazy Belgians.... :blink:

 

It's o.k. folks, the Belgians are not crazy that I forgot to mention them, Belgians are just crazy. :blink:

 

Norman D. Landing.

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General Apathy

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Hi fellow forum members, It's great once people start to find out about your little perversions, here's something that was just given to me, it was left in the area when the American troops moved out after the end of the war.

 

It's the third one I have had over the years, not a great deal to tell you about it as there is only manufacturers detail on it and no army nomenclature, and it's not even marked ' U.S ' or ' U.S. Army '. it is a model 72 Speedway, made in U.S.A. by Speed Products Co. Long Island-City, N.Y..

 

All I have to do now is wait for some farmer to say ' Can you come and take this Sherman out of my way '. :rolleyes:

 

I do remember back in the late 70s when we were Jeeping through Normandy and there was far more stuff left abandoned in farmers fields, that we came across three Jeeps sitting sadly rotting in a pool of stagnant water in a pig field. We stopped and asked the farmer if we could go and look at them. It was unbelievable one of the three was a four wheel steer( Very few four wheel steer made ), it looked so bad bodily that we took no details of it's location, however before we drove away one of the group asked the farmer if he could take all the dash information plates, I remember that there were several more than the standard three plates, and they related to the four wheel steer aspect of the vehicle. Lost chances ???? ermm.gif

 

End or report for today, Bye

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, May 15 2008. thumbsup.gif

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Great post thumbsup.gif ! I enjoy every part. if we have a chance to meet in Normandy it will be with pleisure!

 

Yannick ;) , living in Brittany (where we have beautiful girls), but going very often in Normandy (where they have good cider and calvados...)

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General Apathy
Great post thumbsup.gif ! I enjoy every part. if we have a chance to meet in Normandy it will be with pleasure!

 

Yannick ;) , living in Brittany (where we have beautiful girls), but going very often in Normandy (where they have good cider and calvados...)

 

 

Hi Yannick, would be very much pleased to meet up with you sometime in Normandy, thanks for the kind words on the posts I put up. You may have good looking girls in Brittany, but the trouble with the the Calvados we have here is EVERY girl becomes good looking if you drink that stuff. crying.gif

 

Take care and continue enjoying your digging.

 

Cheers ( Lewis )

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hbtcoveralls

HI Ken,

You're getting to live a dream all of us American re-enactors have, to live and be where it happened. The time I spent "over there" with 2nd armored was worth a lifetime of events over here, and I'm amazed at what still shows up from the war. Have you ventured back to the scrapyard near St Denis Le Gast where all that great stuff was in 06 by any chance?

Keep up the posts and let us all know how this year's commemorations go.

Tom Bowers

South Carolina USA

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USMC RAIDER COLLECTOR
Hi Forum Members, the list of seventy Medal of Honor winners from my post above.

 

( Apologies that it did not copy across very neatly from my master copy )

Medal of Honor Winners 1989, Albuquerque, NM.

 

Name / Page / Unit / Fought.

 

 

