The life and death of Ernie Pyle

The life of Brigadier General Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt Jr. There are 9,388 gravestones at the American Normandy Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer. The grave of Brigadier General Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt is one of the most visited graves, if not the most visited grave, at least judging by the size of the trampled grass area in front of the gravestones. Why is that? Is it because of his rank, Brigadier General? Probably not, because the graves of Lieutenant General Lesley N. McNair (the highest-ranking soldier in the U.S. Army to die in World War II) or Brigadier General Nelson M. Walker don't have these bare patches in front of the headstone. So what is it? Is it the name of the Roosevelt family, known far beyond the borders of the United States, or is it the extraordinary achievements as a soldier that even earned him the Medal of Honor (he is one of three Medal of Honor recipients buried in this cemetery)? Or is it the fact that his younger brother Quentin Roosevelt is buried next to Teddy? Probably not. After all, there are forty-five pairs of brothers commemorated or buried in the cemetery, including 33 who are buried side by side. So in that respect, the Roosevelt brothers are hardly unique. I believe that the first two factors, his family name and being a MOH recipient, play the most important role. To shed more light on this brave soldier, here is a short biography of “Teddy” Roosevelt Jr. Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was born on 13 November 1887 at the family estate in Oyster Bay Cove, New York, just as his father was beginning his political career. He had three brothers, Archibald (Archie), Quentin and Kermit; a sister, Ethel; and a half-sister, Alice. Like all the Roosevelt children, the bespectacled, studious Ted was greatly influenced by his father and sought his approval. His father, Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States serving two terms from 1901 to 1909. Theodore Jr. proved to be a shrewd businessman, working in the steel and carpet industries before venturing onto Wall Street, where he amassed a fortune of about $7 million. Ted married Eleanor Butler Alexander in June 1910 and they had four children - Grace, Theodore III, Cornelius and Quentin II. Towards the end of the First World War, as the American Expeditionary Force prepared to head for France, Theodore Roosevelt Sr, who had left the White House in 1909 but was still a well-known and popular figure, wrote to the AEF commander, General John J Pershing, asking if his sons could join the AEF. Archibald was given a commission as a second lieutenant, while Theodore Jr. was offered the rank of major. Quentin was accepted into the new Air Service of the Army Signal Corps and Kermit volunteered to serve with the British Army in Mesopotamia. Shortly after President Woodrow Wilson declared war, Ted was called up and volunteered to be one of the first soldiers to go to France. He sailed in June 1917 with the hastily formed 1st Infantry Division (Big Red One). The division was commanded by Major General William L Sibert and disembarked at Bordeaux. Teddy joined the 26th Infantry Regiment, stationed in a town called Demange-aux-Eaux. He was put in charge of a battalion and quickly showed himself to be a fierce warrior and a skilful leader, just like his father. He bravely led his battalion across fields outside the town of Cantigny in May 1918 to fill a gap in the American lines, and took part in the momentous Meuse-Argonne offensive from August to November 1918. Ted was gassed and wounded twice at Soissons (north-east of Paris) in the summer of 1918. Meanwhile, his brother Quentin had been killed in action that July. Ted was eventually promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, given command of the division's 26th Regiment and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, Croix de Guerre, Legion of Honour and Purple Heart. At the end of the war, Teddy left the service to pursue a political career. Elected to the New York State Assembly in 1919, he participated in every national campaign except when he served later as governor-general of the Philippines. When Warren G. Harding was elected president in 1921, Ted was appointed assistant secretary of the Navy, a post that had also been held by his father and his cousin, Franklin D. Roosevelt. In September 1929, President Herbert Hoover chose Ted to be governor of Puerto Rico. Hoover was so impressed with Ted's performance there that he appointed him Governor-General of the Philippines in 1932. His colonial career ended, however, when his cousin Franklyn Delano Roosevelt challenged Hoover for the presidency in 1932. When FDR was elected, Ted humorously described himself as "the fifth cousin about to be removed". As war loomed in Europe in the late 1930s, Ted Roosevelt saw an opportunity for challenge and glory on the battlefield. He was now in his 50s, with a weak heart and nagging arthritis from his wounds in the First World War, which forced him to use a cane. After completing a military refresher course in 1940, he asked General George C. Marshall, the Army Chief of Staff, to take him out of the reserves and return him to active duty. In April 1941, with the rank of colonel, he was given command of his old unit, the 26th Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division. He was soon promoted to brigadier general. After some training in the USA, the Big Red One left New York for the European Theater of Operations on August 1, 1942, on board of the converted liner Queen Mary and sailed to Scotland. From there it was sent by rail to England to undergo advanced training under its commander, Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen. Theodore became his assistant commander. On November 8, 1942, the Big Red One participated in Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North-Africa. The Big Red One was the spearhead of the Central Task Force, and its objective was the Algerian port of Oran. Roosevelt’s 26th Regiment entered Oran on November 10 and went on to clear the