Paratroopers as glider riders.

[siege1863]

I just purchased a scrapbook on ebay, poorly described, that belonged to the family of two service men. One of particular interest was in Company H of the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team. When searching the 517th PRCT website, I found an account that mentions him by name--Calvin W. Shroeder. It seems he had an interesting experience during the invasion of Southern France. The account, which comes from the company's commanding officer, is posted below.

 

Do any members here know of other instances where paratroopers made a landing as glider riders? Was this, as the CO suggests, unique?

 

 

 

PLANE CRASH OF CO. H PLANE DURING SOUTHERN FRANCE INVASION

 

August 15, 1944 at 0220 hours Orbetello Field (130km NW OF Rome). The airfield was very dry clay.

 

Lt. Edward Athey, S/Sgt Fred Harmon and sixteen men comprised the stick in the third C-47 in the line of take off, which by now was being done in a solid dust storm from the prop blasts. The plane broke out of the dust and the pilot, seeing a parked C-47 ahead, pulled the plane up too sharply and stalled out at 150 feet above the ground. The plane crashed on the left wing and motor and burst into flames. The jump door was about thirty five feet above the ground.

 

Lt. Athey and S/Sgt Harmon, whose front teeth had been badly broken, formed a human chain up to the door and the men were pulled up through heavy smoke and helped out the door. When all the men were thought to be out, Lt. Athey and S/Sgt Harmon left the burning plane. Someone shouted that a man was at the door. It was Pvt. Pippin and he was cutting the drop bundles and throwing out the bazooka rounds ammunition. In the process, he deeply slashed his thigh with his jump knife. Then at Lt. Athey's order, he jumped to the ground. (He was awarded the Soldier's Medal.)

 

The following men went to the hospital with injuries: S/Sgt Fred Harmon, Cpl Arthur Graham, Pvts Domingo Villalba, Walter Ostashen, Claude Bynum, Richard Denning, Layton Pippin, George Hamilton, John Kaudy, Donald Avery, Herbert Downs, and Fred Hellmer. They had broken arms, legs, ribs, and extensive dental damage.

 

Lt. Athey took five men who had minor injuries and arranged with the 442nd Anti-Tank Company Commander (the Nisei Americans) to go into combat with them in the gliders. They were towed in by the C-47s which had returned to the field after the jump at about 0700.

 

The gliders landed at the drop zone Les Arcs, France at about 1000. One glider pilot was killed and Lt. Athey's glider lost both wings on the ground when it went between rows of grape vines set on steel wires and stakes.

 

The following men went into combat with Lt. Athey, in the gliders: Cpl. William Frucht, Sgt. Reynold Laeben, Cpl. Harold Bischoff, Pvt. Elza Watkins and Pvt. Calvin Schroeder.

 

I think that we were the only Paratroopers in WWII that went into combat in gliders.

 

Edward M. Athey

[doyler]

I personally know several 17th Airborne vets who were in gliders for Operation Varsity.They were both parachute and glider qualified(I have one veterans glider and jump certificates from completion of training.)They were both part of the 193rd or 194th Glider Infantry but were parachute qualified.I forget the exact number but I believe Gen Miley had a number of men put through both courses.

 

RON

[dogface44]

Here is a picture of Lt Athey in Italy prior to Operation Dragoon.

I know a few vets of H Company if you have questions.

Kind regards Gilles

 

[Gregory]

Do any members here know of other instances where paratroopers made a landing as glider riders?

Hello,

 

Against powerful media cult of the 101st AB the most comprehensively trained US Army's airborne division of WWII was 11th AB. This division had its own school. CO of the 11th, Maj. Gen. Swing, wanted each soldier to be both parachute and glider qualified. Due to shortage of planes and gliders in the theater where 11th operated divisional troopers had even the third specialization -- seaborne assaults like quasi-marines. During operation against Los Banos POW camp the elements of 511th PIR and 457th PFAB attacked neither from planes nor from gliders but... from Amtracs.

 

Regards

 

Greg

[dzandkw]

My grandfather was a 82nd 504th trooper that came late in the war he was glider and paratroop trained and wore both wings.

[J_Andrews]

Re the 11th Abn Div: Let us not neglect its dogged determination in para-dropping men and howitzers onto a MOUNTAINTOP, using NO Troop Carrier aircraft/assets, but instead using its organic (two per FA Bn) spotter L-4 Piper Cubs and a borrowed Air-Sea Rescue C-47. The Cubs dropped one or two men per sortie and IIRC some equipment bundles, rations and ammo.

 

Also, Swing's goal of having as many of his troops both glider and parachute qualified was helped along not just by the Div's own schools but by the influx of the 541st PIR from the ZI. Rather than inactivate either the 187th or 188th, Swing instead broke up the newly arrived 541st and merge its assets into the pre-existing Regts.