Say hi to John... Sorry we didn't catch up this year... Too busy as usual…

A jeep isn't always a Jeep...   I spotted this lookalike MB at the Overlord Museum on June 6th... Powered by a 2 Liter Gasoline (petrol) engine.... I keep wondering how they register something like this in the UK...    

Ha - that was right under my nose on the 24thCavRecon blog I posted last month. Thanks for spotting that. As a militaria rookie, patches are an arcane mystery to me. We've now got a studio portrait of another 24th Cav Recon guy with yet another 'mystery' patch, which looks like an armored division insignia. It was taken sometime in Belgium. Anyway, I've asked the guys behind the Joseph Weaver memorial board how they came to include the rose and stirrup patch and I'll report back.

. The last day of John's visit today . . . . . . . .   Yesterday we had great sunshine and a very warm day, we made the most of it out in the Jeep,  we started over at Mike's for a relaxed coffee and conversation , then we moved on to the Collins museum and see Philippe the owner and some new local finds he has added to the museum.  We then drove over for a couple of beers in the town square at Ste Mere Eglise.  This morning I  am about to phone Noah's boat taxis service to sail John up to the ferry at Cherbourg, it's raining in biblical proportions, otherwise it's been a great week overall   While we were at Mike's we met his latest walk through the gate, this must be about the third stray that has found a home at Mike and Tansy's.  They took him to the vet's he's un-chipped so no chance of finding an owner.           Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, June 11  2O25.    ….        

Thank you. As for the ration box, it's very old and I don't have a clue where it comes from.

Find-a-Grave comes through again.  The Find-a-Gravenrecord for Private First Class Charles Edmiston, Jr. USMC is at # 143432673.  

@Normandy_Mike - Sgt. Joseph Weaver was in Troop C and was a native of the White Earth Tribe in Minnesota. Two researchers from the tribe have started a "memorial wall", of Chippewa that were killed in battle. Using family photos, records, donated items and whatever else they can find, they assemble an individual display for tribute.    Interesting they would also include the 24th Cav patch as well... Weaver was not initially in the cavalry and enlisted January 6, 1941. He was KIA September 18, 1944. No idea of when he was transferred, but it sort of supports the evidence you DO have from other 24th Cav Rcn. troopers.

The stars ... I feel I read something about them once but I can't remember now.      Another particularly interesting recipient of the 6th class award was:   Lt. Col. Robert Peter Fleming, OBE, Grenadier Guards.  He was the brother of Ian Fleming of James Bond fame. From 1942 to the end of the war, was as head of D Division, in charge of military deception operations in Southeast Asia.    

For one you would be surprised there were probably a few hundred Americans awarded this during the war. And with him being a officer he could have been in a diplomatic role. People tend to forget about that stuff. Most people typically think combat operations. Not to mention you completely overlooked the fact I said it could have also been awarded to him either during Ww1 not to mention the United States had diplomatic relations in lots of countries in Europe and in Asia pre Ww2.    The fact the he was a officer and from this ribbon bar has no campaign stars on the ETO ribbon he most likely was in a diplomatic role or something of that nature however its also possible he played a role in operation Rype the only combat operation the United States performed in Norway. However without a name or anything its will be impossible to locate this individual and know exactly what he did during the war.

Interesting and too bad there's no list, I would imagine it would have been fairly short. Most I can find about U.S.-Norway operations during the War is through an O.S.S. connection.