An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
HomeMediaNews

Gen. Mike Minihan, Commander of Air Mobility Command, visits the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station June 8, 2024.

News


 

914th Airmen preserve D-Day sacrifices

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Andrew Caya
  • 914th Airlift Wing
NIAGARA FALLS, NY --  On one of the last allied invasions of the Second World War, Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen had a rendezvous with destiny in order to defeat an evil in the world.
There were two ways into the battle on the French coast: by sea and by air.

On eve of June 4, 1944, U.S. Airmen faced death and injury from blistering and constant enemy anti-aircraft fire while they flew paratroopers into the fight.
If it wasn't for the Airmen, the Paratroopers couldn't have jumped into the battle and turn the tide of war in freedom's favor.

Now, decades later on June 4, the U.S. Armed Forces continue to honor that battle by re-enacting the transport and delivery of Paratroopers onto that hallowed ground in Normandy and the 914th Airlift Wing sent an aircrew to be part of that tradition.
914th Airlift Wing Airmen Lt. Col. Sam Bellia, Lt. Col. Buff Hoffman, Lt. Col. Chuck Giarrizzo, Lt. Col. Anthony Butera, Capt. Trent Gilmore,Chief Master Sgt. Dave Tarnowski, Senior Master Sgt. Rich Coseglia, Master Sgt. Sam Zito, Tech. Sgt. Mike Sluberski, Staff Sgt. Paul Serafini, Master Sgt. Bob Nagel, Master Sgt. Tom Freitas, Tech. Sgt. Mel Powell and Senior Airman Jim Goss traveled with planes and crews from the 94th Airlift Wing at Dobbins Air Force Base GA, and the 934th Airlift Wing from MN to pick up U.S. Army Reserve Paratroopers from North Carolina, and finally arriving in Normandy, France after stopping in Lajes, Azores then to Lynham Air Base in Great Britain.

The Airmen attended many official ceremonies celebrating D-Day events and historical
battles in the days leading up to 6 June.

The central town for all of the events, Sainte Mere Eglise, was the first town to be liberated in 1944 after the bulk of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne landed there in the morning hours of D-Day.

A few miles from Sainte Mere Eglise, the town of Picauville hosts a big celebration in the honor of U.S Airmen and Army Paratroopers. It also is home to a memorial and annual ceremony for the Americans who perished when six C-47s crashed in the town.

Back at Sainte Mere Eglise, the enthusiasm for American Servicemembers has not wavered in decades.

For the last 40 years, the local townspeople of Sainte Mere Eglise have been meeting in the town square to take home visiting Soldiers and Airmen in appreciation for what the Americans did back in 1944. They offered their homes as a place to stay and fed the U.S. Troops food and drink for a night.

For the D-Day celebration, more than 100,000 people converge on this tiny
town of Sainte Mere Eglise to watch the airborne troops of America, Great Britain, Germany and France jump on Iron Mike II Drop Zone, in the hamlet of La Fiere, two kilometers from Sainte Mere Eglise, the site of an important pivotal battle in the early days after D-Day.

The aircrew from the 914th Airlift Wing were part of the American, German and French transport aircraft that dropped more than 600 jumpers near Sainte Mere Eglise for the actual D-Day re-enactment.

By participating in ceremonies like this, the 914th Airlift Wing is slated to preserve the honor and memory of countless American Servicemembers who risked lives to destroy an evil in the world for many years to come.