In Nottingham, we moved into tents in one of the King's Deer Parks, and applied our cleanup skills.

We started an accelerated combat oriented training program, including night jumps, and arduous field exercises.   

Early in June 1944, we moved to an airport, received briefings, bid fare-well to our friends, and heavily loaded with ammunition and rations we were boosted into our C-47 planes.

We jumped into Normandy on D-Day June 6, 1944.  We returned to England by LST and to Nottingham where we received a ‘heroes’ welcome.

We received replacements for our men killed or wounded in Normandy, and participated in memorial services for our lost friends. 

Following a few months of intensive training,  we again moved to an air-port,  and on September 17, 1944 parachuted into a farmers fields near  Nijmegen, Holland.”   

Bill’s comrades say. 

“In Holland, Bill's skill as a battlefield chef surfaced. Most days, even under enemy fire, Bill would have a live chicken tied by a string to a peg by his foxhole.  Sometime in the morning, with a gasoline stove and a tin pan, Bill would make soup out of the chicken, combined with whatever vegetables he could find in the battlefield area or get from local farmers.

Retrieving the “used” chicken from the soup, Bill would roll it in flour (or something) and fricassee it in his tin pan. When eaten with "K" crackers (hard tack) that chicken soup and fricassee chicken provided a delicious much appreciated meal - but only for a few of Bill's cronies in the platoon command group.” [So much for camaraderie!] 

Bill Frickel continues.

“On November 11, following a twenty-two mile march, we met trucks that carried us to Sissonne, France. In Sissonne, life was good - we occupied a French Artillery Post. We were living under a roof, the first since we left camp Shanks, NY. We had comfortable rooms, warm dry beds, lots of good hot food, and no incoming artillery shells. However, our good life  ended abruptly -- the desperate Germans had launched a surprise attack to split the allied forces, and seize the channel ports at Antwerp.