The Greatest Among Us

June 5, 1944

The Skies above Normandy

The Night Before D-Day

Charlie’s hand trembled as he tried to control his fear. He felt his pockets for his ration of cigarettes. With a shaking hand, he pulled one out and put it to his lips, and with the other hand, lit it. He took a deep inhale, trying to calm himself, and breathed out a cloud of smoke. As he trembled and sweat the doubts set in. Charlie allowed his mind to take him home. He thought of his friends, many of whom were fighting on one of the many theaters of war around the world. He thought of the local park in his hometown where he would read under his favorite tree. Then, he thought of his twin sister, Maggie, and his parents. He had family pictures in his helmet. Charlie pulled out his most recent letter from his sister. He hadn’t yet opened it, holding on to it. He didn’t know when he’d be able to get mail from her again, so he kept this one for the moment he’d need it most. He looked at the letter and smiled, then secured it back into his coat pocket. For a moment he felt peace.

Breathe. Just breathe. This is what you’ve trained for. He said a silent prayer to himself. God, give me grace. Keep me safe. And if anything happens, take care of Maggie for me.

The night sky lit up and the plane was shaken violently. Flak. The red glow from the jump light illuminated the inside of the plane as it came on. Every man rose to their feet and fell in line as their commanding officer gave them verbal and hand signals. A chorus of deep breaths rose from the men, each dealing with fear in their own way. Some prayed, some cursed, some cried. Charlie just breathed. The invasion of Fortress Europe had begun – Operation Overlord was in motion.

“Hook up!” ordered Lieutenant Jefferson. Each man hooked the clips from their chutes to the line above them.

“Equipment check!” came the order. Each man checked to make sure they had all their bags, pouches, and weapons.

“12 Okay!” stated the airman furthest from the jump door.

“11 Okay!”

“10 Okay!” Each man in line gave the word that they were equipped and ready to make the jump.

“You ready, Chuckles?” asked Tommaso Zamparelli. He took a stick of gum and put it in his mouth, chomping on it loudly.

The plane rocked from a nearby flak explosion. Tom stopped chomping, looking wide-eyed at the sides of the plane.

“Are you ready, Tommy?” Charlie responded.

“I’m always ready!” Tom resumed chomping loudly on his stick of gum.

“One minute,” came the announcement. Acknowledgement was passed from the back of the plane down the line to the Soldier nearest the door. The plane continued to rock as the flak blew up around the C-47 “Dakota.” Thoughts of home and loved ones filled the minds of every man aboard. Many were afraid they’d never hold their children again, kiss their wives, laugh with their friends, spend time with their parents and families; many wouldn’t. Tonight, many men would die.

The Dakota next to them took a hit to the starboard engine and began to weave. Charlie looked as the fire grew around the plane and watched as the men began to jump early, the fire consuming the plane. Finally, the engine erupted, the wing completely separating from the plane. The C-47 spiraled out of control heading towards their port side.

“Son of a…” cried one of the airmen as the Dakota just missed them.

Charlie moved to the starboard side and witnessed the demise of the great aircraft along with her pilots and half of her crew. As it struck the ground, he realized how low they were flying. Oh hell, we can’t be more than 500 feet up…”

“Dupree, get back in the line!” barked Lieutenant Jefferson.

Charlie returned to formation. The cigarette in his mouth danced around, up and down, as his lip quivered. He took the cigarette from his mouth, threw it on the ground, and snuffed it out under his boot. It wasn’t doing him any good anyway.

Their plane jerked hard to port, throwing all the men to the ground. Again, the plane was rocked, this time glass was blown from the portholes and covered all the airmen. Another explosion, this one sending them to the starboard side. The pilots then banked hard to port, the airmen, already on the ground, slid from the left to the right, trying to grab onto anything they could to keep from sliding right up to the sides of the cabin. They leveled back out, and the men stood back up. Charlie looked behind him. The three men behind him shook with terror. He could see the panic in their eyes. Another explosion rocked the plane tearing a hole near the rear of the hull. The soldier in the back was thrown against the opposite hull, shrapnel filled his back. He came so far from the line that his chute deployed, carrying his broken body out of the hull opening into the night. The other two men were shaken, but not injured.

“Chuckles, you okay?” Tom got to his feet, checking his friend. Charlie’s face was blank and frightened. “Charlie! Hey pal, look at me!” Tom took Charlie by the face, making him focus, trying to get his friend to breathe. Charlie, now in a frenzy, was unsure what to do as the chaos unfolded around him.

“I’m okay…I’m okay.” Charlie pulled himself together, started breathing deeply again.

Green light. Time to go. The men ahead of him began to jump. One out, two out, three out. One by one, the men exited the plane into the unknown. Tom turned and nodded as he stepped to the door. He was out. Now it was Charlie’s turn. As he stepped to the edge of the door, Charlie felt an intense heat from behind and was thrown from the Dakota by the force of the explosion that erupted from the plane’s starboard engine just opposite the jump door. As he left the plane and began his descent, his chute deployed.

The force of the chute deploying yanked him hard as it caught the air. Above him, he could see the flaming, hulking mass of his plane plummeting to earth, completely consumed by fire. Immediately, he heard the sound of branches breaking. He felt the tree limbs hitting him in the legs and now scraping his face. The chute had not been deployed long enough to slow his descent much. The chute caught the branches and ended his fall suddenly as it gripped the tree, his straps entangled in the limbs. The force of the sudden stop jerked his body. The momentum swung him hard into the trunk of the tree. His entire body made contact with the center of the tree. The impact knocked his helmet from his head.

Charlie felt warm blood run down his face into his mouth. The iron taste of blood was on his tongue, the sound of antiaircraft fire in the distance, then nothing. Everything went black and silent.