Anderson, Webster 19 101st Airborne Viet-Nam

Ballard, Donald E. 23 3rd USMC Viet-Nam

Barnum, Harvey C. ( Jr. ) 25 3rd USMC Viet-Nam

Day, George E. 43 USAF Viet-Nam

Dix, Drew Dennis 47 Mil. Advisor Viet-Nam

Ferguson, Frederick Edgar 53 1st Cav. Airmobile Viet-Nam

Fleming, James P. 56 USAF Spec. Ops. Viet-Nam

Foley, Robert F. 57 25th Inf. Viet-Nam

Fox, Wesley L. 60 3rd USMC Viet-Nam

Fritz, Harold A. 61 11th Arm. Cav. Viet-Nam

Jennings, Delbert O. 78 1st Air. Cav. Viet-Nam

Lang, George C. 90 9th Inf. Viet-Nam

Lemon, Peter C. 95 1st Air. Cav. Viet-Nam

Marm, Walter Joseph ( Jr ) 102 1st Air. Cav. Viet-Nam

McGonagle, William L. 107 USN Mediterranean Sea

Norris, Thomas R. 117 Seal Advisor Viet-Nam

Novosel, Michael J 118 68th Med. Group Viet-Nam

Rogers, Charles Calvin 135 1st Inf. Viet-Nam

Stockdale, James B. 146 USN North Viet-Nam

Williams, James E. 160 USN River Sect. Viet-Nam

Adams, Stanley T. 170 19th Inf. Korea

Barber, William E. 170 1st USMC Korea

Cafferata, Hector A. 176 1st USMC Korea

Davis, Raymond G. 183 1st USMC Korea

Ingman, Einar H. ( Jr ) 197 7th Inf. Korea

Miyamura Hiroshi H. 213 3rd Inf. Korea

Myers, Reginald ( Jr ) 217 1st USMC Korea

O’Brien, George H. ( Jr ) 218 1st USMC Korea

Simanek, Robert E. 230 1st USMC Korea

Wilson, Harold E. 240 1st USMC Korea

Biddle, Melvin E. 258 517th Para. Inf. Belgium

Britt, Maurice L. 266 3rd Inf. Italy

Bush, Robert Eugene 271 1st USMC ( Med. ) Okinawa

Childers, Ernest 278 45th Inf. Italy

Colalillo Mike 281 100th Inf. Germany

Coolidge, Charles H. 284 36th Inf. France

Crawford, William J 289 36th Inf. Italy

Crews, John R. 290 63rd Inf. Germany

DeBlanc, Jefferson Joseph 296 USMC Fighter Sq. 112 Soloman Islands

Dunham, Russell E. 302 3rd Inf. France

Ehlers, Walter D. ( Brit MM ) 305 1st Inf. France

Finn, John William 311 USN Hawaii ( Dec 7 1941 )

Fluckey, Eugene Bennett 313 Submarine Commander China Seas

Gordon, Nathan Green 324 USN Pilot Bismark Seas

Gregg, Stephen R. 326 36th Inf. France

Hawk, John D. 336 90th Inf. France

Hendrix, James R. 338 4th Armored Div. Belgium

Herring, Rufus G. 339 USN Iwo-Jima

Howard, James H. 341 USAAC ( Inc Flying Tigers ) Germany

Johnson, Oscar G. 347 91st Inf. Italy

Mabry, George L. ( Jr ) 372 4th Inf. Germany

MacGilivary, Charles A. 373 44th Inf. France

McCarthy, Joseph Jeremiah 381 4th USMC Iwo-Jima

Meagher, John 388 77th Inf. Okinawa

Montgomery, Jack C. 396 45th Inf. Italy

Morgan John C. 397 USAAF Europe

Ogden, Carlos C. 406 79th Inf. France

Oresko, Nicholas 409 94th Inf. Germany

Pope, Everett Parker 419 1st USMC Peleliu Island

Rodriguez, Cleto 428 37th Inf. Manila

Ross, Donald Kirby 430 USN Hawaii ( Dec 7 1941 )

Ross, Wilburn K. 431 3rd Inf. France

Rudolph, Donald E. 432 6th Inf. Luzon

Ruiz, Alejandro R. R. 433 27th Inf. Okinawa

Swett, James Elms 451 USMC Fighting Sq. 221 Soloman Islands

Tominac, John J. 455 3rd Inf. France

Urban, matt 459 60th Inf. France

Vlug, Dirk J. 465 32nd Inf. Leyte

Vosler, Forrest T. 465 USAAC Germany

Williams, Hersel Woodrow 477 3rd USMC Iwo-Jima

 

Best Regards ( Lewis ) Normandy Correspondent April 27 2008

William E Barber was my good friends 1st Lt on Iwo Jima. Barber was also a Marine Parachutist..

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General Apathy

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HI Ken,

You're getting to live a dream all of us American reenactors have, to live and be where it happened. The time I spent "over there" with 2nd armored was worth a lifetime of events over here, and I'm amazed at what still shows up from the war. Have you ventured back to the scrapyard near St Denis Le Gast where all that great stuff was in 06 by any chance?

Keep up the posts and let us all know how this year's commemorations go.

Tom Bowers

South Carolina USA

 

 

Hi Tom, thanks for the post and mentioning our 2nd Armored ( 82nd recon ) trips through Normandy, firstly I will add a couple of shots of our 2004 trip with this post and then when I sort them a couple from the 2006 trip which you mention above. Both very enjoyable trips and as good as it gets for reconstructing an armored vehicle group passing through the exact areas that the 2nd Armored did sixty odd years before.

 

The group depicted 82nd Recon, used six wheel M-8 armored cars and Jeeps fitted with mortars in the rear seat area. For the 2004 trip we had nine M-8 armored cars, fourteen Jeeps with mortars, two field kitchen GMC 6 x 6 trucks and a couple of Dodge trucks, with four Harley outriders for traffic control. We received official recognition from Paris to take this armored and armed ( deactivated weapons ) column onto the roads

without police escorts, due to the professionalism of the organisers.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, May 16 2008

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