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Norman D. Landing


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General Apathy

 

Wind??

 

More like some fashion models fingers and toes........... B)

Hi Ron, I note that you had to rein in and moderate your initial comment, was it too windy for you would it have ' blown ' the moderator's minds for them. ^_^ .

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, June 28 2014.

 

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General Apathy

Promoting the USMF on Normandy Roads....

 

 

Hi Johan, good to see you cycling along the open roads of Normandy, even so on this busy occasion of the 70th anniversary, once again nice to see you all, and thanks for the commemorative beers.

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, June 28 2014.

 

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General Apathy

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Hi all and any MVPA members .................

 

Here is a photograph taken in Normandy during the week of the the 70th anniversary, it was taken at the home of MVPA member and recruiting officer Pierre Izarie, Pierre and his teepee will be seen in the UK during July at the ' War & Peace Show ' helping and recruiting new MVPA members.

 

This year Pierre was instrumental in making the Bayeux military vehicle parade the success that it was with around 200 vehicles paraded through the town, with bi-lingual commentary by Richard Beddall of the UK's Military Vehicle Trust.

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, June 28 2014.

 

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General Apathy

I would think everyone is gearing up for the WWI events. I think today is the 100th Aniv of the ArchDuke being shot.

Hi Robert, Arch-Duke Ferdinand was assassinated 28 June 1914. I don't think that it is followed as greatly as WWII for several reasons, none of our ancestors that were alive then are alive now or even long enough to pass on to the current generations the knowledge of early WWI. Also there was no-where near as many vehicles and uniforms produced, it is extremely difficult to find anything military vehicle wise from WWI, whereas there is a great military vehicle following for WWII vehicles.

 

I recall seeing on a university wall in the late 70's ' Arch-Duke Ferdinand found alive, WWI a mistake '.

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, June 29 2014.

 

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General Apathy

 

Normandy images 1964, twenty years after D-Day June 1944.

 

some interesting shots, early on in this video clip it shows a woman cleaning a table at the bar opposite the newly opened Utah Beach museum, note the German bunker wall that the museum was housed within, also take a look at the compound of shells and bombs that were collected together before demolition.

 

Amusing to see that the men handling the munitions are wearing open toe sandles, thin shirts and generally even smoking, nothing like the armored protection today's demolition experts wear.

 

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, June 29 2014.

 

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attachicon.gifimage.jpg

 

SSSSHH !! He hasn't spotted it yet.....................

 

Hi, sorry for being late in posting this photo, it was taken when I was working on the sewerage system and I placed the bomb while he was facing the corner, he still hadn't spotted it in this shot, my second photo was when we called and asked him if he had found anything yet, then he spotted it by which time the rest of us were in fits of laughter. ^_^

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, June 28 2014.

 

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Thats one way to open a trench or clear a blocked pipe??

 

Hope he didnt have to change his trousers after spotting your "yard ornament" :lol:

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General Apathy

Hi Ken

 

What a great video...

 

Thanks for posting.

 

Regards

 

Tom

Hi Tom, thanks I enjoyed it enough to want others to see it as well, I think it was an attempt to show that Normandy was recovering from the war and the children were playing once more. Sadly from our point of view it was not showing enough of the relics of war still around at that time, not that I visited in 64 but nine years later in 73 I was amazed at what was still laying around all over the place.

 

I think I have probably mentioned this before but farmers were using helmets as feed bowls for chickens, I saw engine hoods off Jeeps stood on concrete blocks being used as rain and sun shields for chickens, there were Jeeps and Dodges in use by many people, tanks abandoned in fields as too expensive to cut up, the cutting gas was worth more than the scrap metal.

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, June 30 2014.

 

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General Apathy

 

Thats one way to open a trench or clear a blocked pipe??

 

Hope he didnt have to change his trousers after spotting your "yard ornament" :lol:

Hahahaa Ron, I think he was the one with the least sense of humor as he was the butt of the joke. ^_^

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, June 30 2014.

 

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Hi Tom, thanks I enjoyed it enough to want others to see it as well, I think it was an attempt to show that Normandy was recovering from the war and the children were playing once more. Sadly from our point of view it was not showing enough of the relics of war still around at that time, not that I visited in 64 but nine years later in 73 I was amazed at what was still laying around all over the place.

 

I think I have probably mentioned this before but farmers were using helmets as feed bowls for chickens, I saw engine hoods off Jeeps stood on concrete blocks being used as rain and sun shields for chickens, there were Jeeps and Dodges in use by many people, tanks abandoned in fields as too expensive to cut up, the cutting gas was worth more than the scrap metal.

