Our D-Day Fallen: PFC Charles P. Blankenship

As we move into the final months of 2013, we begin to turn our attention to the holiday season.  On December 14-15, the National D-Day Memorial will host a special presentation entitled Flames of Memory and Christmas in Wartime.  As twilight deepens and obscures the Blue Ridge, thousands of luminaries will shine in recognition and remembrance of all D-Day fallen. With your help we can honor all 4,413 men killed on D-Day in this beautiful, moving display.  Click here for more information on Flames of Memory.

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Charles Percival Blankenship was born on October 12, 1919 in Rock Hill, SC and grew up in Buncombe County, NC.  Eldest son of Bernard & Margaret Blankenship, Charles had four brothers and two sisters.  Charles enlisted in the US Army on September 12, 1940 in Charlotte, NC.  His enlistment record notes that he had four years high school education and “unskilled occupations in manufacture of textiles.”  He stood at 6’1” and weighed 150 pounds.  When the 82^nd Airborne was formed in 1942, Charles volunteered for service with the “All-Americans.”  After rigorous training at Fort Benning, Georgia, he left for Europe as part of F-Company, 505^th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR). 

Prior to D-Day, Charles made combat jumps in Sicily as part of Operation Husky.  In December 1943, F-Company was located to Belfast in Northern Ireland for a three month stay to prepare for the D-Day landings.  It was here that Charles met Lillian Forbes.  They had a fast relationship and were engaged prior to Charles leaving; however, they decided to hold off on the wedding until the end of the war.

Charles jumped into St. Mere-Eglise in the early morning hours of June 6, 1944.  Charles landed in the town square and was killed immediately.  Twelve men of F-Company were killed, wounded, or captured as they parachuted into the town square.  By the end of the day, St. Mere-Eglise was the first town liberated on D-Day.  F-Company, as well as all the other American paratroopers, are remembered in St. Mere-Eglise through a number of memorials--including a paratrooper (John Steele) hanging off of the church steeple.

Charles was buried in Cemetery 1 in St. Mere-Eglise.  His family was notified by Lillian that Charles had been killed in action after reading his name on a casualty list.  In 1948, his father requested to have his body returned to the United States for burial in the family cemetery in Rock Hill, SC – a ceremony that took place on June 5, 1948.  Two other Blankenship sons were involved in WWII:  Bernard Jr. was in the Army Air Corps in the Pacific and John served in the Navy toward the end of the war.    

Charles P. Blankenship on plaque W-14 at the National D-Day Memorial

It's then you'll see the Gremlins...

Gremlins (n)…a mischievous invisible being, said by airmen in WWII to cause engine trouble and mechanical difficulties

WWII Veterans Photo of the 388th Heavy Bomb Group

Hello everyone!  This week we are going to take a little detour to look at a lighter side of history by talking about gremlins.  Not the ones that you do not want to get wet or ever feed after midnight, but the little gremlins found in British folklore and in WWII.  What could gremlins possibly have to do with WWII? 

For one, these little guys and gals were blamed for mechanical issues in airplanes.  These creatures were handy, but they liked to play pranks on people.  With all the new planes of WWII, pilots had to learn many new things – enter the gremlin to explain situations that we had a hard time explaining.  These became so popular that author Roald Dahl, a WWII RAF fighter pilot, was commissioned by Walt Disney to write a book about gremlins.  Dahl took on this task while he was recovering from a crash.  Intending to turn the book into a film, Disney began the illustrations that brought gremlins to life.  However, the films were canceled and in 1943 The Gremlins was published.  The book features many gremlins including Gremlin Gus and Fifinella.  This book was much loved by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and her grandchildren. 

Throughout the war, we see instances of these gremlins with British pilots.  To the left is a piece of mail from a pilot to his girlfriend in November 1943.  The ambition of the gremlin is to come to England and join the land army!  The other image is mascot and good luck charm of the 482^nd Bomb Group.  He rode along on bombing runs to bring luck to the crew. 

The most famous of gremlins is Fifinella.  When the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) was initiated in 1943, they asked Walt Disney if they could use the female gremlin as their official mascot.  He agreed and Fifinella could be seen on the patches these pilots wore. 

I hope you have enjoyed our look into gremlins.  Until next time, I will leave you with this little poem published in RAF bulletins during the war as a warning about the gremlins. 

This is the tale of the Gremlins
As told by the PRU
At Benson and Wick and St Eval-
And believe me, you slobs, it's true.

When you're seven miles up in the heavens,
(That's a hell of a lonely spot)
And it's fifty degrees below zero,
Which isn't exactly hot.

When you're frozen blue like your Spitfire,
And your scared a Mosquito pink.
When you're thousands of miles from nowhere,   

And there's nothing below but the drink.

It's then that you'll see the Gremlins,
Green and gamboge and gold,
Male and female and neuter,
Gremlins both young and old.

It's no good trying to dodge them,
The lessons you learnt on the Link
Won't help you evade a Gremlin,
Though you boost and you dive and you jink.

White one's will wiggle your wing tips,
Male one's will muddle your maps,
Green one's will guzzle your glycol,
Females will flutter your flaps.

Pink one's will perch on your perspex,
And dance pirouettes on your prop,
There's a spherical middle-aged Gremlin,
Who'll spin on your stick like a top.

They'll freeze up your camera shutters,
They'll bite through your aileron wires,
They'll bend and they'll break and they'll batter,
They'll insert toasting forks into your tyres.

And that is the tale of the Gremlins,
As told by the PRU,
(P)retty (R)uddy (U)nlikely to many,
But a fact, none the less, to the few.

