Art
C-47s OVER NORMANDY
Dwayne Burns (Co F) was an accomplished artiest who focused on C-47 Skytrain aircraft and the paratroopers that they carried. In this piece he portrayed three aircraft over the bocage of Normandy while three P-51 Mustangs are flying CAP (Combat Air Patrol) as protection.
COMMEMORATIVE PAINTING
Gust Thompson, a member of Company F, amongst those who jumped into Normandy on June 6, 1944. His niece, Jackie Knott related that Gust had told her: "He was separated from his unit and after several days reunited with some other paratroopers. Six of them tried to find their way to their unit and were captured. Gust said the Germans came at them so fast [that] a shotgun would have been more effective than a rifle. Gust told us the Nazis lined them up against a hedgerow and assassinated five ... Gust was the last one. A Nazi officer drove up and ordered them to take Gust prisoner. He spent the remainder of the war in Stalag 7B. "
The items depicted in this painting created by Jackie in memory of her uncle contains many items of significance. In her own words, "My brother, Col. Jerome A. Watson (retired), went to Normandy in 1994 for the 50th anniversary of the invasion and tried very hard to convince our uncle to come with him. He told him, 'Jerry, I just can't.' So, my brother went by himself and returned with two cases of commemorative wine. You will note the labels and the years. In his stellar career
Jerry is also a military historian. He pulled out several books on the 508th [as well as] The Battle for Mortain, Ridgeway's Raiders, etc. That book is opened to the map where Gust was captured. You will recognize the patches as significant to the battle, plus the clicker.
The Nazi flag is the very one Gust brought back with him from the war. The brown postcards in the desk are the actual postcards Gust sent to his sister from Stalag B. One mentions the whole barracks sharing one loaf of bread. We were stunned when these things turned up in Gust's personal belongings.
You see, had Pvt. Gust A. Thompson not survived D-Day, he would not have "been there" for us when our mother died. Gust raised me until I joined the AF. He influenced my brother to pursue a military career, and subsequently his son and daughter. This painting hangs in my brother's home in VA."
508TH SOUVENIR PLATTER
508th Souvenir Platter that appeared on eBay. The owner, Earl Nichols is not currently identified in available 508th records. If you have any information regarding him, please write to Jumpmaster
HONOR GUARD FIGURINES
The lead figurines shown here were acquired by Harold Eby (Sgt. Major, Ret.) when the 508th was stationed in Heddernheim (Frankfurt Am Mein).
Eby recently sent them to Joseph Synakowski of Grand Island, New York because he had no one to pass them on to. Both men had been members of Co C (note the Company C Guidon in the photos) and served with the 508th from March 1946 until the regiment was deactivated in November 1946. Although Synakowski was not with the 508th in combat, he was a proud member of the regiment during its stint as General Eisenhower's Honor Guard.
Synakowski has now donated the figures to the Camp Blanding Museum in Harold Eby's name..
MARTHA RAYE - Truth and eFiction
The most unforgivable oversight of TV is that her shows were not taped.
This is a great story about a great woman. We were unaware of her
credentials or where she is buried.
Somehow I just can't see Brittany Spears, Paris Hilton, or Jessica Simpson doing what this woman (and the other USO women, including Ann Margaret & Joey Heatherton) did for our troops in past wars. Most of the old time entertainers were made out of a lot sterner stuff than today's crop of activists and whiners.
The following is from an Army aviator who takes a trip down memory lane: "It was just before Thanksgiving '67 and we were ferrying dead and wounded from a large GRF west of Pleiku. We had run out of body bags by noon, so the Hook (CH-47 CHINOOK) was pretty rough in the back. All of a sudden, we heard a 'take-charge' woman's voice in the rear. There was the singer and actress, Martha Raye, with a SF (Special Forces) beret and jungle fatigues, with subdued markings, helping the wounded into the Chinook, and carrying the dead aboard. 'Maggie' had been visiting her SF 'heroes' out 'west'.
We took off, short of fuel, and headed to the USAF hospital pad at Pleiku. As we all started unloading our sad pax's [passengers], a 'Smart Ass' USAF Captain said to Martha.... Ms Ray, with all these dead and wounded to process, there would not be time for your show!
To all of our surprise, she pulled on her right collar and said '.....Captain, see this eagle? I am a full 'Bird' in the US Army Reserve, and on this is a 'Caduceus' which means I am a Nurse, with a surgical specialty....now, take me to your wounded.'
He said, ' Yes M ‘am.... Follow me.' Several times at the Army Field Hospital in Pleiku, she would 'cover' a surgical shift, giving a nurse a well-deserved break.
Martha is the only woman buried in the SF (Special Forces) cemetery at Ft Bragg.
Hand Salute! A great lady..
Noonie Fortin, Martha Raye's biographer told TruthOrFiction.com that Raye was lovingly called "Colonel Maggie" but the rank of Lt. Colonel and membership of the Green Beret Special Forces unit were both honorary. The entertainer was also an honorary Colonel in the United States Marine Corps.
Fortin, who wrote "Memories of Maggie," also said that it was not uncommon for Ms. Raye to jump in to assist in caring for wounded serviceman throughout her history with the USO. Fortin said "She would often pull rank, pointing out the oak leaf or bird on her collar and Green Beret as well as the nurse's emblem. Likewise she often helped out in the surgical units and wards."
The Department of Defense issues non-military identification cards to civilians who accompany armed forces to present in the event of capture. Each card contains the person's name and vital statistics such as height, weight, eye color and blood type. The cards also have what is called a "Geneva Conventions category." Category IV issued to such volunteers which is a rank equivalent to majors, lieutenant-colonels, colonels.
Fortin told TruthOrFiction.com that "Maggie took it a step further and began wearing a uniform with the rank on it. As time progressed so did the honorary rank she held. By the time Vietnam ended she was a Lieutenant Colonel for the Army and Colonel for the Marines but wasn't really a member of either branch. Everything was honorary including the ribbons that she would often wear though some years later were actually awarded to her."
Raye received numerous awards and commendations from the military in appreciation for her years of service and in 1993, President Bill Clinton awarded the entertainer with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Raye died on the 19th October, 1994 and was buried among veterans of many wars at the Fort Bragg Cemetery in Fayetteville, NC. Special request had been made for her to be buried there since she wasn't military.
The Colonel Maggie web site is maintained by Fortin and has a impressive display of Martha Raye's biography and awards. [Click to visit the Colonel Maggie site]
Alvin Hagen's Memorial Brick
Co D, 508th PIR
memorial flag brick
Maker's Mark
Al & Carol Hagen's daughter-n-law, Minneapolis, MN Aug 30, 1997
[note the furniture protection pads in each corner ]
