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Norman D. Landing


bilko1
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Hi Scott, thanks for the thumbs up on the post I add, hope there's more in the future for you to enjoy.

 

Hi John, pleased to see that you are teaching history, always loved it myself at school, nice that your father made it through the war and home again.

 

Well it's not so expensive here I think, I worked it out that with all the money I paid out before earning anything to live on in England, I now live on what I used to have to pay out. By this I mean, my local council tax on my house and business, the insurance payments to cover the house and business and all the other little additions I used to pay out, if this makes any sense in the way I have described it. England is so expensive now that hundreds of thousands have left to do the same life change in the last ten years.

 

Norman D. Landing. Forum Normandy Correspondent. Aug 21 2008.

 

p.s. hope to post photos over the weekend on the monuments at Brecourt manor ( 506 E. Co ) and Beuzeville au Plain where theres another monument to a crashed 506th glider containing Lt. Thomas Meehan, ( 506 PIR ) both places mentioned in the Band of Brothers television series.

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Hi Dave, thanks for taking the time to read my posts, makes it all worthwhile. thumbsup.gif

 

Only 20 more years to go before you could move to Normandy, France, well that's about all I have got as well twenty years, just fancy buying my place with a loft full of militaria already in it. Hee Hee :lol:

 

Cheers ( Lewis )

 

Tell you what Lewis...we'll buy the place and even let you live in the shed if you get past the next 20...as long as I don't have to sponge bath and spoon feed you...hahaha.

 

Have you been over to Gary Sterne's Maisy battery complex since he opened it to tourists? I wrote a rather lengthy article on it for World War II magazine awhile back. Here's the link:

 

http://www.historynet.com/does-pointe-du-h...tm#comment-7012

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Hi Dave, Thanks for the link to your article on the Maisy battery, read it with interest as I live maybe half hour from it. Still not actually visited it, much preferring to find and look at lesser known or less commercial bunkers sites.

 

I do know however, that since your article they have moved some large type trailed cannon onto the Maisy site area.

 

Also it is very nice of you if you bought my place in twenty years time to allow me to remain in the shed, that would be nice as I would still be able to sit in my Jeep in there. I have had it forty years now and quite attached to it.

 

Norman D. Landing. Forum Normandy Correspondent. Aug 22 2008.

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Hi Forum Members, My daughter is staying with me for the week, and we had to drive over to Port en Bessin to drop off the menu choices for all the friends ( 58 of them ) that will be attending the spreading of our friend Warwick's ashes near Omaha beach on 6th September.

 

I took the opportunity to call in at the American cemetery at Colleville sur Mer to show my daughter. We were walking around and taking in the awe inspiring site of the grave markers, when an American guy leaned towards me and nodded towards an elderly gentleman wondering along the grave markers and said ' see the guy there he is 95 and was first wave 29th Div on D-Day '. I was already in a very emotional state thinking about my friend Warwick, also explaining the different grave markers to my daughter, and personal thoughts in my head about the right time to explain to my daughter that when I am ashes that I wish to be spread further along the beach from the cemetery.

 

Well I went over to the elderly gentleman and just about managed to say ' hello, and could I shake hands and say thanks ' my voice box was completely choked I could say no more, as I shook hands I grasped his shoulder with my free hand and said the single word ' thanks ', I struggled to look him in the eye as he said to me ' thank you sir '.

 

It took me easily twenty minutes before I could speak again, I never got to ask his name, what a day to remember, and for my daughter to see a living person that most people will only read of in books.

 

What I have written this evening probably does no justice to the events of today and this one man's life 65 years ago, and possibly the comrades that he was looking for.

 

Good nite, from Normandy and Colleville sur Mer.

 

Norman D. Landing. Forum Normandy Correspondent. Aug 28 2008

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Hi Forum Members, well I am sorry to say that I have somehow wiped ' Microsoft Office 2000 Premium ' off my computer and so I cannot now handle any photos I take, nor add them to my posts here.

 

So until I resolve this issue, then my posts will be down for a while. I have a Dell computer, which was preloaded when purchased and as I have recently moved house I need to find my boxes of computer stuff to see if Dell

put in an office 2000 disc, or a recovery disc if at all.

 

So until the next time, best regards and take care.

 

Norman D. Landing. Forum Normandy Correspondent. Aug 29 2008.

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Ken,

 

I love this thread. Hopefully, in 4 years or less, I can visit your area. I'm planning on taking the wife on a tour of Europe.

 

There is also a crazy Belgian guy I promised a beer to.

