DEDICATION - PAGE 3
In December 1944, after the Germans launched their counter-offensive that came
to be known as "The Battle of the Bulge," the American 101st Airborne
Division holding Bastogne was surrounded but undefeated by enemy units. The
101st badly need ammunition, supplies, doctors and corpsmen. In violation
of the Geneva Convention, the Germans captured the Division's medical personnel
and with the casualties mounting, the need for doctors was critical. Because they occupied such a
small area where parachuted supplies might easily fall into German lines, the
Allies turned to the Glider Pilots and asked for volunteers to accomplish the resupply mission with
pinpoint landings. Approximately 100 Glider Pilots
volunteered.
The
Asia Pacific Campaign Medal
Awarded
to persons serving in the Asia Pacific Theatre of Operations in any capacity
with the Armed Forces of the United States between December 7, 1941 until
November 8,1945.
Naming the rescue of the defenders of Bastogne
"Operation Repulse," the Allied high command directed the Glider
Pilots to undertake these one-way resupply missions into the middle of
enemy-held territory in daylight and casualties were very high. Of the
roughly 100 gliders, only 65 reached Bastogne, a 35% mission loss rate, one of the
highest of WWII. These hazardous flights into massed anti-aircraft and
small arms fire were pivotal in keeping the defenders of Bastogne going until main ground
units could break through enemy lines and complete the rescue. While the
defense of Bastogne is well-known in military history, almost nothing is said about the
amazing glider mission that enabled the 101st to hold out.
The
World War II Victory Medal
Awarded to all the servicemen
and women who served in the United States Armed Forces during the years 1941 to
1946.
In March 1945, combat gliders flew in their last major mission in the European war in
"Operation Varsity," the first airborne assault onto German soil and
the costliest for the Glider Pilots. 1,348 gliders took part in this airborne drop.
On the first day of the assault, March 24, 1945, the Glider Pilots suffered
their highest one-day casualty rate -- 78 killed. Before the mission
ended, a total of 80 Glider Pilots were killed and approximately 240 were
wounded. Many Glider Pilots who took part in this mission had survived the
dangers of several previous missions only to lose their lives in this final
airborne assault into the teeth of massed German forces defending their
soil. This offensive
was one of the final, major blows to the Nazi regime and hastened the German
retreat. The European war ended
the next month.
In June 1945, in "Mission Appari," American Glider Pilots delivered
11th Airborne Division troops to northern Luzon in the Philippines. This
was the first and last glider mission in the Pacific and the last glider mission
of WWII. Notably, it was the first and last combat mission for a larger
version of the Waco CG-4A, the CG-13A, twice as large and able to carry twice as
many troops and far more equipment.
U.S.
Postage Stamp Commemorating Airborne Units
This
stamp depicts the Waco CG-4A, the glider flown by most American Glider Pilots,
on the ground following a combat landing. Most gliders did not arrive at
their landing zones intact as depicted in this picture. They were usually
heavily damaged or destroyed since they landed in fields, not runways.
Note the jacks at the tail section holding the end of the glider up so cargo,
usually vehicles, artillery or supplies, could be off-loaded through the front
of the aircraft. The cockpit section was hinged so it could be lifted over
the top of the aircraft allowing cargo to be rolled out the open nose.
The gliders of WWII and the sacrifices of the brave men who flew them proved the high value of quickly transporting troops to
distant locations and bringing them to the ground in cohesive units, something
that parachuting often prevented as winds and faulty navigation scattered units
too far apart to quickly assemble and fight as a unit. Helicopter
technology already existed and was spurred on by the success of the glider
forces. Today, the combat glider's operational descendent, the helicopter, is an indispensable
part of any modern fighting force.
Telegram
from famed author Cornelius Ryan (A Bridge Too Far, The Longest Day,
and other works) to the National World War II Glider Pilots Association holding their
annual reunion in St. Petersburg, Florida, October 1974.
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