US GENERALS a Confl Uence of Errors by Lee Enderlin One of the Most Famous of the Bizarre Deaths Was That of Brig
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Buy Now! Home above — From left to right: Lt. May, Brig. Gen. Pratt, Col. Murphy & Lt. Butler standing in front of the original Fighting Falcon, but not the glider they fl ew. Pratt photographed earlier in the war, KIA when he was still a lieutenant colonel. Don F. Pratt — US GENERALS A Confl uence of Errors By Lee Enderlin One of the most famous of the bizarre deaths was that of Brig. Gen. Don Forester Pratt, aged 51 at the time Dead Generals and assistant division commander of the 101st Airborne Division, early on he US military fi elded approximately 1,100 general-grade the morning of D-Day, 6 June 1944. offi cers during World War II. Of them, though 40 lost their His story is so relatively well known, T lives during the confl ict, only 12 died as a result of combat an allusion to it was even made (killed in action or KIA). Most of the others died in incidents, such in the fi lm Saving Private Ryan. as plane or car crashes or heart attacks or other natural causes. In that movie a fi ctional Brig. Gen. Two were executed by the Japanese. (In comparison, 135 German Amend, also the deputy commander generals were killed in action while Hitler executed 84 others.) of the 101st, is killed in the same way Of the 12 KIA Americans, one held a high-ranking staff position; as Pratt. Capt. Miller (Tom Hanks) one was an army commander; three were division commanders encounters a Lt. DeWindt (Leland and seven were assistant division commanders. Half of the 12 Orser), Amend’s pilot, who relates the died under unusual circumstances. The remaining six died more story of an overloaded glider. Like his also claimed the crash took the lives a steel plate onto the bottom of the mundanely, in what might be called “wartime happenstance.” real-life counterpart, DeWindt wasn’t of 22 other men. That’s purely fi ction, thing would’ve meant it never would’ve informed a heavy steel plate had been though, as the CG-4A glider could actu- gotten off the ground in England. inserted into the fl oor of his glider for ally hold only 15 men (including pilot Don Pratt’s actual story began in the general’s safety. When the over- and co-pilot), and that would’ve been Greenville, Michigan. There some loaded glider crashed, the jeep inside without a jeep inside. The nearly two schoolchildren decided to raise broke loose and killed the general. dozen men plus a jeep would’ve over- $17,000 to pay for the building of a In the movie, however, DeWindt loaded the glider on their own. Welding glider for the army (they ended by 34 WORLD at WAR 33 | DEC 2013–JAN 2014 WORLD at WAR 33 | DEC 2013–JAN 2014 35 for a landing near the French town Charles L. Keerans, Jr. — of Hiesville, 7.5 miles inland from A Mystery Worthy of Holmes Utah Beach, where the landings hadn’t yet started taking place. Don Pratt was the fi rst general offi - At that moment a “perfect storm” cer of either side to die on D-Day, but of deadly coincidences spelled doom Charles Keerans was the fi rst American for the aircraft. It picked up a tailwind airborne general to die—kind of. That estimated to have been blowing at is, he didn’t so much “die” as simply 27 mph. The LZ was wet and slippery disappear. Like Pratt, Keerans (at the from early morning dew—it was just time aged 44) was a brigadier general after 4:00 a.m.—and it also sloped and the assistant division commander downhill. Further complicating of the 82nd Airborne Division. matters, the poplar trees in the area, In July 1943 the Allies were poised at 40 to 60 feet, were 10 to 20 feet to return to Europe via Sicily. The higher than had been expected, so chosen spot for the 82nd was the Gulf the glider had to be brought in at of Gela in support of 1st Infantry a sharper angle than planned. The Division on their left and 45th Infantry aircraft hit the ground going around Division on their right. The drops 80 mph, about 10 mph above normal. went poorly, as Allied airborne A CG4A loaded with a jeep. A CG-4A glider could stop in as operations were still in their infancy. little as 200 feet, though normal was One of the problems encountered 600 to 800; however, under higher by the paratroopers was friendly fi re. weight loads 2,000 to 3,000 feet were Jittery Allied gunners, under steady required. With the added weight attack