Memorabilia Documentation
AUTOGRAPHED REISCHMARK
Dominique Pierrat of France sent these photos of a 50 Reischmark note that had been autographed as:
Cpl A. J. Doggett
613 N. 2nd st.
Phoenix, Arizona
He inquired whether we had knowledge of the man and we replied:
The record is not clear on this so all I can do is make some assumptions.
The Morning Reports show that Arvel J. Doggett was transferred from the 82nd to Company C, 508th on 5 August 1944.
On 15 August 1944 he was transferred from Company C to Service Company, which as you may know, was a holding point for men whose status was in flux.
Then on 28 May 1945. Private (no longer T5) Doggett was transferred back to the 82nd.
For whatever reason, perhaps disciplinary, he was apparently removed from jump status and sent to a regular infantry unit, apparently the 417th.
C-47 AIRCRAFT MUSEUM FUND
Museum In Normandy
Starts To take ShapeBy Peter Foley, Staff Writer
STE MERE EGLISE, France (S&S) --- An eye-catching modernistic museum is being built here in the shadows of a 13th century church as a memorial to Americans who lost their lives during the Normandy invasion of 1944.
The site of the ultramodern translucent plastic, glass and brick structure will be what was the American cemetery in the small farming village of Ste. Mere Eglise, the first town in France to be liberated by U.S. troops.
Although many of the villagers of the French town lost their lives resisting the Germans, the town itself escaped destruction. Among the ancient buildings there is the town's church which stands next to the cemetery where the Americans were first laid to rest.
U.S. Ambassador to France James M. Gavin laid the corner stone for the Museum of Parachute and Glider Troops on June 6.
The oval structure 80 feet in diameter, will be built on brick and encased with glass. The overhead area will be in the shape of a parachute made of translucent plastic.
Most startling feature of its design will be the use of a glider, similar to the ones that ferried troops across the English Channel.
The interior will be split level, with part of the floor sloping toward the center. The aircraft will be placed on the slanted part of the floor with one wingtip protruding through the dome to cover the entrance.
According to Ste. mere Eglise town officials, the glider was used in the motion picture "The Longest Day," a story of D-Day and was donated to the museum by producer Daryl Zanuck.
Relics to be housed in the museum will include weapons, uniforms, equipment used during the 1944 invasion. Models of U.S. military Worlds War II aircraft will hang from the dome.
Money for construction will come from French business firms in Normandy and donations from American and French citizens. The 505th Abn. Inf., the first unit to drop on Ste. Mere Eglise has c contributed $800.
ARCHITECT'S VIEW - here's what French architect Francois Carpenter's drawing of the Museum of Parachute and Glider Troops at Ste. Mere Eglise, France looks like. The cornerstone was laid in Normandy during June 5 ceremonies.
Harold Brodd, I Company, made a donation to the fund established to enshrine a C-47 in the Musée (museum) Airborne de Sainte-Mère-Eglise.
Dated June 6, 1979 it commemorates the 35th anniversary of D-Day,
This letter of thanks was sent by Bob Murphy, who had been in A Company, 505th and is known for his leadership in the defense of the La Fière bridge. Murphy retired as a Colonel and became a lawyer after he left the army. He also wrote the book "No Better Place to Die" a quotation of his own words to his platoon.
It is interesting to note that when the C-47 aircraft made its last flight as it was being delivered to the museum, Bob made a parachute jump from the plane.
[Jumpmaster Note: It is interesting to see that the Argonia C-47 was not the centerpiece of the original architectural design. Instead the Waco glider mentioned in the article at left was to have been the primary focal point. The glider is still an important display item in the final design.
WW-II COLLECTABLE ENVELOPES
Battle for Leyte Gulf
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese had invaded the Philippines, forcing MacArthur tot retreat to Bataan Peninsula and the Corregidor where he finally surrendered. But by 1944, campaigns in New Guinea and the central Pacific had brought his forces within striking distance of the Philippines.
Expecting fierce fighting from the Japanese, the Allies assembled the largest landing force ever used in a Pacific campaign - more than 750 ships participated in the invasion. Fulfilling his promise "I shall return," MacArthur waded ashore at Palo beach on October 20, 1944. It had taken MacArthur more than two and a half
years and many brutal battles to keep his pledge made at Corregidor.
