June 5-6, 1944: 61st Troop Carrier Squadron participated in Operation NEPTUNE
Before the Allied ground forces reached the beaches on the morning of Operation OVERLORD of the Normandy invasion, our own 61st Troop Carrier Squadron participated in Operation NEPTUNE. NEPTUNE was the airborne assault phase of OVERLORD, and shortly after midnight on June 6 it dropped paratroopers of the U.S. Army’s 82d Airborne Division roughly five miles from the coast in order to prevent German troops from attacking Allied forces crossing the English Channel and landing at Utah Beach. Time on the Drop Zone was shortly after 2 a.m. Nazi Germany would ultimately surrender eleven months after the Normandy landings. Included is a 1989 painting showing the 61 Troop Carrier Squadron and its lead plane, the “Turf and Sport Special,” in action over Normandy created by aviation artist Gil Cohen.
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Jeremy Prichard
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