FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2009
NÉGREVILLE CEREMONY |
Lt. Walter Christoff "Chris" Heisler (Co F, 507th
PIR) jumped into the darkness from aircraft 42-23638 at 0232 hrs on on
D-Day. The plane was number 31 in Serial 24 flown by the 61st
Troop Carrier Group, 14th Troop Carrier Squadron out of Barkston Hearth,
England. Heisler, like
thousands of other paratroopers, soon found himself on the ground
looking for comrades to assemble with.
Chris never located any of his men after he parachuted. Since he was in
the front of the stick jumping from his C-47 he was totally unaware that the
plane  had
been hit by enemy fire soon after he exited. The plummeting C-47 lost altitude so quickly that one paratrooper had not even had time to jump. He
was killed in the crash along with the five members of the air crew. Once found by people of Négreville they were buried wrapped in their chutes.
The surviving paratroopers were scattered over 250-square miles.
Only after his first return to Normandy in 2000 did he
learn that his plane was the only one of the 36 aircraft serial that had gone down and that one of his men had been
killed in the crash while many others had been killed by German
troops once they ere on the ground. |
Négreville
is a small village |
Churchyard
is central to town |
Getting Ready
Rodolphe Roger (r) takes notes while an
interview is conducted |
Church Square
was dedicated to Chris Heisler (507th) in June 20907 |
 Parade
of Honor
approaches dedication site from community center |
Community Band
provided music |
Community Colors
of many surrounding towns were displayed |
Floral Wreath
was borne by Emil Lapierre |
Children
also brought flowers |
Floral Tributes
clutched in tiny hands |
New Panel
commemorating those who died in the crash awaited unveiling |
First Light of Day
as Rodolphe Roger reveals the panel |
|
C-47 Crash ŕ Négreville
New panel details he events |
Jill Heisler
get the first look at panel commemorating men from her father's
stick |
Children's Chorus
sang for the audience
|
Valuable Lessons
provided by schoolteachers |
Heaps of Flowers
were left by the children |
 Howard
Hubner
was one of the 507th veterans in attendance |
|
All Normandy 'D-Day Plus 65' trip photos are a
multi-national mixture of work
by Hervé Argoud, Hans DeBree, Gene Garren, Fred Hoek, Herbert
Lahout, Randy Lewellen, Cyndi Mathews, Bill Nation, Dick O'Donnell,
Dominique Potier, Vivian Roger, Zane Schlemmer, Donald van den Bogert and Nelly
van Loo. Individual credits have not been
given. |
