The End (for now)

Before I launch into the story I thought it best to explain a bit about each person. Please note, this is not an exhaustive list.

Gerald - He was 18 years old on June 6, 1944 and was the soldier that shot Nick.

Jules Levavasseur  - He was 18 years old when Nick, badly wounded, & Gerald came to the farm.

Cecile Levavasseur - The sister in law of Jules who was not at the farm that night but knew the story.

Marie-Therese Levavasseur - The daughter of Jules.

Jocelyne - A Fresville local I found online that guided us.

Bobby - Jocelyne's neighbor. He is very active in the Normandy area and was a teenager during the invasion. He worked at the first temporary cemetery. Bobby was a friend of Jocelyne's grandfather.

Rene - Our Normandy guide. His father was a member of the French Resistance captured and survived Dachau. He lives in Caen.

Dutch Schultz - A fellow soldier (depicted in The Longest Day) that served with Nick & Gerald.

Ellen - The daughter of Nick's late widow, Melba.


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My immediate question was, how did they they get Nick to the farm? What happened as he died? Who was there? I wanted to know everything.

Before we left, I talked to Ellen. I asked her about Nick's burial flag & medals but she never answered. She did tell me she knew nothing of Nick except he and her mother were very much in love. I then shared with her some of Melba's letters.

Unfortunately, Facebook is not permitting me to share the (poor) quality videos but seeing where Nick died answered many of these questions.

On June 5, Rene picked us up from our hotel in Paris for the 3 hour car ride to Bayeux. Upon arriving in Bayeux we were taking the train to Carentan to meet Jocelyne. We were not sure what to expect and with only a bit of language barriers with locals, we bought our tickets. The ride was 2 stops, 30 mins total.

Immediately, we saw traffic was crazy. We drove to Sainte-Mere-Eglise to meet Cecile. She and an older gentleman met us. They live across the street from the historic church John Steel was stuck on. Jocelyne translated. Cecile pulled out the article on Jules that Jocelyne had written, we all laughed. Cecile had the version of events that Nick was 18 and shot by a German bullet. Indeed Marie-Therese had emailed me this version; however, by Jules' (and Gerald's) own account this wasn't the case. Nick was also 28 and not shot by German fire. Perhaps time or a game of telephone caused this miscommunication.

None the less Cecile pulled out a map and sheet to show us Nick's grave. She had been to visit him at the American Cemetery at least 4 times and had a rubbing of the grave. At the end of the visit we gave each other awkward air/cheek kisses and I presented her with a photo of Nick. She was very pleased to have it.

From there we snapped a few photos of the church as a procession marking a new historic marker instillation was leaving. It was wall to wall people. As we were early on time, we went near Utah Beach. We walked in the sand and collected shells. Then we went to meet Bobby.

On the way Jocelyne turned and said , " Do you think you will come back? ". At that moment I knew the answer was yes. She told me I'd love to look into all the local archives which might even have more about Nick. We stared at the country roads that she wound with ease - one lane roads with brutal blind spots.

Fresh off of leaving the church ceremony, we met Bobby at his home in Fresville.

Approximately 15 years ago he got a call about an American wandering around the area with a sketch  (that he had made) of a building he was trying to find. Bobby was called in to translate and learned this man was trying to locate a farm he had shot his friend Nicholas on in 1944. It was Gerald. They searched in vein for several days and Gerald left empty handed.

Several years later Gerald returned and the search resumed. As they were heading near a chateau (used as a medical rally point and the site of fierce fighting by a soldier named Turnbow) they came across an elderly man using clippers to trim the hedges. They pulled up and asked the man and said the story. He said nothing and kept cutting his hedges. Finally he said, I think I might know the place. " Can you ask the man that was there if there was a young man there that night and what did he ask him?". Confused Gerald answered yes there was a young man there and he asked him how old he was. He remembered the young man was 18 because they were the same age. With that the man identified himself - it was Jules Levavasseur.

Gerald then told him that when Dutch Schultz was dying he called Gerald and asked him to come see him - he had something important to tell him. According to Gerald they talked about Nick (or just Polachek as they called him). Nick, Gerald, and Dutch were all gambling together before they left for Normandy. Gerald still owed him money and insisted on paying him. Dutch refused and they agreed to send it to their company chaplan. Gerald left and realized he didn't know what it was Dutch wanted to see him about but when he walked back in, Dutch had died.

All three (Bobby, Jules, Gerald) later went to the farm.

Jocelyne bid us adieu at this point and we headed with Bobby to the farm.

Nick & Gerald landed approximately 20 ft behind the house in a hedgerow. One on each side. Nick was shot on his left side in the lower part of the stomach as he tried to pass the radio. Therefore, it's assumed he landed on the side of the headrow closest to the house. The Levavasseur's took him into the home and placed him on a mattress. Somehow, they were able to find a medic. He said if the bleeding was not internal Nick would be ok, one look at the wound and they knew he was doomed. Nick didn't survive for long and Gerald stayed with him as he died.

