~ The Old Sachem ~ The Holy Mother Church – where D-Day began

By Bill Stewart

The Holy Mother Church. That’s the English translation of the French town Sainte-Mère-Église, where the Allies first invaded France.

We know about the D-Day landings in France on June 7 that started our progress to defeat Germany, but the battle actually started the day before in Sainte-Mère-Église. The United States landed paratroopers the night before the Normandy invasion to impede the German army from counterattacking the Normandy landings. In the early morning of June 6, units from the U.S. 82nd Airborne and the U.S. 101st Airborne Divisions parachuted into the town, and Sainte-Mère-Église became the first town liberated by the Allies in France.

You probably have seen or heard of John Steele of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment whose parachute caught on the tower roof and spire of the local church. He hung there for two hours pretending to be dead before the Germans took him prisoner. He later escaped imprisonment and rejoined his division when U. S. troops of the 3rd Battalion of the 505th attacked the village and captured 30 Germans and killed 11. The action was portrayed in the movie “The Longest Day.”

The attack led to innumerable casualties as fires broke out among the weapons firing by both sides. The fires illuminated the sky so that the German soldiers were able to shoot many of the paratroopers before they hit the ground. Many paratroopers were killed by the fire and many troopers hanging from trees and utility poles were shot.

Lieutenant Colonel Edward E. Krause of the 505th led the taking of the town with little resistance initially. The German troopers were abed at 5 a.m. and were confused by the attack. Eventually the Germans arose and battled the paratroopers for two days before the paratroopers were assisted by U.S. tankers from the Utah Beach invasion.

Krause and Lieutenant Benjamin H. Vandervoort each received the Distinguished Service Cross for their actions. Sergeant George Bowler Tullidge III received the Bronze Star and his parents later distributed “A Paratroopers Faith,” which was a collection of his letters home, plus Bible verses. Second Lieutenant Thomas J. Tighe of the 70th Tank Battalion was killed when his tank was blasted by the Germans on June 7 and received the Silver Star posthumously. Paratrooper Henry Langrehr crashed through a greenhouse roof as retold in “The Longest Day” and on November 6, 2007, received the Legion of Honor medal from the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, along with five other recipients.

Today Sainte-Mère-Église is celebrated for its part of this historic Invasion of France, which led to the demise of Hitler and his cohort Mussolini and freed the world of their hostile environment.

  (Editor’s Note: Bill Stewart, who is better known to Saugus Advocate readers as “The Old Sachem,” writes a weekly column – sometimes about sports. He also opines on current or historical events or famous people.)