Ouseltia Valley in January 1943, and on to positions at Kasserine Pass the following month. The 26th Regiment saw plenty of action against Rommel’s Afrika Korps, the Big Red One was actively engaged in Tunisia until May 9, 1943. Ted's reputation as a hard-fighting front-line general was growing. He and his commanding general, Major General Terry Allen, led the Big Red One in an unorthodox manner. Neither a disciplinarian, the two generals were comfortable among the lowest ranks, had little use for spit and polish, and were rarely seen in regulation uniforms. Ted usually wore a knitted cap because he hated the heavy army helmets. Few World War II generals were as close to their men as Terry Allen and Ted Roosevelt of the Big Red One. Lieutenant General Patton, the spit-and-polish taskmaster who had striven to shore up flagging American discipline and fighting spirit early in the North African campaign, was not amused, and retribution was imminent for the Big Red One. The Big Red One next took part in Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily. The division landed at Gela on July 10, 1943, and were immediately in the thick of the fighting. The division fought a series of engagements in rugged terrain and reached the town of Troina in central Sicily on August 1. During the ensuing battle for Troina, Terry Allen and Teddy Roosevelt were both to be relieved. Patton, then commander of the U.S. 7th Army, regarding both officers as unsoldierly though very brave, had sent derogatory reports to Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Mediterranean theater commander, who had viewed Allen as exhausted in May 1943. He approved the request for their relief, and Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, then commander of the U.S. II Army Corps assumed full responsibility for the action. Bradley considered Allen too much of an individualist, Teddy too close to his men, and the division too full of pride and self-pity and unable to function willingly as part of a larger group. Said Bradley, “Roosevelt had to go with Allen for he, too, had sinned by loving the division too much.” As the Big Red One left Sicily in October 1943 and landed in England to train in Dorset and Devon for the upcoming Allied invasion of northern France, Allen was given command of the 104th Infantry Division, which would later distinguish itself in Normandy and the Rhineland. Roosevelt, meanwhile, was appointed in December 1943 as the chief U.S. liaison officer between General Mark W. Clark’s 5th Army and the French Expeditionary Corps under General Juin. In December 1943 Teddy wrote to General Bradley, now promoted to command the U.S. 1st Army, asking for an active role in the planned invasion of northern France, Operation Overlord. He was ordered to England in February 1944 and assigned as supernumerary assistant commander of the untried 4th Infantry Division under Major General Raymond O. “Tubby” Barton. Although this division was already activated in June 1940 it arrived in England only in January 1944. According to Bradley, the 4th Infantry Division was green and it was difficult to anticipate how the men would perform in the amphibious assault on Utah Beach. Bradley reported later. “If Roosevelt could go in with the leading wave, he could steady it as no other man could…Ted was immune to fear.” So, Bradley assigned Teddy to the 4th Infantry Division as a supernumerary divisional general, which Teddy joined at the end of March 1944. Unlike Lieutenant General Bradley, the 4th Infantry Division's commanding general and Teddy's immediate superior, Major General Barton, had serious reservations about an ailing, 56-year-old general joining the Normandy assault in the first landing wave. Barton rejected three verbal requests from Ted, but the Big Red One veteran of two wars persisted, submitting another written request on 26 May. Finally, Barton granted permission. On D-Day, 6 June 1944, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. sailed in a Higgins Boat with the men of E Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Regimental Combat Team, to land in France. E Company was the first unit to land on Utah Beach, and Ted was the first soldier off his Higgins boat. As he and the other men scrambled through the surf for cover under German beach obstacles, Ted soon realized that the landing craft had drifted more than a mile south of the objective and that the 4th Division's first wave was a mile off course. This was fortunate for E Company as the only opposition was small arms fire from enemy trenches in a sand dune behind a four-foot concrete sea wall. Ted scouted the causeways behind the beach for the division's push inland. Then he conferred with the battalion commanders and the 8th Regiment's commander, Colonel James Van Fleet. "Van," Ted exclaimed, "we're not where we're supposed to be. Roosevelt, whose arthritis forced him to carry a cane when he stormed Utah Beach, then became a D-Day legend for saying, “We’ll start the war from right here!” Throughout D-Day, despite severe pain in his leg, he rallied the men of the 4th Division to move forward and not to become targets.” When Major General Barton came ashore, he met Ted near the beach. “I loved Ted,” he said later. “When I finally agreed to his landing with the first wave, I felt sure he would be killed. When I had bade him goodbye, I never expected to see him alive. You can imagine then the emotion with which I greeted him when he came out to meet me. He was bursting with information.” D-Day was a success for the 4th Division. In 15 hours that day, it landed more than 20,000 men and 1,700 vehicles and rolled swiftly inland. On the second day, Utah Beach received 10,735 men, 1,469 vehicles, and just over 800 tons of supplies. Ted Roosevelt’s inspiring leadership had played a major role in that success. In the days that followed, the 4th Infantry Division marched inland. First to Ste-Mère-Église, and then north toward Cherbourg. At the end of June, the 4th Division attacked the strategic port of Cherbourg, where Ted served briefly as military governor. He set up his headquarters in a cellar lit by a single oil lamp, helped