The Battle for Leyte Gulf was the greatest naval battle in history. In a desperate last effort to win the war, the Japanese unleashed a terrifying new weapon - kamikazes - suicide pilots who would crash planes filled with explosives onto Allied warships. Befoe the war ended hey had sunk or damaged over 300 U.S. ships.
Despite Japan's new strategy, the battle ended in a major victory for the Unite states. The Japanese Navy had been crushed, leaving Japan unprotected and exposed to an assault.
P-51s escort B17s on bombing raids
Before World war II began, aviation experts claimed the long-range bomber was the most advanced weapon in the world, capable of wiping out cities and destroying an enemy's ability to continue fighting. By the end of the war. their theory had been proven true.
Relying on the cover of darkness to evade the enemy's fire, Great Britain favored "area bombing" - heavily bombing an area in hopes of hitting a target- a campaign that was both costly and ineffective. In 1942, the United States joined the air war against Germany. Favoring day raids on specific targets. the U.S. used the popular B17 to carry out its bombing campaign. Fitted
with heavy armor and numerous guns, these "Flying Fortresses", as B17s came to e called, were able to withstand fierce fighter opposition.
A year later the U.S. and Great Britain launched a bombing campaign against Germany that lasted until the end of the war. after heavy initial losses however, it soon became apparent that for the raids to be truly successful, long-range escort fighters such as the P51 Mustang were necessary. By the end of the war the U.S. army Air Force had dropped more than 2 million short tons of bombs and destroyed over 40,000 enemy planes.
D-DAY POSTCARD COMMEMORATIVE
This postcard was sent to Zig Boroughs by Jim Blue. Since there is no postage or cancellation mark on it, the card must have been enclosed with something else.
The card has an appropriator motif of pasratropp4ers landing amidst glider troops, although that was not the sequence of events on D-Day. It bears a pre-printed cancellation mark of June 6, 1944 in honor of the 50th anniversary of D-Day.
On March 22, 1995, Jim wrote :"Thanks for all that you have done for the history of the 508 Parachute Regiment WW-II."
NIJMEGEN - 10TH COMMEMORATION PROGRAM (1 of 4)
HERDENKING
van de tiende verjaardag van de bevrijding
COMMEMORATION
of the 10th anniversary of the liberation
LONGIOTTI MESSAGE RESURFACES
Somewhat like a bottle washing ashore, a cartridge casing found recently in Holland has yielded personal identity information that was somehow lost 68 years ago.
Frank Longiotti probably kept this miniature archive in case he was found without his dog tags. A copy of the e-mail and images of the papers sent by Patrick Peek of Holland tells the tale of his startling find:
Dear sir/madam,
Today I went to Groesbeek to search for remains of the second world war with my metal detector. To the north of Groesbeek I found an empty bullet case that was closed at the end. I heard about closed bullet cases that contained personal notes before so I was a little curious to find out if this could be such a bullet case. When I opened the bullet case I could see a little piece of paper, I decided to be careful and took the piece of paper out of the case when I was at home. I was very surprised when I found two pieces of paper which both had the name of Frank Longiotti written on them as well as his number, blood group and religion. A little piece of history of the 508th saw daylight again after almost 70 years! I immediately began to search the internet and found out that he was a member of 508th and shortly after that I found his picture on your website. I also found out that Frank Longiotti died in 2009, so unfortunately I can't contact him anymore. I tried to find e-mail addresses of his next of kin, but didn't succeed. I hope you will be able to help me with that.
I enclosed some pictures of this remarkable find.
With kind regards,
Patrick Peek
Zandvoort, Holland
Jumpmaster Notes: We put Mr. Peek in touch with the funeral home that handled Frank's burial. They have forwarded his message to Frank's son and hopefully they will soon make contact.
Also Mr. Peek stated in a second note that he had found the cartridge casing on the edge of the forest north of Groesbeek, overlooking the fields that were used as Drop Zone T. He noted that "Frank Longiotti was a machine gunner and that he earned the Purple Heart after he was shot in the chest while he was clearing the drop zone".
We know that Frank was wounded on 18 September 1944 and evacuated to a field hospital. It was not until 11 January 1945 that he was deemed fit to travel and sent back to the U.S. for further treatment. He was discharged on 22 June 1945, nine months after being wounded.
MOVIE PASS
Free movies at the Red Devil Theatre ... but only if you are an authorized member of the regiment!
