There were many units assigned to each of the 101st Airborne Division’s Parachute Infantry Regiments, one of which was the 502nd PIR.
My father was one of them and assigned to the Regimental Headquarters unit, serving as a radio communicator during D-Day, Carentan, Holland and the Battle of the Bulge. Dad served under Colonel Cole, Colonel Michaelis and Colonel Chappuis.
My 101st Airborne father was one of thousands of men who earned multiple Purple Hearts and awards for the battles during WWII. They are all heroes in my opinion. Dad was amazed at his “life and body intact,” almost as though he felt he should not have made it through when so many died in battle. He once said with a far off distant look in his eyes, “I once saw a man vaporize into thin air…” His wartime letters give a compelling assessment of the war in Europe from a soldier’s viewpoint with sentiments resonating with our soldiers today. It is critical that we let our soldiers of today know that our strength of support is behind their armor.
June 3, 2013
Hello Jenny,
I finished reading Comes A Soldier’s Whisper in just 3 days.
It’s very easy to read but sometimes it’s difficult to understand what your Dad was feeling, what was happening inside of him. But it was another time, time when ordinary men did extraordinary things. When they went to die for their country as it was great honour as the country was in great need. Now we’re living in pretty much peace time… that is if we forget about war againts terrorism.
It was great 3 days when I could feel part of that what your Dad did. What he could write and pass between the lines. How much he wanted to get back home. It looks like every day was like a year, hours like a month.
Chris Kuzin
Polish Living History Group
Five-O-Deuce, 502nd PIR, 101st Airborne Division
Poland
The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or the next. It was the deep knowledge — and pray God we have not lost it — that there is a profound moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest.
~ President Ronald Reagan
Comes A Soldier’s Whisper remembering history and our veterans one day at a time…
Jenny Tharp La Sala
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