by the Luftwaffe, tended to of the steel plate, there was no way shoot fi rst and worry about verifying Airborne reinforcements in a C-47 heading for Sicily on 11 July. the glider would be able to stop in aircraft nationality later. That was espe- the length normally required. cially evident during the 82nd’s drop On touchdown, Murphy hit the on Sicily, where 23 of its transports brakes and was shocked to realize the were shot down. One of those was a aircraft wasn’t slowing at all. Some 800 C-47 being co-piloted by Brig. Gen. feet later the faux Falcon slammed Keerans. Also aboard were members into a hedgerow with such force that of the 376th Parachute Field Artillery witnesses stated the ground shook. and an observer, Maj. Tracy Jackson It was a miracle anyone survived. The fl ight was originally planned Murphy ended up hanging half in and for late on D-Day for Operation half out of the nose of the glider with Husky, 10 July, but in the confusion two broken legs (one a compound it ended up being postponed for 24 fracture). Lt. May had braced himself hours. It came in on-time for its new The crash of the faux Fighting Falcon. behind the general’s jeep, and that schedule, on the evening of July 11, saved his life. Lt. Butler was wedged and was shot down by friendly fi re. raising $72,000 and building four). fl ight out on the eve of D-Day, but into the nose of the glider, dead The pilot, a Maj. Dekker, did what The fi rst, named the Fighting Falcon, he’d never been told about the steel of massive blunt force trauma. he could to get the aircraft to land, eventually made its way to England plate, so he had no idea why the It was Gen. Pratt who suffered but it was too badly damaged. He where, in honor of the schoolchildren’s aircraft was so diffi cult to control. The the most unusual injury. He’d been managed to ditch safely about 400 efforts, it was designated to be the lead two-and-a-half hour fl ight drained seated in the jeep during the fl ight. yards offshore. The survivors, including glider of the entire Normandy invasion. his stamina and left his arms and There remains some confusion as Keerans, decided to wade ashore. Later a new protective nose for legs weary for the landing. The steel to whether the jeep was chained Somewhere along the way, sight of the the gliders was developed and the plate, a quarter-inch thick, did its down or tied down by nylon rope. general was lost. It was assumed he’d Falcon, which lacked it, was therefore job: the glider was peppered with There’s also debate as to whether the fallen victim to undertow. The army moved back to position 45 in order small arms fi re that ricocheted off it. chain/rope snapped or held tight but accepted that hypothesis as fact, and over a nearby dune never to be US offi cer to die as a result of enemy fi re to make way for the safer models. Murphy early on surprised his jerked the jeep extremely harshly. Keerans was duly listed as “lost at sea.” seen again. When the NCO’s in combat, and he has also become a The replacement was repainted to fellow pilots in neighboring gliders What’s known is the general’s neck There the story would’ve ended, story was told and investigated, symbol of the capricious nature of war. look like the original Fighting Falcon, by pulling up immediately after was broken. Whether that occurred except for a bizarre incident: Keerans Keeran’s status was changed to The senior Gen. Buckner was the which by then had become well known tow-release. They were supposed from whiplash or the result of his head was seen alive the next day. Just MIA, and later KIA, even though Confederate offi cer known for surrendering in Allied news media. It was that to stay level and gradually lose hitting a cross bar within the glider offshore on the morning of 12 July, his body was never found. Fort Donelson to Ulysses Grant in 1862. replacement Falcon, with a further altitude. Instead, Murphy gained also remains a matter of speculation. a sergeant was unloading supplies His son fi rst entered the Virginia Military steel plate added, which carried Pratt. altitude in order to get the time Meanwhile, the original Fighting from another crashed transport. To Simon B. Buckner Jr. — Institute, and later won appointment The aircraft was piloted by Lt. Col. needed to fi gure out how to better Falcon landed safely not far away. his surprise, Keerans approached and Wrong Place, to West Point in the class of 1908.