restore order to the devastated city, and then pushed on with his troops. But Ted's health caught up with him. His heart condition was serious, and he knew it. He kept it secret from his wife and from U.S. Army doctors at all costs. Teddy had been feeling unwell for a few days, and his health was not helped by the constant rainy weather in Normandy. His clothes were constantly wet, and despite his new HQ at Meautis, he was not getting much rest. Then, on July 12, 1944, just five weeks after the D-Day landings, Ted spent a day at the front lines with his men and then went back to his HQ, a converted sleeping truck, captured a few days before from the Germans, at the village of Meautis. That same day, Ted was delighted to see his son, Quentin Roosevelt II, 24, in the camp. He had been worried about Quentin, a lieutenant in the 1st Infantry Division, which had been pinned down and mauled on D-Day. They were the only father-and-son team to to take part in the invasion of Normandy.During the meeting, Teddy confided to his son, that he had suffered a series of head pains that came and went, a condition he had hidden from others. An hour after Quentin had left, Teddy Roosevelt suffered a heart-attack around 10:00 pm. He lay in his quarters while attendants worked frantically to revive him. At 11:30 pm that night, the 4th Division commander, Tubby Barton, came to see Teddy, and found him barely alive. Later he wrote of the moment to Teddy’s wife. “He was breathing but unconscious when I entered his truck. I sat helpless and saw the most gallant soldier and finest gentleman I have ever known expire. The show goes on. He would have it so and we shall make it so.” Theodore Roosevelt Jr. died shortly before midnight. General Bradley was in the process of promoting Ted to Major General in command of the 90th Infantry Division. The fighting in Normandy had revealed a number of problems in the leadership of this division, the generals had not shown the decisiveness that Roosevelt had shown at Utah Beach. When the need to replace the leadership of this division became urgent, Teddy's name came up. Although he did not know it, Teddy was about to be promoted to his first divisional command, the 90th Infantry Division. Radio broadcasts across the country announced his death. “Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt is dead, in Normandy. He died as he would have wished, in the service of his country, a service always closest to his heart.” Quentin wrote his mother, “The Lion is dead…To me, he was much more than simply a father, he was an amazing combination of father, brother, friend, and comrade in battle.” The funeral service was conducted in the temporary cemetery No. 2 at Ste. Mère-Église, a few miles west of Utah Beach, on Bastille Day, July 14, 1944. An Army band played “The Son of God Goes Forth to War” as artillery rumbled in the distance. The honorary pallbearers were Generals Bradley, Patton, J. Lawton Collins, Clarence Huebner, Barton, and Courtney H. Hodges. Riflemen fired three volleys, and two buglers sounded taps, echo fashion. Roosevelt was the only soldier to be buried in a coffin in this cemetery. General Barton recommended that Ted be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions on Utah Beach, but this was upgraded at higher headquarters, and the Medal of Honor was posthumously awarded in September 1944. When President Roosevelt handed the blue ribbon to Ted’s widow, he said, “His father would have been proudest.” General Patton wrote in his diary that Ted Roosevelt was the bravest soldier he ever knew, and General Bradley agreed, “I have never known a braver man nor a more devoted soldier.” Asked several years later to cite the single most heroic action he had seen in combat, Bradley replied, “Ted Roosevelt on Utah Beach.” Ted’s leadership at Utah Beach was recorded in Cornelius Ryan’s best-selling 1959 book, The Longest Day, and he was portrayed by Henry Fonda in Darryl F. Zanuck’s 1962 film epic of the same name. Roosevelt’s Medal of Honor citation reads, in part, "For gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 6 June 1944, in France…. His valor, courage, and presence in the very front of the attack and his complete unconcern at being under heavy fire inspired the troops to heights of enthusiasm and self-sacrifice. Although the enemy had the beach under constant direct fire, Brig. Gen. Roosevelt moved from one locality to another, rallying men around him, directed and personally led them against the enemy. Under his seasoned, precise, calm, and unfaltering leadership, assault troops reduced beach strong points and rapidly moved inland with minimum casualties." When the Ste-Mère-Église temporary military cemetery No. 2 was closed in the spring of 1948, Ted's remains were moved to his final resting place, the Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. There you can pay your respects to Teddy Roosevelt, who is buried in plot D, row 28, grave 45. If you wish to read more about Theodore Roosevelt Jr., I recommend the excellent book “His father’s son – The life of Ted Roosevelt Jr.” by Tim Brady. #NormandyAmericanCemetery #TeddyRoosevelt #DDay #UtahBeach #4thInfantryDivision

When several Associated Press correspondents arrived in southern England to cover the Allies’ imminent D-Day invasion of Normandy, a U.S. commander offered them a no-nonsense welcome. “We’ll do everything we can to help you get your stories and to take care of you. If you’re wounded, we’ll put you in a hospital. If you’re killed, we’ll bury you. So don’t worry about anything,” said Major General Clarence R. Huebner of the U.S. Army 1st Infantry Division slated to land on Omaha Beach on D-Day. On Monday, June 3, 2024, colleagues from AP’s Paris bureau, covering the 80th anniversary of the landings, laid flowers at the foot of the white stone cross on the grave of George Bede Irvin. George Bede Irvin, born on July 27, 1910, in Des Moines, Iowa, was an American journalist and photographer who later became a war correspondent for the Associated Press (AP) during World War II. Before his wartime service, Irvin worked for "La Tribune" and later joined the Associated Press (AP), covering various assignments. He was known for his enthusiasm and dedication to journalism. Irvin was married twice during his lifetime. His first marriage was to Marjorie Scholl, who served as the society editor of The Des Moines Register. The couple married in the early 1930s but divorced in 1934 after more than two years of marriage. On January 11, 1936, Irvin married his second wife, Kathryn N. Hankin, in Newton, Jasper County, Iowa. Kathryn was an actress born on October 7, 1912, in Seattle, Washington. She appeared in films such as "College Rhythm" (1934) and "Bottoms Up" (1934). The couple remained married until Bede's death on July 25, 1944. Irvin was sent to Europe in April 1944 to cover the Allied preparations for the opening of the Western Front during World War II. He was the first American photographer assigned to the European theater by the Associated Press in anticipation of the Allied invasion. Irvin extensively covered the activities of the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) in the European theater. His assignments included documenting various aspects of the USAAF's operations, providing firsthand accounts and visual documentation of the air war over Europe. Irvin's work often involved accompanying bomber crews on their missions, to capture firsthand accounts and photographs that showed the intensity and dangers of aerial combat. His commitment to frontline reporting provided the public with a vivid portrayal of the air war, highlighting the bravery and challenges faced by USAAF personnel during the conflict. On July 25, 1944, near the town of Saint-Lô in Normandy, Irvin was documenting an Allied bombardment intended to break through German lines, codenamed Operation Cobra. Irvin had already shot photos of the bombardment and was having lunch in his Jeep near Pont-Hébert, four miles from Saint-Lô, when the bombing barrage suddenly started drifting back. “Someone shouted, ‘Watch out, bombs from the Marauders are falling short,’ and everyone started running," a fellow war correspondent later said. “Irvin had been sitting in a Jeep, and apparently he hesitated a split second to pick up his camera before diving for a nearby ditch. He was caught in mid-air by a bomb fragment and killed instantly.” Irvin was found crumpled in a ditch with one camera around his neck and the other lying near an outstretched hand. This incident also claimed the lives of over 100 American soldiers and wounded nearly 500 others. The miscommunication that led to the bombing of Allied positions at the start of Operation Cobra was primarily due to errors in coordination between ground forces and the U.S. Army Air Forces. 1. Shifting Bombing Lines o The initial bombing line (the designated boundary where bombs should be dropped) was set relatively close to Allied frontlines. o However, after concerns about the proximity, General Omar Bradley requested the bomb line be moved further south to avoid friendly fire. o Despite this request, some bomber groups did not receive or properly adjust to the change, leading them to target areas too close to American troops. 2. Bomber Approach Direction o The original plan was for bombers to attack parallel to the frontline (east to west) to minimize the risk of friendly fire. o However, due to logistical constraints and operational preferences, the bombers approached perpendicular to the frontline (north to south). o This increased the chances of bombs falling short into Allied positions, which is exactly what happened. 3. Delayed or Misinterpreted Signals o Some aircraft formations misunderstood ground signals meant to guide them, leading to confusion over where they should release their payload. o Smoke markers, meant to designate enemy positions, may have been misinterpreted due to shifting battlefield conditions. 4. Weather and Visibility Issues o Dust, smoke, and poor visibility contributed to navigational errors. o Some bombers misidentified targets and released bombs too early, hitting friendly troops. This incident also claimed the lives of over 100 American soldiers and wounded nearly 500 others. The tragic event led to changes in tactical bombing coordination to prevent similar mistakes in future operations. Despite this disaster, Operation Cobra ultimately succeeded, allowing Allied forces to break through German defenses and liberate large parts of France. Irvin had been assigned to the U.S. Ninth Air Force at the time of his death, and the unit’s commander, Major General Lewis H. Brereton, issued a statement on July 26 acknowledging that the photographer had been “killed by the explosion of a bomb from one of our own bombardment aircraft” before going on to praise Irvin: “He was an unarmed observer who, heedless of personal danger, flew with us, lived with us and worked with us that through the medium of his profession he might bring home to all of us the truths of war. “During the period of his assignment with the Ninth Air Force, I came to know Mr. Irvin well. He flew frequently as a photographic observer with our medium bombers and performed exceptionally meritorious service in the pictorial coverage of personnel and activities of the entire air force. “I feel a deep sense of personal loss at his passing, which should be regarded by one and all as the loss of a highly trained professional soldier who died in the service of his country.” On July 28, Irvin was buried at the temporary U.S. military cemetery at La Cambe, west of Omaha Beach, with numerous correspondents and photographers in attendance. Among them was Gordon Gammack of his hometown Des Moines Register, who wrote: “The service was simple and much as I think Bede would have wanted. During it the fighter-bombers he had photographed so many times roared overhead on their way to smash German positions.” Irvin's commitment to frontline reporting exemplified the courage of war correspondents who risked their lives to deliver firsthand accounts of the conflict. He was the 18th U.S. newsman to be killed during World War II. George Bede Irvin was later moved to the Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, where he was buried in Plot A, Row 12, Grave 9.

