2019 Flagship Museum Sept26 V1.Indd
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Book early and save up to $1,000 per couple. See page 10 for details. D-DAY: THE INVASION OF NORMANDY AND LIBERATION OF FRANCE SEPTEMBER 26 – OCTOBER 2, 2019 NORMANDY BEACHES ARROMANCHES SAINTE-MÈRE-ÉGLISE BAYEUX • CAEN POINTE DU HOC FALAISE • CHAMBOIS NORMANDY CHANGES Dear Friend of the Museum, One of the most inspiring moments during my 16 years with the Museum was YOU FOREVER visiting Omaha Beach in 2005 with WWII veteran Dr. Hal Baumgarten, who landed there with the 116th Infantry Regiment as part of the first wave on D-Day and was wounded five times in just 32 hours. Nothing can match learning about the Normandy landings as you visit the very places where these events unfolded and hear the words of those who fought there. The story of D-Day and the Allied invasion of Normandy have been at the heart of this Museum since we first opened our doors on June 6, 2000, and while our mission has expanded to cover the entire American experience in World War II, we still hold our Normandy travel programs in special regard—and consider them the very best in the market. Drawing on our historical expertise and extensive archival collection, the Museum’s highly regarded D-Day tours take visitors back 75 years, to June 6, 1944, through a memorable journey from Pegasus Bridge and Sainte-Mère-Église to Omaha Beach and Pointe du Hoc. Along the way, you’ll learn the timeless stories of those who sacrificed so much to pull off the largest amphibious attack in history and ultimately secure the freedom we enjoy today. Led by historical experts along with local managers and guides, our Normandy travel programs offer an exclusive experience that incorporates pieces from the Museum’s oral history and artifact collections into presentations that truly bring history to life. After planning dozens of trips to Normandy, we’ve added new locations and experiences, forged new friendships and partnerships, and uncovered countless untold stories of those who fought to liberate Europe. I hope you will take a few minutes to review this brochure, learning about the historical sites and figures our Normandy tours highlight, and then join us for this trip of a lifetime! Sincerely, Stephen J. Watson, President & CEO, The National WWII Museum COVER PHOTO CREDIT: AERIAL OF POINTE DU HOC 2 | VISIT US AT WW2MUSEUMTOURS.ORG CALL US AT 1-877-813-3329 x 257 | 3 FROM THE MUSEUM’S COLLECTION BRITISH PARATROOPER BERET British paratroopers wore red berets during DOUGLAS C-47 SKYTRAIN “096” World War II, and this one belonged The National WWII Museum’s C-47, serial number 42-93096, was built at the to Corporal Wally Parr of the Douglas Aircraft Manufacturing plant in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire “096” was delivered to the US Army on April 8, 1944, at which time it was Light Infantry. He wore it on D-Day, assigned to the 806th Army Air Force Base Unit at Baer Field, Indiana. The throughout the Battle of Normandy, following month “096” was assigned to the 8th Air Force and transferred to the at the Battle of the Bulge, in Denmark, European theater of operations. Immediately and after the war in Palestine. A tear in after arriving in England on May 28, 1944, the beret was caused by a shell fragment the aircraft was transferred to the 9th Air that tore a gash in the side of Parr’s head Force. One week after arriving in England, on July 22, 1944. “096” carried pathfinders from the 82nd Airborne Division into the Normandy Gift of Wally Parr, 1995.002.001 invasion. The plane then dropped pathfinders from the 101st Airborne Division into Holland during Operation Market- Garden. “096” also flew with the rest of its group to drop supplies to the 101st in GERMAN BOOTS Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. The black leather boots pictured During this mission, “096” sustained minor here were worn by Franz Gockel damage from German ground fire, but the on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. plane was repaired and placed back in service in Franz Gockel’s 18th birthday passed a matter of days. The plane’s final combat mission occurred while he was defending the Atlantic on March 24, 1945, when it dropped paratroopers from the 17th Airborne Wall as a member of Germany’s 726th Division across the Rhine River during Operation Varsity. Infantry Regiment of the 352nd After the war, “096” participated in the Berlin Airlift before being transferred Infantry Division. He manned a to the Finnish Air Force. After decades of service as both a military and civilian captured Polish machine gun in transport plane, and a reprisal of its participation in Market-Garden for