I wonder if Nick said anything - tell my family I love them? Take my tags home to my family? Did Gerald beg Nick's forgiveness?

The family wrapped Nick in their linens and with the help of Gerald buried him in the back garden. A plum tree stands there today. Rene told us that the Levavasseur family took a great risk at burying Nick. Luckily it was a private burial so it was not discovered but had it been discovered by the Germans, they could have paid a heavy price.

Gerald has not been returning calls or messages and Bobby feels he is busy trying to forget. I have strong feelings about this but will omit them for now.

As we were talking about coincidences - Nick's grave is C-28-28. Nick's grave location was randomly selected by ABMC. My grandfather is buried in section 23-23 of Calvary and was 5 years younger than Nick. The graves are each 5 apart. Coincidence? Not to mention my mother shares a birthday with Nick's wife and I share a birthday with Nick's father. Someone upstairs orchestrated all of this. How or why, I'm not sure but I know in my heart we will be back to France. My mom feels it in her heart too. Our main mission is accomplished but cementing Nick's legacy is my new focus.

As Bobby dropped us off at the train station he mentioned that he saw flowers at Nick's grave a few days ago. He believes a professor nearby had adopted his grave and would make inquiries for us.  We promised Jocelyne & Bobby we would all keep in touch. I hope to return to France and see them both. They kept saying don't thank us, this is a honor.

The next day started at 3am. We finally got to meet Uncle Nick at Normandy American Cemetery. I will make another entry but I placed my hand on his grave, fought back tears, and just kept thinking " I'm so sorry this happened to you - you should have come home - we all love you - we are so proud but so sorry this happened to you.". Mom later told me she kept saying the same thing too - she was so sorry it happened to him. I know without a shadow of a doubt my Grandma Marge & Grandpa Frank were there in spirit. They would be so proud, I can hear my Grandpa saying " Nick, meet my girls." with a big grin on his face.

I will try to double check this later for typos and such. My mac is running slow and freezing up - that includes my patience at this point!

The beginning until 0203 on June 6, 1944

I didn't want to write this because the story should not have ended the way it did. I should properly footnote this but I'm feeling a bit too lazy for that. Many of you have asked, have you updated your blog yet? I'm actually only about a week behind even though I haven't updated in a month (per my own schedule). Returning from France, I am getting over a cold and recovering in general. This is going to be a lengthy entry and as it was expanded in France - it will now be two parts.

A lot happened in France, for Nick - for Mom & I as well.

I know many more details but I thought it best to include those in details of the chaos and the beginning of the end for Nick that I now know started ,  almost the instant he landed, in the forthcoming entry.

My great-grandparents fled Galicia in search of a better life. Louis arrived in 1902 and his wife, Julia, a short time after. The family settled in Cleveland (supposedly due to the strong presence of Slav's). The family was Byzantine Catholic but just "became" Roman Catholic. They had 8 children: Wesley, Mary, Mike, Katie, Martha, Nick, Steve, and Frank. From Wesley to Frank ( my grandfather) there is a 20 year age gap.

Louis supposedly served mandatory military service in Galicia before he left. Admittedly, I know very little about how the kids were raised. I know Julia was "bat shit". She would get so worked up that the children went out at all hours of the night to obtain the one thing that could calm her down, not to mention stop her from beating the kids with a skillet, vanilla ice cream was her kryptonite.

Louis & Julia never went to school. They could not read or write their native Ukrainian let alone English. They relied on the children as translators; however, my mother never heard her father (or his siblings) speak it.

Mary dropped out of school in the 6th grade to help out at home. Each child progressively increased their education level. Nick graduated from a public high school. His younger brother Steve scored a scholarship to a private Catholic School due to athletics. My grandfather followed suit. The boys went on to college - until war called that is.

Circa 1942, Nick married a local girl from the neighborhood - Melba who was a few years his senior. Both families went into an uproar. Melba's family was Jewish. As Aunt Arlene put it, " Good Catholic boys married good Catholic girls & visa versa. It was ok for the kids to play ball in the neighborhood but not marry.". Nick & Melba never had the chance to live together. On November 7, 1942 - Nick was drafted.

It's unknown to me if he volunteered for Airborne and if so what his motives were. My best guess is that he volunteered because Paratroopers received additional pay at approximately $100 more per month. It may not seem like a lot but at the time it was - it was more money they could send back home.

Nick went through jump school in either Alabama or Georgia. On February 10, 1943 the 505th was sent to Ft. Bragg. On March 21 they were moved to Camp Edwards in Massachusetts.