One of the most fascinating activities dedicated to American-Jewish war dead of the two world wars in the 19th century is Operation Benjamin. I came across Operation Benjamin in 2019 at the Normandy American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. Here is what this organisation is all about. Operation Benjamin`s mission statement The mission of Operation Benhamin is to identify Jewish soldiers at American military cemeteries all over the world who were mistakenly buried under Latin Crosses and replace the headstones with a Star of David. This allows for accurate and just recognition of the soldier’s identity, provides comfort to the families of the fallen, and enables the millions of visitors to the American military cemeteries to visually understand and appreciate the shared Jewish sacrifice in the causes of democracy and freedom. History of Operation Benjamin It was in May 2014, shortly before the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944, that Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, a faculty member at Yeshiva University in New York, visited the American military cemetery in Normandy in the French coastal town of Colleville-sur-Mer. During this visit, Rabbi Schacter noticed that there were fewer Star of David headstones in the cemetery than he had expected. Only 149 graves were marked with a Star of David, 1.56% of the 9,388 graves in the cemetery. Something was wrong. Approximately 550,000 American Jews served in the U.S. armed forces during World War II, about 3.4% of the 16 million U.S. armed forces personnel during World War II. This percentage was about the same as the Jewish percentage of the U.S. population at the time. During the war, approximately 11,000 Jewish soldiers lost their lives, representing 2.7% of the 405,399 U.S. service personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice. Of these 405,399, approximately 291,000 were killed in action (KIA) and a surprisingly high number of 114,000 were non-battle deaths (including accidents, disease, and other causes). In the 14 American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) World War II cemeteries worldwide, 92,958 U.S. service members are buried. 91,098 of these graves are marked with a Latin cross and 1,860 with a Star of David (2.0%). The disparity between the percentage of Jewish fatalities (2.7%) and their percentage in the 14 ABMC WWII cemeteries (2.0%) is obvious. Rabbi Schacter first turned to his friend Shalom Lamm, a businessman with a master's degree in American military history. As they began to investigate the mystery, it quickly became clear that the Jewish GIs were not missing after all - they were misidentified. Rabbi Schacter and Lamm determined that there must be hundreds of Jewish soldiers buried under Latin crosses in various American military cemeteries around the world (assuming that the proportion of repatriated Jewish service personnel and Jewish service personnel missing in action is the same as for non-Jewish service personnel). Correcting these errors is the goal of their campaign to right a decades-old wrong and ensure that the Jewish GIs who gave their lives for their country can finally rest in peace under the Star of David markers they would have wanted. There are several reasons a Jewish soldier might be interred under a cross. The first had to do with the process by which soldiers were temporarily buried near battlefields. Many of the GIs who were killed during the storming of the Normandy beach on D-Day in June 1944 or in the weeks to follow had to be hastily buried on the spot, then later reburied when military cemeteries were established in the region. The army made every effort to determine the identity of the deceased, but when soldiers had to be reburied multiple times, clerical errors sometimes ensued, especially if the GIs’ dog tags—which indicated religious affiliation—became separated from their bodies during battle and were lost. A second explanation concerned the dog tags. They not only state the GI’s name, rank and serial number, but also bear the designation “P” for Protestant, “C” for Catholic or “H” for Hebrew, in order to ensure that the religious needs of a seriously wounded soldier are met, and that a deceased soldier’s burial rites are conducted in accordance with his faith. During World War II, some Jewish GIs requested a C or a P—or “N,” for no religious preference—for fear of persecution if they were taken prisoner by the Germans; others altered the H to resemble a P—or totally effaced the religious designation on the dog tag—shortly before going into battle. They had good reason to be afraid; the Nazis did not respect conventional rules regarding treatment of captured enemy soldiers. Some American GIs were sent to the Buchenwald and Mauthausen concentration camps, instead of normal POW facilities. Several hundred US Jewish GIs who were among the American POWs brought to the Stalag IX-B prisoner camp in 1945 were separated from their comrades and sent to the Berga slave labor camp, a subcamp of Buchenwald; thirty-five of them were worked to death, and another thirty-six died on a death march from Berga before the arrival of the victorious Allied armies. There is also evidence that some American Jewish soldiers may have requested a C or a P, or no designation, for fear of suffering discrimination at the hands of fellow soldiers if their Jewish identity became known. In her book GI Jews, Professor Deborah Dash Moore found that anti-Semitic incidents occurred frequently in the military in the World War II era, sometimes erupting into fistfights. The team’s research found no evidence that the military authorities ever deliberately chose a cross to mark a grave of a soldier whom they knew to be Jewish. In every instance that mislabeled graves have been uncovered, human error, not malice, was the cause. Because