Norman D. Landing

[General Apathy]

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From The Shoebox . . . . . . . . .

 

A U.S. Army Medical department armband . . . . . 

 

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Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  June 27  2022.

 

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[doyler]

On 6/23/2022 at 10:03 AM, General Apathy said:

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Mikie,  perhaps the old adage ' only the good die young '  . . . . the rest of us have yet to confess . . . . . . . . . . . 

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  June 23  2022.

 

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I confess this is a very interesting topic. Great to see the pictures of how things were left and not replaced or restored. 

 

[General Apathy]

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From the Shoebox . . . . one for Salvage Sailor . . . . . . . 

 

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Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  June 27  2022.

 

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[mikie]

This beach discovery here in the States doesn't have quite the bang of finds on the Normandy beaches.  Thank goodness.  

 

https://www.wptv.com/news/treasure-coast/region-indian-river-county/old-military-equipment-found-on-indian-river-county-beach

 

Mikie

 

 

[earlymb]

10 hours ago, mikie said:

This beach discovery here in the States doesn't have quite the bang of finds on the Normandy beaches.  Thank goodness.  

 

https://www.wptv.com/news/treasure-coast/region-indian-river-county/old-military-equipment-found-on-indian-river-county-beach

 

Mikie

 

 

 

Finds like these are actually quite common all along the former Atlantikwall, especially after a good storm

[General Apathy]

On 6/27/2022 at 7:08 PM, doyler said:

I confess this is a very interesting topic. Great to see the pictures of how things were left and not replaced or restored. 

 

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Hi Ron,

 

As the photo of the bullet holes in the confessional raised some interest I went back this afternoon and investigated the confessional more closely, I found more holes where the slugs had passed through the dividing walls and show these below, I checked out the floor but as it has probably been washed out many times over seventy years there was nothing to see on the floor.

 

I have numbered the first photo and the corresponding numbers are on the following photos as the heads passed through the panels inside the confessional.

 

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Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  June 28  2022.

 

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[mikie]

I must confess I find this grimly fascinating.  

 

Mikie

[General Apathy]

On 6/27/2022 at 7:08 PM, doyler said:

Great to see the pictures of how things were left and not replaced or restored. 

 

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Hi Ron,

 

Post war Normandy was a very poor and deprived area as it was mainly all dairy farming. The costs of replacing things would have been too expensive especially such as the detailed wooden confessional. Shown below photos of the staircase in a local friends house, note in the first photo a curved section of wood attached to one of the steps.  Look underneath the stairs and it is evident that woodworm has completely riddled the wooden steps and so much so there's a large hole there, covered from above by a section of wood from a US Army ration crate. 

 

With an impeding recession heading for the UK economy there is a lot of talk on the radio and newspapers regarding money saving ideas.

My daughter has just sent me the link for a website by an ' web-influencer ' showing forty ways of cutting costs and saving money.  I laughed all the way as I read through them as none of them were anything new to me they were almost all ideas that my parents had used through the austerity of WWII in the UK where almost everything arrived by convoys often attacked and sunk by German U-Boats.

 

A lot of the things that my parents taught me as I grew up have been very useful and helpful through my life, they taught me to love and value things and given me a work ethic, I can turn my hand to a variety of things.  

 

During WWII families had to resort to home grown vegetables as gardens were turned over to this method of supplementing food supplies.

Even post war in the 1950's I recall my father growing vegetables and helping mother cut flat runner beans into short slices which we would layer in large ceramic salting pots, alternate layers of salt and beans up to the top and finally a couple of layers of newspaper and string to seal off the top.  At Christmas Day lunch these were washed clean of the salt and cooked and the taste was far superior to frozen vegetable, there was still a natural crunch, plus no electrical costs of running a fridge for six months from summer to winter.

 

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Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  June 28  2022.

 

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[General Apathy]

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Sad news this evening that USMC veteran Hershel Williams the last surviving WWII Medal of Honour recipient has died aged 98.

 

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Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  June 30  2022.

 

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[Johan Willaert]

With the 78th Anniversary of the Normandy Landings just behind us, the preparations for another 'big' one in 2024 have now officially started in France...
Book now if you'd like to come over; it's going to be busy!!

 

[General Apathy]

1 hour ago, Johan Willaert said:

With the 78th Anniversary of the Normandy Landings just behind us, the preparations for another 'big' one in 2024 have now officially started in France...
Book now if you'd like to come over; it's going to be busy!!

 

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Hi Johan,

 

Yes I have to agree with you, I think it's going to be a BIG one, I believe some of the towns and villages are anticipating traffic grid-locks with the centres blocked off and pedestrian access only as they normally are now.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  June 30  2022.