After basic training Nick departed the Port of NYC bound for Casablanca in April 1943 where he arrived on May 10. He received more training.

The rest was quite routine for as far as invasion go. Sicily : Operation Husky. Salerno : Operation Avalanche.

After the invasion of Sicily Nick was awarded a Combat Infantryman Badge; however, the the orders were not cut until 1944 when the unit returned to England. Following Salerno Nick went missing for 28 days. He was reportedly dropped too far north into the mountains before he found his way back to the unit.

The telegram announcing Nick was unaccounted for in Salerno.

The unit then moved to England to prepare for Mission Boston, which was a component of Operation Neptune - the assault and landing phase, the opening maneuver the aptly named,  Operation Overlord.

Specifically Nick was at Spanhoe RAF. The last letter that made it home was a letter to his sister Katie, he didn't know what yet,  but it is clear that he knew an invasion was coming. That was the last time the family heard from him.

The 505th would be transported by the 315th TCG. They would be sent to DZ O near Sainte-Mere-Eglise with specific objectives.

This report is taken from the book "THE THREE ONE-FIVE GROUP", written in 1968, and published in 1984, by now-deceased Bill Brinson. It is now being expanded for reissue late 2002.

The last week in May, Group Engineering received numerous gallons of both black and white paint. Confidential instructions were issued to the four squadron engineering sections to be ready on short notice to mark all aircraft. Three white and two black stripes, each stripe two feet wide, were to be painted around the aircraft fuselage just forward of the tail section. The same pattern was to be painted on the top and bottom of each wing. Once the aircraft were painted, they were grounded until further notice. The "GO " signal for the painting to commence was received on 3 June, and the squadron engineering personnel, chided into competition by Sgts. George White and Sollie Grasmick from the Group Engineering Section, worked continuously until all aircraft were marked.

Airfield Sealed

On 1 June, the airfield at Spanhoe was "sealed:" No one was allowed off the base, all passes were cancelled, and all personal telephone calls were prohibited. Non-official mail was placed in bags and stored. Paratroopers from the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, stationed near Leicester , began arriving at Spanhoe two days later. They set up cots in one of the hangars and strung barbed wire around the area of the airfield allotted to them. Around the same time, 315th crewmembers scheduled for the upcoming mission were issued "escape kits "containing special instructions, cloth maps, and a limited amount of French francs. These kits were welcomed. Not welcomed were a set of special coveralls, impregnated with an oily and strong smelling substance, which were supposed to be worn on the mission. The impregnated suit was said to offer protection against certain types of gasses that the enemy might use.

The weather forecast for 5 June postponed the planned operations for 24 hours, but on the evening of 4 June, General Eisenhower made the decision that the invasion of France (Operation OVERLORD) would take place on the 6th. The paratroops, advanced guard of the Allied Forces, would take off from English airfields on the evening of 5 June. The mission of the 82nd Airborne Division, of which the 505th PIR was a part, was to secure the western edge of the bridgehead by capturing the town of Ste. Mere Eglise , a key point on the road to Cherbourg.

The Briefings

Early in the afternoon of 5 June, the pilots, co-pilots,and navigators assembled in the Pilots ' Lounge. (The crew chiefs and radio operators were briefed separately.) Maj.Gen.Matthew B. Ridgeway, who commanded the 82nd Airborne Division, and who was scheduled to jump with the 505th was present. When all were present, Col.McLelland announced that the long expected mission was scheduled for that evening. Lt.Col.Gibbons then revealed the map on the wall and pointed out the destination —a drop zone northwest of the town of Ste. Mere Eglise on the Cherbourg Peninsula in Normandy . Over 800 American troop carrier aircraft would participate in the mission, airlifting over 13,000 U.S. paratroopers and glidermen. Additional planes from the British 38 Group and 46 Group would take in the British airborne troops. All necessary information concerning the mission of the troop carriers was fully covered and few questions were asked at the briefing 's conclusion. Pilots went from the briefing to meet and have discussions with the jumpmasters on their respective planes.

The total load for the 315th's 48 aircraft was 844 paratroops and 41,236 pounds of equipment. All that was left to do until the balloon went up later in the day was to wait.

Channel Crossing

A final crew briefing was held at 2030; no major changes were made to the instructions issued earlier. The one serial* of the 315th was to be made up of 48 aircraft —each aircraft carrying 19 to 20 paratroopers, and five to six parapacks of equipment fastened with shackles under the wings.

There was a lead flight of three planes followed by five Vee of Vees , consisting of nine aircraft each. The leader of each nine-plane element was to fly 1000 feet to the rear of the preceding flight. The wing element leaders were positioned 200 feet behind, and 200 feet to the right and left respectively of the rear planes in the leading element. For night flying, this was not a loose formation.

The weather was not too good, but it was not too bad. The skies were expected to be free of clouds over England at the altitude the formation would fly, and only scattered clouds were forecasted for the coast of France.