Bill Goudy, Hq 1st was one of the men that were issued such a pass. Although undated, the fact that Capt Harold E. Snow signed it as the commanding officer implies this may have been issued in Nottingham as Snow, according to Morning Report entries, was the C.O. between 15 June and 25 July 1944.
PAY BOOK
This personal pay record of Pvt Eugene A. McMillan reflects his initial enlistment date of 13 October 1942 which occurred at Camp Grant, IL, about 100 miles south of his home in Beaverdam, Wisconsin.
As a Private on parachutist pay, Eugene had a monthly pay rate of $100, less any taxes that were taken out. Of the remainder, about 50% was given up by a monthly deduction of $6.50 for a $15,000 life insurance policy premium and another $37.00 a month was sent home as an allotment.
Although there is an entry showing that Eugene was reduced in grade from Pfc to Private on 3 March 1944, it did not weigh heavily on his career as he subsequently re-enlisted as a TSgt on 16 November 1945 and ultimately retied as a commissioned officer.
Note that this book was signed by 2nd Lt. Arthur F. Snee who was KIA on 6 June 1944.
PROMOTION CERTIFICATE
Sgt William F. Blum, Co E, was promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant on 10 March 1946.
This certificate attesting to the promotion was signed by regimental commander Col Albert R. Dickerson on 2 October 1946.
POW POSTCARDS
Ration Books
Many items critical to the war effort were rationed to civilians in strict quantities.
Ration Coupons
Each time a purchase was made one or more coupons had to be surrendered in order to prove the buyer was qualified.
Ration Calendar
published on 26 July 1945 shows that while the war was over, rationing was not.
[The Gallup Independent, Gallup, NM, Thursday, July 26, 1945, Page 2]
Ration Book No. 3
belonged to Harris Lissak. Note that ID photos were not incorporated so a physical description helped to avoid fraud.
RED CROSS COUPON BOOK
American Red Cross Purchase Coupons
At all American Red Cross Clubs in France and elsewhere on the Continent the prevailing charges will represent identically the same money value as it has been the case in Great Britain. To express these prices, however, in Francs results in fractions of Francs for which no French currency is expected to exist. Payments for purchase at A.R.C. Clubs on the continent will therefore be made by coupons instead of cash.
Coupons will be on sale at all Clubs in books of 60 coupons at a cost of Fcs. 50, the equivalent of 5/- or approximately $1.00, and in single cards of 12 coupons at a cost of Fcs. 10, the equivalent of 1/- or approximately 20 cents.
When making purchases present this book and the number of coupons called for will be detached.
The 60 coupons in the Fcs. 50 book will purchase 50 doughnuts, or 30 cups of coffee, or 20 colas drinks, or any combination thereof, as well as other items.
Price of all articles will be designated by number of coupons required to purchase.
TOUGH "STUFF" CARDS
If you were having problems in life, taking to a higher up, an NCO or even an Officer, might get you this tongue-in-cheek sympathy card and the advice to see the chaplain. Note that this card has been used as the marker for session 1 has been punched [upper left corner]
But, counseling with the chaplain might get you a punched "TS card.” (TS stands for Tough S...] He would suggest you read the associated bible verse to, hopefully, feel better. [This example belonged to Paul Mendelshon, L Company 508th ARCT and has the single punch as well]
AUTOGRAPHED BELGIAN FRANC NOTE
S/SGT Harry L. Evans, HQ HQ
kept this piece of Belgian currency that had been signed by a number of his buddies..
MSgt James B. Smylie
Clifford W. Cole Jr.
Sgt Harry L. Evans
SSgt Ernest S .Hubbard Jr.
Sgt Henry.L .Kaiser Jr. TX.T/4 Jerry Morgan
Cpl Fay H. Graham
Cpl Roland J. Jordy
Fred Knight
Sgt John P SweetDave G. Wheaton
Edward E. Anderson
Frank J. Jahnke
Cpl Clifford E. Rowell
William J. McKinnon
BELGIAN 100 FRANC NOTE
Some signatures are easier to read in a negative view, use the negative links to see this alternative images.