 

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[Johan Willaert]

17 minutes ago, General Apathy said:

 

Yes I have to agree with you, I think it's going to be a BIG one, I believe some of the towns and villages are anticipating traffic grid-locks with the centres blocked off and pedestrian access only as they normally are now.

Time to get the push bikes out again then…

 

 

[General Apathy]

1 hour ago, Johan Willaert said:

Time to get the push bikes out again then…

 

 

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Hi Johan,  

 

Or save the money, buy a Ste Mere Eglise sign for your garden and take photographs by it . . . . . . . . . . . 🙀😂😂

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  June 30  2022.

 

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[Johan Willaert]

Could bring this one and get them all confused.... ;-)

 

 

[mikie]

3 hours ago, General Apathy said:

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Hi Johan,  

 

Or save the money, buy a Ste Mere Eglise sign for your garden and take photographs by it . . . . . . . . . . . 🙀😂😂

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  June 30  2022.

 

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Ha! Sounds like a plan!  I'll get a board and some paint, and Normandy, here I come! 

Mikie  

[Johan Willaert]

1 hour ago, mikie said:

Ha! Sounds like a plan!  I'll get a board and some paint, and Normandy, here I come! 

Mikie  

Or get one here…

 

https://www.vinsign.eu/d-day-signs/

[General Apathy]

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From the Shoebox . . . . . . . 

 

Back in the mid 1980's I fancied owning one of these ugly beasts, ( nicknamed Burma-Jeeps ) very un-common in Europe except for use mainly by the US.Navy.  In preparation I managed to buy the three set  of manuals, closest I got was finding five rusty wrecks in the wilds of Miami on a construction plant site. Probably couldn't have even made one from the five as they had been cannibalised to keep them running as spares must have been hard to find, most went to the Pacific. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  June 30  2022.

 

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[General Apathy]

On 6/28/2022 at 11:27 PM, mikie said:

I must confess I find this grimly fascinating.  

 

Mikie

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Hi Mikie,

 

The confessional isn't the only war damage around the church . . . . . . . . 

 

Also thanks everyone for this weeks recent varied likes, all received thankfully by way of encouragement . . . . . . . .  🙋🏻‍♂️

 

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Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  June 30  2022.

 

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[doyler]

Driver mechanic George Couser of the British 91st Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, in a jeep with a pet dog near Tessel-Bretteville, Normandy France - June 30, 1944

IWM - Midgley, A. N. (Sergeant) Photographer

 

 

[mikie]

On 6/30/2022 at 11:23 AM, General Apathy said:

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From the Shoebox . . . . . . . 

 

Back in the mid 1980's I fancied owning one of these ugly beasts, ( nicknamed Burma-Jeeps ) very un-common in Europe except for use mainly by the US.Navy.  In preparation I managed to buy the three set  of manuals, closest I got was finding five rusty wrecks in the wilds of Miami on a construction plant site. Probably couldn't have even made one from the five as they had been cannibalised to keep them running as spares must have been hard to find, most went to the Pacific. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  June 30  2022.

 

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A truck in a crate! 

[General Apathy]

9 hours ago, mikie said:

A truck in a crate! 

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A Jeep in a crate . . . . . . 

 

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Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  July 03  2022.

 

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[Johan Willaert]

Speaking of manuals and Jeep books, I've just added this new one to the Jeep book shelf.
The newest edition of the Ford GPW Restoration Guide. Not only a big help for those that want a 100 points restoration, but also a great reference of variations of parts used in the production of the Ford GPW Jeep from 1942 to 1945...
Great work by Mike Wright and already sold out only a couple of weeks of publication...

 

 

[Johan Willaert]

On 7/2/2022 at 6:54 PM, doyler said:

Driver mechanic George Couser of the British 91st Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, in a jeep with a pet dog near Tessel-Bretteville, Normandy France - June 30, 1944

IWM - Midgley, A. N. (Sergeant) Photographer

 

 

 

The insignia on the driver's side of the windshield ( charging knight ) is that of the British 8th Corps

 

[General Apathy]

15 hours ago, General Apathy said:

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A Jeep in a crate . . . . . . 

 

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Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  July 03  2022.

 

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A Seep ( Ford GPA ) in a crate . . . . . . .

 

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Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  July 03  2022.

 

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[General Apathy]

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Todays classic & vintage car show . . . . . . .

 

I had great fun today crewing this Daimler Dingo to a vehicle show, as the driver is below the top of the armour plate then I was stood beside him acting as the all-direction eye's and ears for him. Actually a great vehicle across rough countryside. 

 

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Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  July 03  2022.

 

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