By 2130 most of the aircrews, paratroopers, and some maintenance men had assembled by the individual planes parked on the hardstands surrounding the airfield. Some were making last minute checks of their planes and equipment;some talked quietly;others remained silent with their own thoughts;all were wondering about what might lie ahead in Normandy . The German forces had worked on "Fortress Europe "for almost four years. Would it be as formidable as the enemy advertised it to be?

There was one group of men whose fate that June evening was not in Normandy , but on the base at Spanhoe. A few minutes before the aircraft were to be boarded, one of the paratroopers standing alongside Flight Officer Weston Harper 's aircraft dropped a grenade. It exploded and sprayed metal fragments in all directions. Two paratroopers were killed instantly and one died later. Fifteen others were wounded, including the aircrew radio operator. The plane received major damage and was pulled from the mission. The handful of paratroopers not wounded, and some who were, tried to get aboard other planes parked nearby at the same time that engines were being started and other planes began to roll to takeoff position. It was reported that one or two succeeded. Such was their training and esprit de corps.

Ninety-Four Engines start up Ninety-four engines began turning over at 2250 and in the order briefed, slowly moved along the taxi strip toward Runway 260. Six aircraft took formation position on the runway, while the others waited to move forward in their turn. Most base personnel not on the planes had an inkling that this mission might be what it happened to be and were assembling on the grass between the control tower and the active runway as if saying "Good luck and Godspeed to all aboard. " At 2306 with ten to fifteen minutes of daylight still remaining, the lead plane of the 315th, piloted by Col. McLelland, started down the runway.

Each five-second interval thereafter, another plane followed the preceding one. The pilots tucked the planes into formation as the serial made a wide sweep of Spanhoe at 1200 feet before taking up a course for " Atlanta , "the 52nd Troop Carrier Wing Assembly Point about 20 miles east of the midlands city of Birmingham . There were two serials from the 316th Group just ahead of the 315th's planes, and seven serials from the 314th, 313th, the 61st, and the 442nd Groups following close behind. These ten serials of 368 aircraft carried the paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne to Normandy.

After darkness, the moonlight above became discernible through high scattered clouds, and on the ground below specially placed light beacons marked the route to the coast every thirty miles. The formation flew southeast until it reached the head of the Severn Estuary, near Bristol , where it turned southward for Checkpoint "Elko. "At Elko, the groups of the other two troop carrier wings moved into the stream at their designated time. After passing the coast over Portland Bill, a descent was made to 500 feet to delay discovery by German radar. Twenty minutes from destination the jumpmaster on each plane was alerted and the formation began a gradual climb to 1500 feet. An unexpected cloudbank was hanging over the western part of the Cherbourg Peninsula that required the 315th to climb a few hundred feet more to get above it and to change course slightly.

As the cloudbank moved away from beneath the formation, the beacons placed on the drop zone by the Pathfinders were identified and shortly thereafter the "T " of green lights was sighted. (The "T, " 30 x 20 yards, was lit shortly before the first serial arrived.) Ground fire was observed off to the right from what appeared to be the town of Etienneville , and one flak burst struck a plane wounding seven paratroopers. Speed was reduced to 110 mph and four minutes before the drop, the jumpmaster standing at the rear of the fuselage received the red lights to stand up and hook up the parachutes to the static line.

As Drop Zone "0, "about three quarters of a mile northwest of the village of Ste. Mere Eglise , was reached, the green lights signaling "Go "were switched on, sending 816 paratroopers floating earthward from the planes of the 315th. The time was 0203 hours, 6 June 1944 . Immediately after the paratroopers were dropped, the planes descended to 200 feet and maintained this altitude until well beyond the east coast of the Cherbourg Peninsula and to the St. Marcouf Islands. Somewhere in this last few miles over the mainland, a 309th aircraft was struck by machine gun fire coming from a house along the route. Lt. R. T. Slater, flying as co-pilot, was slightly wounded and the plane received some damage. Neither Lt. Orien Clark, the pilot;nor Sgts. Prentice Stucker and Rives Graham, the crew chief and radio operator, were injured. Another 309th aircraft, piloted by Lt. Rodney Bemis, received a burst of flak in the fuselage, wounding several paratroopers, three seriously. On the return flight, Lt. Bemis landed at the first English airfield he sighted to obtain medical attention for the wounded. 

Climbing to 3000 feet and returning over the Channel, the crewmembers were aware of the tremendous invasion armada spread out below them and moving toward the Normandy beaches. By 0440, 45 aircraft had returned to Spanhoe, and the other two planes had been reported as having landed at other airfields. Twelve of the C-47s had received damage from enemy fire. For the 315th aircrews, at least, what later became known as "The Longest Day " was over.