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, June 30 2014.

 

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I have heard many times that farmers used helmets as buckets to hold feed in for their animals. I think on Mark Bandos website that he mentions that if my memory serves me correctly that his 327th GIR helmet was found strapped to a fence with feed in it. Also I have heard that they were used as flower pots.

Photo courtesy of Mark Bando

 

-Dave

 

post-151093-0-41241700-1404129325.jpg

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General Apathy

 

I have heard many times that farmers used helmets as buckets to hold feed in for their animals. I think on Mark Bandos website that he mentions that if my memory serves me correctly that his 327th GIR helmet was found strapped to a fence with feed in it. Also I have heard that they were used as flower pots.

Photo courtesy of Mark Bando

 

-Dave

 

Hi Dave, post war many helmets especially the abandoned German ones were converted by farmers and local people into more useful items. A local friend here particularly likes to collect these modified helmets as a side collection to run of the mill regular helmets.

 

A couple of the standard modification were as follows, tubes welded to the side of the helmet for attachment of a long wooden pole and used for bailing out water from ditches or ponds, or for feeding grain to and such to farm animals. Another adaption was a tube attached to the top of the helmet and a hole drilled through the helmet where the tube was attached and then used as a funnel, maybe engine oil changes on a tractor or such.

 

And as you state possible hung by chains as flower pots, or with feet attached as ground flower pots. I will have to try and get a few shots of some of these.

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July 2 2014.

 

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General Apathy

post-344-0-04939000-1404338306.jpg

 

I passed the Leclerc monument yesterday at Utah beach commemorating the French army section that landed at the beach there. I was surprised to see that the M-8 and the half-track had been repaired and repainted and back on display, due to bad corrosion from the effects of the salt in the air I thought they had been removed permanently.

 

Pleased to see their return and joining the Sherman that was repainted without removal.

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July 2 2014.

 

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General Apathy

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Cont.................

 

I was surprised to see that the M-8 and the half-track had been repaired and repainted and back on display.

 

Pleased to see their return and joining the Sherman that was repainted without removal.

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July 2 2014.

 

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Chunky Monkey

I just came across these before and after pictures ~ very interesting. First thing that came to mind is good ole General Apathy. Just thought I'd share them. Ken can confirm but I think he may have done his own before and after pics of some of these shots. The one that comes to mind is the fountain in picture 21. Anyhow enjoy~

 

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2014/06/scenes-from-d-day-then-and-now/100752/

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looks like they did a good job

 

 

Hi Robert, they are just shells for display, all the engines, gearboxes etc have been removed or have many missing parts.

 

Shown above is another vehicle that has just appeared in the front-yard of a vehicle salvage breaker, it came into his workplace for breaking up, however he has moved it to his house yard and intends on keeping it. It appears that it could possibly be a genuine WWII adaption and arrived in the local area when the USAAF moved here post D-Day and constructed forward landing fields for fighters.

 

It appears that it has not been on the road or in use for many years looking at the dated stickers on the windshield and it has yellow shaded headlights which is a very old French requirement for road use, and no longer a requirement.

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July 4 2014.

 

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General Apathy

post-344-0-02974300-1404471224.jpg

 

Apologies everyone, here is the missing photo from the previous post above.

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July 4 2014.

 

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Ken...were those enclosed Jeep body-shells available as off-the-shelf accessories, or were they fabricated individually?

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@ Chunky...re your then/now link...this is the Ranger memorial on the esplanade in Weymouth, as per the first image in the link. I photographed it last weekend.

 

 

post-8022-0-00338500-1404471691.jpg

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General Apathy

I just came across these before and after pictures ~ very interesting. First thing that came to mind is good ole General Apathy. Just thought I'd share them. Ken can confirm but I think he may have done his own before and after pics of some of these shots. The one that comes to mind is the fountain in picture 21. Anyhow enjoy~

 

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2014/06/scenes-from-d-day-then-and-now/100752/

Hi Chunky, thanks for the link to the images, seems the whole world and his dog now do these ' then & now ' images, and not just for WWII.

 

In case readers have not picked up on the instruction, you need to click on each image and it will reopen as the opposing image .

 

Perhaps I should start taking images of my shoebox and then in the distant future someone else can do comparison shots..................... ^_^ ^_^

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July 4 2014.

 

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