Front Side bears signatures of:
David Tracuf,
E.G. Hickman Denver Colorado,
Charles J. Tompson, Monticello, Maine, and,
Richard J. (last name illegible, may begin with 'E')
Obverse Face bears numerous signatures, including:
WOJG. [Edward J] Kenney
Willie Dykes
S/Sgt Arthur J. Wahner of Oregon,
S/Sgt Wallace B. Roach,
Robert C. Moss,
1st Sgt. Harvey J. Luther
Geo. I. Stoeckert, 1st Lt., N.Y.C.,
Hollis R. Gitchell, N.Y.,
Harold E. Snow,
Roy S. Barger,
John F. Buffkin, Jr.,
Carl A. Smith.
Harvey M. Grotte (Rigger),
Chaplain James R. Elder.
D. W. Hardwick,
MSgt. Robert L. Johnson,
Capt. David (illegible) of Chicago
POST EXCHANGE RATION CARD
Catholic Services Schedule
lists hours of Confessional availability as well as Masses to be said in seven locations - Heddernheim, Bad Homburg, Oberusel, Kronberg, Konigstein, Falkenstein, and Frankfurt.
HITLER'S MOUNTAIN RETREAT
The Eagle's Nest
this map of the grounds at Berchtesgaden built on the Obersalzberg mountain. in the Bavarian Alps , details where not only Hitler but also two of his chief cronies, Goring and Bormann, had homes.
Barracks were built for the troops used for crowd control as Germans tried to get a peek of their Fuehrer when he was in residence. A nursery was also provided to care for the children of construction workers.
LUGER CERTIFICATE
Pfc. Edward Roberts served in the 12th Armored Division,. Roberts was related to Pfc. Dallas A. Jamieson of the 508th.
In October 1945 Pfc Roberts had this document issued to him authorizing it to be shipped home. Anyone having captured items considered potentially hazardous had to have them inspected and authorized as this Luger pistol was before the item could be sent home.
(Photo courtesy Mark Classner)
FAUSTPATRONE OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
The Faustpatrone (literally 'fist cartridge') was a German anti-tank weapon of early World War II and a forerunner of the later Panzerfaust.
Much smaller in physical appearance, the Faustpatrone was actually heavier than the better known Panzerfaust. Development of the Faustpatrone started in the summer of 1942 at the German company HASAG with the development of the smaller forerunner-prototype called "Gretchen" ("Little Gretel") by a team headed by Dr. Heinrich Langweiler in Leipzig. The basic concept was that of a recoilless gun; neither the Faustpatrone nor its successor the Panzerfaust were rockets.
The following first weapon model of the Panzerfaust-family, the so-called Faustpatrone klein, 30m ("Small Fist-Cartridge") had a total weight of 3.2 kg (7.1 lb) and a total length of 98.5 cm (38¾ in); its projectile had a length of 36 cm (14¼ in) and a warhead diameter of 10 cm (4 in); it carried a shaped charge of 400 g (14 oz) of a 50:50 mix of TNT and tri-hexogen. The propellant consisted of 54 g (1.9 oz or 830 grains) of black powder, the metal launch tube had a length of 80 cm (31½ in) and a diameter of 3.3 cm (1.3 in) (early models reportedly 2.8 cm (1.1 in)). Fitted to the warhead was a wooden shaft with folded stabilizing fins (made of 0.25 mm (0.01 in) thick spring metal). These bent blades straightened into position by themselves as soon as they left the launch tube. The warhead was accelerated to a speed of 28 m/s (92 ft/s), had a range of about 30 m (100 ft) and an armor penetration of up to 140 mm (5½ in) of plain steel. Soon a crude aiming device similar to the one used by the Panzerfaust was added to the design; it was fixed at a range of 30 m (100 ft).
Other designations of this weapon were Faustpatrone 1 or Panzerfaust 30 klein; however, it was common to refer to this weapon simply as the Faustpatrone. Twenty thousand were ordered and the first 500 Faustpatronen were delivered by the manufacturer, HASAG Hugo Schneider AG, Werk Schlieben, in August 1943. Two main problems had already surfaced much earlier in the weapon's trials. First, the original model did not have a sighting device. Second, due to the odd shape of the warhead (see pictures) it tended to ricochet off or explode with less effect on sloped armor, especially on the Russian T-34. Since these problems surfaced already early in testing, the development and production of its successor, the Panzerfaust 30, had already begun by the time of the first deliveries. Still, the small and simple Faustpatrone klein was kept in production well into 1945.