the Widerstandsnest (Resistance Nest) movie A Bridge Too Far, “096” became a part of The National WWII Museum’s 62 on Omaha Beach. collection in 2006. It is on permanent exhibit in the Louisiana Memorial Gift of Franz Gockel, 2004.235.005 Pavilion. The purchase and restoration of the C-47 was made possible through a gift from Paul Hilliard. The National WWII Museum Inc., 2006.181 101ST AIRBORNE PARACHUTE WEDDING DRESS EASY COMPANY HELMET Wedding dresses were made from parachutes on the US Home Front and in postwar occupied Europe. The war This US MI infantry helmet with airborne liner led to shortages of most fabrics, and to have dresses for was worn by Edward Sabo, member of Easy their special day, brides often would acquire a parachute Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute from a relative serving in the military. Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, The parachute would then be cut up and turned into a during and after the Normandy invasion. dress, either at home or by a dedicated dressmaker. This Each of the four infantry regiments in the dress was worn by Myrtille Delassus when she 101st Airborne used a suit from a deck of married American GI Sergeant Joseph Bilodeau in cards as its identifying mark. The spade went to the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment hence France shortly after the end of the war. the mark on the side of this helmet. Gift of Myrtille M. Bilodeau, 2010.233.003 Gift of Linda Sabo Peck, 2033.352.001 4 | VISIT US AT WW2MUSEUMTOURS.ORG CALL US AT 1-877-813-3329 x 257 | 5 LEARN THEIR PRIVATE HAROLD “HAL” BAUMGARTEN (1925 – 2016) NAMES 507th regiment, 82nd Airborne Division Only a fraction of the 16 million Harold Baumgarten was born in New York City in Americans who served in World War II March 1925. On June 26, 1943, when he was just are still alive today. To remember them 18 years old, he was drafted into the US Army. and honor the sacrifices they made, After completing infantry basic training at Camp guests have access to photographs, Croft, South Carolina, he was shipped overseas intimate details, and personal oral his- to England and assigned to the 116th Infantry tories of these courageous men Regiment of the 29th Infantry Division. and women. On the morning of June 6, 1944, Baumgarten landed in front of the Vierville-sur-Mer draw at LIEUTENANT JOHN MARR (1918 – 2015) the Dog Green Sector of Omaha Beach. During the hours that followed, he Company G, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division received four serious wounds as he worked his way up the bluffs and moved inland. He received his fifth wound while lying on a stretcher on the beach the Colonel John Marr was born in Johnson County, Missouri, in May 1918. He was following afternoon awaiting evacuation. Of the 30 men on his landing craft, drafted into the Army and entered service in June 1941. When he became he was one of only two survivors. aware of a new, specialized unit called the paratroopers, which would give him twice his monthly pay, Marr decided to join up. After earning his jump wings he After the war, the multi-decorated veteran received a bachelor’s degree from completed Officer Candidate School and became a Lieutenant. Assigned to NYU and master’s degree from the University of Miami. He became a renowned Company G of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, he was dropped behind speaker and internationally recognized historian who wrote two books on D-Day, enemy lines on June 6, 1944, with the 82nd Airborne Division. Lt. Marr saw including Eyewitness on Omaha Beach: A Story about D-Day, June 6, 1944. action almost immediately near Sainte-Mère-Église, where he was involved in Before his passing in 2016, he made it his life’s work to share his story and those what is considered the costliest small-unit action in United States Army history: of the men who were lost on D-Day, with the purpose of ensuring the heroes the Battle of La Fière. that paid the ultimate sacrifice on the beaches of Normandy are remembered. In recounting those horrific moments on “Bloody Omaha,” Baumgarten would After fighting in Normandy, Marr was put in command of Company B of the recite the full name and hometown of fellow soldiers who didn’t come home. 507th during the Battle of the Bulge, and continued to lead the company as it He did so, he said, because “I want them never to be forgotten.” spearheaded Operation Varsity, the crossing of the Rhine River, on March 24, 1945. He returned to the US in September 1945 and continued his career in the Army, earning his Army Aviator wings and eventually commanding the 17th Combat Aviation Group in Vietnam and earning a Distinguished Flying Cross.