their loved ones were buried in faraway Europe or the South Pacific, many surviving relatives never visited their graves and thus never knew about the crosses; or, if they knew, they did not realize the mistake could be corrected. One important source of information for the team is to be found in the records of the Jewish Welfare Board, housed at the American Jewish Historical Society in New York City. Many parents of Jewish GIs in World War II filled out a JWB form providing basic family and biographical information so the Board could assist the GI in various ways during his service—for example, via the Jewish chaplains (such as Rabbi Schacter’s father, the late Rabbi Herschel Schacter) whom the JWB helped train. Cross-checking the JWB’s records with US military records of wartime casualties has yielded crucial information. After confirming through an extensive documentary trail that a soldier who was Jewish is buried under a cross, the team moves into the phase of contacting surviving relatives. Legal next of kin are the only ones who have the authority to formally request that a grave marker be changed. The request is made to the government agency charged with caring for all foreign US military cemeteries, the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC). “A country must be judged by how it cares for those who gave their lives for it,” says ABMC leader Major General (ret.) William Matz, with whom Rabbi Schacter and his colleagues work closely in addressing these issues. The foundation of Operation Benjamin The team’s first success was the case of PFC Benjamin (Boruch) Garadetsky, who was killed in a German bombing of his position in France in August 1944. There was no doubt Garadetsky was Jewish; Shalom Lamm and his wife, Tina, had visited the Long Island graves of the GI’s parents and saw the Hebrew inscriptions on their headstones. Moreover, Garadetsky, who was born in Russia, and had written “Hebrew” under “race” on his 1941 application for American citizenship. When the team tracked down Garadetsky’s nephew, a doctor in St. Louis, it turned out that the family was aware of the cross and had written to government officials about it many years earlier but had not pursued it. With help from Lamm and Lamar, an official request was submitted through the American Battle Monuments Commission and quickly approved. On June 20, 2018, Lamar, Rabbi Schacter and dozens of friends and family members of the Garadetskys gathered at the Normandy cemetery for the solemn ceremony at which the cross was replaced by a Star of David. Tehillim were recited, family members shared reminiscences and Rabbi Schacter conducted a memorial ceremony that he created for the occasion; since there is no existing religious service for this uniquely modern occasion, the rabbi improvised. He concluded with the poignant declaration, “Benjamin, on behalf of the citizens of the United States of America, we thank you for making the ultimate sacrifice, and Benjamin, on behalf of the Jewish people, we welcome you home.” To honor the namesake of their first successful mission, the team gave their campaign a permanent name: Operation Benjamin. By January 2025, 27 marker replacements had taken place, three of them at the Normandy American Cemetery: - Private First Class Benjamin Garadetsky (Plot B, Row 14, Grave 6), Date of headstone change: June 20, 2018 - Sergeant Charles L. Solomon (Plot D, Row 25, Grave 40), Date of headstone change: April 8, 2019 - 1st Lieutenant Lawrence S. Craig (Plot E, Row 15, Grave 6), Date of headstone change: May 29, 2023 Why is it important for Jewish people to be buried under a Star of David grave marker? In Jewish tradition, the Star of David (Magen David) is a widely recognized symbol of Jewish identity and heritage. While not a strict religious requirement, its presence on a headstone has deep cultural, spiritual, and communal significance. Here’s why it is important for many Jewish people to have a Star of David on their headstone: 1. Identity and Belonging • The Star of David publicly affirms the deceased’s Jewish faith and heritage. • It connects them to the Jewish people, past and present, in life and death. 2. Symbol of Protection and Divine Connection • The Star of David has been historically associated with divine protection. • Some interpret its two interlocking triangles as a representation of the connection between God and the Jewish people. 3. Continuity and Memory • Jewish tradition places great emphasis on remembering the deceased (Yizkor, Kaddish, and visiting graves). • The Star of David serves as a clear marker that the person was part of the Jewish faith, ensuring their memory is honored accordingly. 4. Cemetery and Community Tradition • Many Jewish cemeteries use the Star of David to distinguish Jewish graves. • It helps maintain the sacredness and separation of Jewish burial grounds from non-Jewish sections. 5. Halachic Considerations • While Jewish law (Halacha) primarily focuses on the proper burial process rather than specific markers, using Jewish symbols on a gravestone aligns with customs of kavod hamet (respect for the deceased). 