 

Thanks,

Jim

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Hi Erwin, thanks for the booster on my postings, C U next year ??? 65th in Normandy.

 

 

Hi Jim, thanks also for your addition, pity you can't do next year in Normandy, that will be the 65th anniversary, maybe just about last time a lot of the vets will make it here, quick calculation if they were 18 in 1944 they would now be 83 ????? times passes.

 

Had a great day out today over on the Brittany coast for a change, wish I had used my camera found some great bunkers, the view from them out to sea was fantastic, will have to do it all again another time to get some photos for use later. Funny thing was a large group of people were led to a grassed area between the bunkers to have wedding photographs taken, it was quite funny to watch this.

 

Good nite.

 

Norman D. Landing. Forum Normandy Correspondent. Aug 30 2008.

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  • 4 weeks later...
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Hi Everyone and all forum readers, my apologies for all the delay in placing any new posts on my ' Reports from Normandy ', I am hoping that this should be rectified shortly, so to save you keep looking lets say around 7th October.

 

Until then best wishes to you all, enjoy as I do, reading all the other interesting posts on the forum.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, Sept 22 2008.

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Hi Everyone and all forum readers, my apologies for all the delay in placing any new posts on my ' Reports from Normandy ', I am hoping that this should be rectified shortly, so to save you keep looking lets say around 7th October.

 

Until then best wishes to you all, enjoy as I do, reading all the other interesting posts on the forum.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, Sept 22 2008.

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OK, so I didn't read this every day, but in terms of the small bunker, and your mention of the V-1 site nearbye, it reminded me of an odd book called "The 91st Site"

in which some guy finds a forgotten V-1 site in France and is going to send it to London with a nuke.

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Hi Everyone and all forum readers, my apologies for all the delay in placing any new posts on my ' Reports from Normandy ', I am hoping that this should be rectified shortly, so to save you keep looking lets say around 7th October.

 

Until then best wishes to you all, enjoy as I do, reading all the other interesting posts on the forum.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, Sept 22 2008.

Looking foward to Oct 7th

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Hi again everyone, also Jon and Robert for the last two additions,

 

It's sure been a pain not being able to freely add comments to my ' Reports from Normandy', felt like I had lost the use of my hands.

 

So a brief note that Saturday September the 6th we spread the ashes on Omaha beach of our long time friend Warwick, as he had requested. Fifty-five people travelled over from England, and eight people living in France, and our Dutch friend Merike travelled over from Boston, USA to participate in the little gathering to spread his ashes. Warwick left enough money for everyone attending to have a meal paid for by him.

 

It was a memorable weekend seeing all these people who had shared the last thirty-odd years as friends. As I have mentioned before, Warwick kindly left me his collection of Militaria, his house he has left to be sold and shared out between five women that he knew and loved over the years since leaving school.

 

So it's goodnight and God bless to Warwick. ;)

 

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

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I'm afraid no comments I could make would help in your grief for your friend so I will just say Bless you Mr Lewis and RIP to your friend

Robert

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Hi Forum Readers, Finally after sixty-four years on Saturday 27 September at Utah beach a monument was unveiled to the involvement of the U.S. Navy in the 6th June D-day landings.

 

The monument is approximately one and a half life size, it features three U.S. Navy servicemen, one squatting and preparing to load a large caliber shell with clenched gloved hand behind the shell. The tallest figure is an officer in a deck jacket with USN on the left chest, a service cap with navy eagle emblem, and pointing into the distance. The third figure is a kneeling serviceman possibly a beach engineer, with a carbine across his knee, and a map of the beaches one side of him and a demolition bag on the other.

 

Around the base of the three men are five panels of black marble engraved with the names of all the Navy ships, LCI's, LCT's and other participating ships that took part in the invasion.

 

The monument was paid for by voluntary donations from members of the American public, politicians, businessmen, film stars and ex-Navy men. Around five hundred people attended, along with a honor guard provided by US service personnel from the various services, and very nice to see several Navy veterans a couple still able to wear their WWII uniforms. It was a beautiful sunny day with a gentle breeze, definitely nothing like the 6th June 1944 with explosions, bullets and bombs flying through the air and men storming this beach just yards away.

 

At the end of the dedication there was a flyover from the sea side to inland of four French jets with a missing position. All in all a fine joint dedication between the French and Americans.

 

Just the weekend before this, myself and three friends were near this spot down by the museum there's a cutting through the dunes to the beach, it's incalculable how many hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world have passed through this cutting to the beach. One of the friends with me bent down and picked up a fired .30 Calibre Carbine case dated 1943, right there in the sand, just two weeks previous to that I had stood in the same spot talking to a veteran from Iowa.

