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Ferich · 03-22-2005, 01:19 PM

I'll post some more later.

[img]http://www.ornebridgehead.org/Biog/John_Howard_4.jpg[/img]

Major John Howard

Major John Howard commanded the glider - borne British infantrymen who seized Pegasus Bridge on the first day of the Normandy invasion. He died May 5th 1999.

Howard's D Company was ordered to seize two bridges, one over the Caen Canal and the other spanning the parallel Orne River. If the Germans held on to those bridges, panzer units could move across them in a counterattack isolating 10,000 British paratroopers jumping behind the British invasion beach known as Sword, where infantry forces would arrive at daybreak. And Howard's men sought to strike swiftly to prevent the Germans from blowing up the bridges if they were overwhelmed; the British needed those bridges to resupply their airborne units.

Howard's lead glider landed at 12:16 a.m., only 50 yards from the Caen Canal bridge, but the glider's nose collapsed on impact, knocking everybody aboard unconscious for a few seconds. The soldiers quickly emerged, and over the next five minutes the men directly under Howard killed the surprised German defenders. Then held the bridge(s) from night-midday.

Howard was an adviser for Darryl Zanuck's 1962 film "The Longest Day," in which he was portrayed by Richard Todd, the British actor, who had jumped into Normandy on D-Day with the British 6th Airborne Division.

	(#2)
Ferich is Offline 2nd Lieutenant Posts: 3,517 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Lancaster, Pennsylvania	03-22-2005, 01:19 PM I'll post some more later. [img]http://www.ornebridgehead.org/Biog/John_Howard_4.jpg[/img] Major John Howard Major John Howard commanded the glider - borne British infantrymen who seized Pegasus Bridge on the first day of the Normandy invasion. He died May 5th 1999. Howard's D Company was ordered to seize two bridges, one over the Caen Canal and the other spanning the parallel Orne River. If the Germans held on to those bridges, panzer units could move across them in a counterattack isolating 10,000 British paratroopers jumping behind the British invasion beach known as Sword, where infantry forces would arrive at daybreak. And Howard's men sought to strike swiftly to prevent the Germans from blowing up the bridges if they were overwhelmed; the British needed those bridges to resupply their airborne units. Howard's lead glider landed at 12:16 a.m., only 50 yards from the Caen Canal bridge, but the glider's nose collapsed on impact, knocking everybody aboard unconscious for a few seconds. The soldiers quickly emerged, and over the next five minutes the men directly under Howard killed the surprised German defenders. Then held the bridge(s) from night-midday. Howard was an adviser for Darryl Zanuck's 1962 film "The Longest Day," in which he was portrayed by Richard Todd, the British actor, who had jumped into Normandy on D-Day with the British 6th Airborne Division.