6. A Symbol of Jewish Resilience • The Star of David has also been a symbol of Jewish survival, especially post-Holocaust, where marking Jewish graves became an act of preserving identity and defying erasure. While not all Jewish graves must have a Star of David, it is a meaningful tradition for many families, ensuring that their loved ones' Jewish identity is honored in perpetuity. Operation Levi – A New Project Operation Benjamin is devoted to preserving the memories of American-Jewish soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice while defending the cause of freedom during World War II. In a brand-new initiative, Operation Benjamin has teamed up with the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge or VDK) and supports a project called “Operation Levi”. “Operation Levi” is devoted to the memory of German Jewish soldiers who fell in the service of Germany in the First World War. The mission of Operation Levi is to identify Jewish soldiers buried in WWI German cemeteries around the world mistakenly buried under Latin Crosses and replace their headstones with Jewish monuments. Operation Levi is named for Levi Meier from Bornheim, Germany who fell on December 29, 1917. He was the son of Isaac Levi and Rebecca Silberberg and was a Landsturmmann in the German Imperial Army and is buried under a cross at the Warmeriville German Cemetery in Northern France. Operation Levi has identified over seven hundred such cases, like that of Levi Meier from Bornheim, of German Jewish soldiers from World War One that made the ultimate sacrifice for their country but were mistakenly buried under Latin Crosses. There is now an appeal to the greater German-Jewish and Jewish genealogical community to assist in connecting with any surviving family, cousins, descendants, distant relatives of these brave warriors so that they can participate in the process of giving the ultimate honor to these Jewish fallen. The names of the 700 men in question can be found at the gedenkportal website of the Volksbund, see link to their website below. 100,000 Germans of the Jewish faith were enlisted during the war, 12,000 of whom were to fall. Of the 500,000 named German soldiers of the First World War buried in France, 3,000 of these war dead were of the Jewish faith. In 1968, the leadership of the Volksbund (German War Graves Commission), in conjunction with the Central Council Of Jews and the Rabbinical Conference in Germany, decided to mark the graves of these dead with stelae. In addition to an engraving of the Star of David and the personal details of the deceased, these stelae also bear a Hebrew inscription, which translates as: “May his soul be bound up in the circle of the living.” https://www.operationbenjamin.org/ https://www.operationbenjamin.org/operation-levi https://gedenkportal.volksbund.de/en/remembrance-day/national-day-of-mourning/german-jewish-soldiers

Four women are buried at the Normandy American Cemetery. Three of these women were members of the 6888th Central Directory Postal Battalion who were killed in an automobile accident in July 1945 (You can read more about this in my article from January 18, 2025). The grave marker for the fourth woman reads Elizabeth A. Richardson American Red Cross Indiana July 25 1945 During World War II, many American women were eager to be part of the war effort. They served as factory workers, government clerks, WAVES ( W omen A ccepted for V olunteer E mergency S ervice) or WAACS ( W omen's A rmy A uxiliary C orps), and artists who copied propaganda posters. Many young women found that the American Red Cross offered a unique opportunity for non-nurses. Elizabeth Ann "Liz" Richardson, 25, from Milwaukee, was one of them. In early 1944, Elizabeth joined the American Red Cross. Female applicants for Red Cross service overseas had to be college graduates, single, and at least 25 years old. Recruiting teams traveled the country to interview candidates. Letters of recommendation and physical examinations were essential, but the personal interview was the clincher and, as one official wrote, "often focused on the intangibles of personality." The rigorous selection process accepted only one in six applicants. Twenty-five-year-old Liz passed her medical exam and sailed through the all-important personal interview. After six weeks of training in Washington, D.C., she boarded the Queen Elizabeth in mid-July 1944, one of 15,000 Americans "the Queen" carried across the Atlantic to join the war effort. By the summer of 1944, nearly a million Yanks were scattered across England, most waiting to cross the Channel and fight the Nazis. Far from home - most for the first time - they missed family and friends, the comforts of familiar food, music, and fun. Most were very young. Many had not even finished high school. Many really didn't like England very much. They weren't much interested in Gothic cathedrals, art museums, tea, or the countryside. Even the pubs were often unattractive, with weak, warm beer and early closing times. They were bored, the food was monotonous, and the women too few. And there was the uncertainty of not knowing when they would go into battle and when they would come home. The American Red Cross was responsible for lifting the morale and spirits of these homesick GIs, primarily by running recreation clubs in major cities. By 1944, however, Yanks were stationed all over the British Isles, most of them far from cities with clubs. The Red Cross's response to this massive dispersal of troops was the Clubmobile, a single-decker bus. Liz was assigned to work on a Clubmobile equipped with coffee and doughnut-making facilities. Because of her leadership and organizational skills, Liz was soon promoted to captain of her unit, which usually consisted of three young women and a British or French driver. The Clubmobile Service, a great morale booster for soldiers overseas, was created as part of the Club Service. A service club on wheels not only brought coffee and doughnuts to the fighting men but also magazines, books, cigarettes, lifesavers, chewing gum, cream, razors, and even musical entertainment on phonographs. Liz and her colleagues were not warriors and usually stayed far from the front lines. The work they did was traditionally defined as "women's work": they cooked, cleaned, and waited on the men. Yet these women provided essential wartime service that included demanding physical labor and stressful emotional costs. During World War II, about 1,000 young, energetic women volunteered to work in Clubmobiles to support military troops. The American Red Cross Clubmobile Service also