 

I hope that you enjoy the following number of photographs regarding the Navy monument.

 

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

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Cont ............ photo #2. U.S. Navy monument Utah beach.

 

 

 

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

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post-344-1223417659.jpg

 

 

Cont ............ photo #3. U.S. Navy monument Utah beach.

 

 

 

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

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post-344-1223417754.jpg

 

Cont ............ photo #4. U.S. Navy monument Utah beach.

 

 

 

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

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post-344-1223417842.jpg

 

 

 

Cont ............ photo #5. U.S. Navy monument Utah beach, the monument is just on top of the dunes behind the white flag in this photo.

 

 

 

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

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I'm afraid no comments I could make would help in your grief for your friend so I will just say Bless you Mr Lewis and RIP to your friend

Robert

 

Hi Robert, thanks for your kind thoughts and post.

 

Regards ( Lewis )

 

p.s. Robert please feel free to call me Lewis or Kenneth or Ken, I always think of Mr Lewis as too formal, especially with forum friends.

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Glad to see you back in the saddle again Ken...love your posts, as always...

 

Sounds like a touching ceremony for your friend. We should all be that lucky to have so many friends show up for our final curtain call.

 

Keep the posts coming...this has always been and continues to be one of my favourite threads.

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Welcome back.

Very nice pictures of the new monument too (something else to look foward to visiting when I'm there).

 

Very touching ceremony indeed, I could picture it in my mind.

Nice tribute.

 

Erwin

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Hi Disneydave & Erwin, thanks for your kind welcome back to the posts on my ' Reports from Normandy ' . it doe's feel good to be adding reports again.

 

So I will see what I can come up with for tomorrow evening ( Fri ).

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, Oct 8 2008

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post-344-1223933815.jpg

 

Flight officer Robert Sarvis USAAF in U.S. uniform and his RAF Lancaster crew.

 

Hi Fellow Forum Members, During the past year that I have lived in my village in Normandy, it has been pointed out to me the crash position of a Lancaster and continual mention of it's American pilot. I found this strange and wondered if things had gotten a little mixed up as the story passed through the village folk law.

 

However two nites ago whilst dining at the house of a French couple I have become friends with, I was shown details of the plane, crew and other details relating to this incident. July 25th 1944 the Lancaster crashed into the embankment of a raised causeway whilst returning from a mission to Stuttgart.( in fact a road flooded on either side that was fought for by the U.S. paratroops in June 1944 )

 

My friend Guy a village historian has researched this fatal crash a few years back as local interest was raised when the road was widened and wreckage from the Lancaster was brought out of the ground.

 

So let me go back to the beginning.

 

Robert Sarvis was born of Canadian parents in Canada July 4 1917 ( memorable date ) while he was still a baby when his parents moved Tennessee and Robert eventually attended Tennessee State University. He later worked in insurance, and was married to Juanita Hindman Sarvis, however he travelled north to Canada and enlisted in the Canadian airforce in April 1942. He was transferred to England and served in the RAF as a flight officer in bomber command.

 

Later when the American Army Airforce was stationed in England he became eligible to be transferred to the USAAF, as he had lived most of his life in America, which he did partly as the pay was better, however he remained with RAF bomber command, something I had never heard of before. He joined 576 Squadron in May 1944 and was based at Elsham Wolds, Lincolnshire.

 

He flew a number of mission which are shown on a later post, his last one being Stuttgart 25 July 1944, on the way back his plane was bounced by night-fighters and badly damaged, rather than head the longer distance to England he flew the shorter route over Normandy as it was in Allied control. As the aircraft entered the captured area of Normandy his crew successfully baled out and survived, but before Robert could bail out his plane was brought down by U.S. anti-aircraft fire.

 

When the causeway road was being widened and all the aircraft wreckage was recovered, a flying boot and lower leg bones were also recovered, these were later added to his grave at the Colleville sur Mer cemetery above Omaha beach.

 

The strange part of this story for me now is that since seeing the photograph of Roberts headstone two days ago, is that I visited the Colleville cemetery for the first time in 1973 and in every subsequent visit I have chosen to stand in the area of Roberts grave, and unknowingly until two days ago now live in the village where he died.

 

I feel that I should now like to adopt Roberts grave at the cemetery and lay flowers there each July.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, Oct 13 2008.

 

Thanks to village historian Guy Feuillye for all of the details about Robert Sarvis USAAF

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Robert Sarvis USAAF, Cont ................

 

Robert's list of missions accomplished.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, Oct 13 2008.

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