had black women serving as Clubmobile workers during World War II. Because of segregation in the United States, they were only allowed to serve black soldiers. A couple of weeks after the successful landing in Normandy, 80 Clubmobiles and 320 volunteers crossed the English Channel to start operating their kitchens near the front lines. In February 1945 Liz was sent to Le Havre, France, where she continued to work in her Clubmobile. The Clubmobile women worked long days, sometimes twelve to fourteen hours. On a few occasions, they worked around the clock to feed the U.S. troops doughnuts and coffee. They still had time for a social life, though. Liz had at least two "romances" during her year in Europe. In England, a second lieutenant named Larry took her to division and civilian dances, but their relationship ended when he was transferred in November 1944. When Liz was sent to France in February 1945, she met Frank, a first lieutenant in the Air Transport Command (ATC). Frank attended her funeral. On the morning of July 25, 1945, Elizabeth took a small military plane (a Piper Cub) from the Le Havre airfield in Normandy to Paris. There she was going to meet with the Red Cross to learn about her new assignment in Germany. However, during the flight, the pilot, Sergeant William R. Miller, struggled to navigate through a thick fog, and the plane crashed near Rouen. Tragically, Elizabeth and Sergeant Miller lost their lives. Elizabeth was only 27 years old. Liz and her pilot, Sergeant William R. Miller, were first buried in a temporary cemetery at St. Andre de L`Eure, 37 miles south of Rouen. Then, in April 1949, they were moved and interred at their final resting place, the Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. Sometimes there are flowers placed at the base of the marble cross that marks Grave 5, Row 21, Plot A. Nancy Reagan, the First Lady at the time, was probably the most prominent visitor to Elizabeth's grave. She visited Liz's grave on June 6, 1982, and placed flowers there during the 38th anniversary of D-Day. Nearby, at the new Visitor Center, there is a large photograph of Elizabeth Richardson carrying a heavy coffee urn, smiling, and wearing lipstick. If you want to learn more about the American Red Cross Volunteers on the frontlines of World War II, you can download an excellent thesis by Julia A. Ramsey here.

This post covers the deployment and astounding achievements of the 855 African-American Women of the the 6888th Central Directory Postal Battalion in the ETO in the finals stages of WW II.

T he Château de Vouilly is one of the lesser known but very interesting sites in Normandy. It is located 4 km south of La Cambe, where the largest German military cemetery in Normandy is located. The château, which is now a beautiful small hotel, housed the headquarters of the American press camp of the 1st U.S. Army from June 10 to August 2, 1944. Famous war reporters and photographers such as Walter Cronkite, Andy Rooney, Ernie Pyle, Robert Capa, Robert Dempsey and Ernest Hemingway covered the Battle of Normandy from here. For two months, General Omar Bradley, 42 journalists and their technicians stayed in this chateau with the owners, the Hamel family. Being a former PR professional myself, this is one of my favorite places in Normandy. 16 months before they reported from Normandy, two of the aforementioned war correspondents, Walter Cronkite (United Press) and Andy Rooney (Stars and Stripes), were part of a group of eight war correspondents who called themselves "Writing 69th" and were given a unique opportunity to report on a bombing raid on the Reich. After three weeks of intensive training, six of the eight men were selected to cover a bombing raid on Bremen carried out by 65 four-engine American B-17 "Flying Fortress" and B-24 Liberator bombers on February 26, 1943. This raid was only the second attack on the Reich by the 8th U.S. Air Force. As the sky over Bremen was overcast, the bombers changed course and flew towards their secondary target, the U-boat pens at Wilhelmshaven. One of the B-24 Liberators was shot down by a German fighter plane over Wilhelmshaven, killing Robert P. Post, war correspondent for the New York Times, and all but two of the crew. Robert P. Post found his final resting place in the Ardennes American Cemetery at Henry Chapel, Belgium. I visited Robert's grave in the summer of 2021 to pay my respect to this brave war correspondent, see photo below. If you want to read more about the Writing 69th, please visit the web site of my friend Jim Hamilton who has done a lot of research and published a book about the Writing 69th.

As described here , my tours do not include visits to military museums. A museum visit easily lasts 45-60 minutes, valuable time that we lack for visiting other sights. Nevertheless, visiting one or more museums is an exciting and interesting affair, but interested tourists can do it on their own. In this article, I give a brief overview of the ten military museums that are located on the Cotentin Peninsula.

On June 8, 2013, a life-size bronze statue of bagpiper Bill Millin was unveiled to commemorate his heroic actions during the D-Day landings at Sword Beach. Bill Millin's son John (left) attended the ceremony and gave a moving tribute to his father, who died Aug. 18, 2010, at the age of 88. Several bagpipe bands played that sunny day in honor of Bill Millin. Later, a Spitfire flew several flyovers to the cheers of the crowd. Bill Millin was Lord Lovat's personal piper and led the British commandos to the French coast. Except for the ceremonial dagger in his stocking, he was unarmed and played fearlessly as the men fell around him. As the brigade moved away from the beach, Piper Millin played on, leading the Commandos across Pegasus Bridge. The Germans said they did not shoot him because they thought he had "gone crazy."