~Felicia

National Spirit of '45 Day: Frank Sinatra Tribute Concert

We hope to see you all next Saturday at the Memorial for our last concert of the year!  Special thanks for the blog this week goes out to our newest intern, Elizabeth Rizzuto.  
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Come out and see the great Frank Sinatra on August 10, 2013 for D-Day Memorial’s “Keep the Spirit of ’45 Alive” Concert. James Anthony will be paying tribute to Frank Sinatra starting at 7:00 pm. Dance the night away to the smooth sounds of the 1940s jazz era.     

                                                    

            Frank Sinatra, born 12 December 1915 to Italian immigrant parents, grew up in a modest household in Hoboken, New Jersey. Getting his start in talent contests with the group The Three Flashes, he sought out a career in entertainment. In 1935, the group was approached by a talent scout, Edward ‘Major’ Bowes, and was given a performance number in the series ‘Amateur Hour’. After winning the grand prize, Sinatra began touring the country, getting his name out there. Once the tour had ended, he became a singing waiter at the Rustic Cabin in New York. His performances were broadcast on the WNEW radio station for all of New York to hear. In 1939, Harry James hired Sinatra and together they made their first joint recording. Sinatra learned a great deal from James and was eventually approached by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. With the Orchestra, Sinatra made twenty-nine singles and made a name for himself as Male Vocalist of the Year by Billboard Magazine. When the fighting began in Europe and after the attack on Pearl Harbor (1941), Frank was eager to enlist in the armed forces.  However, due to a punctured eardrum he was considered unfit for duty and unable to join the fight.

The year 1943 marked the beginning of Sinatra’s solo career when he began working for Columbia Records. His smooth voice and charismatic demeanor were the perfect combination to woo women across the country and gain a steady fan base, close enough to rival Bing Crosby. Nicknamed ‘The Voice’, Sinatra recorded twenty-three singles within three years between 1940 and 1943. After the success of numerous concerts, Hollywood producers began to take notice of his many talents and charms. Sinatra entered the realm of Hollywood with wildly successful musicals and the rest is history. 

The 1940s were a phenomenal decade for the singer/actor and he continued to wow audiences for generations to come with ‘The Rat Pack’ and his continued success as a solo artist. His musical talents are remembered and cherished across the country.

The Rat Pack: Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Frank Sinatra

~Elizabeth

Vote for the National D-Day Memorial's Artifact

Spies of World War II: Virginia Hall

It is hard to believe that August is right around the corner!  Soon school will be back in session and we will be busy teaching students about D-Day and life on the homefront through our “Valor, Fidelity, & Sacrifice” educational program.  Before that time comes, I would like to take a look back at our very hectic (but extremely fun, entertaining, and, most importantly, educational) Growing Up in WWII Summer Day Camp.  Some of you might remember that “Spies of WWII” was the theme for camp this year and I want to start new little segment where I will bring some of those spies and their accomplishments to light. 

Virginia Hall, 1941, passport photograph

First up is Virginia Hall.  Born in Baltimore, MD in 1906, Hall studied French, German and Italian at Radcliffe College and Barnard College (Columbia University).  With the help of her family, she continued her studies across the pond in France, Germany, and Austria, eventually gaining an appointment as a Consular Service Clerk at the American Embassy in Warsaw, Poland in 1931. 

In 1932, while hunting in Turkey, Hall shot herself in the leg, and latter had to have this leg amputated from the knee down.  She resigned from the Department of State in 1939 and went to graduate school at American University in DC.  In Paris at the beginning of the war, Hall made her way to London at the end of 1940/beginning of 1941.  She volunteered for the Special Operations Executive which sent her back to Vichy controlled France in August 1941.  For 15 months she coordinated the activities of the French Underground in Vichy and the occupied zone of France.  Stationed in Lyons, every British agent arriving in France visited her to receive instructions, counterfeit money, and contacts.  Her cover was a correspondent for the New York Post.

Betrayed in November 1942, she had to use her own escape routes that she had established for getting endangered agents out of the country.  Because of her artificial leg (codenamed “Cuthbert”) the Germans called her the “limping lady.” Before the escape, Hall signaled to the SOE that she hoped Cuthbert would not give her trouble.  Not understanding the reference, the SOE replied “If Cuthbert troublesome, eliminate him.”  Her escape to Spain landed her on the Germans most wanted list.  In July 1943 she was made an honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire.

Hall (standing) and fellow OSS agent (and future husband) Paul Goillot (far right) with two Americans who parachuted into her area of Occupied France in 1944.

In March 1944, Hall joined the Office of Strategic Services and asked to return to France.  She needed little training and they agreed to send her back.  Hall arrived in France via a British motor torpedo boat (her artificial leg prohibited her from parachuting in) and contacted the French Resistance in central France. 

She mapped drop zones for supplies and commandoes from England, found safe houses, and linked up with a three person “Jedburgh” team after Allied Forces landed in Normandy.  Hall trained three battalions of Resistance forces to wage guerrilla warfare against the Germans and keep information moving to the Allied commanders.

September 1945: Presentation of the Distinguished Service Cross

In September 1945, Hall became the only civilian woman in WWII to be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.  To President Truman’s dislike, the presentation of the award by OSS Chief General Donovan was secret because Hall was, in her words, “still operational and most anxious to get busy.”  In 1951, Hall joined the CIA working as an intelligence analyst.  She retired in 1966 from the CIA.  Virginia Hall died on July 8, 1982.

Aliases: “Marie Monin,” “Germaine,” “Diane,” “Marie of Lyon,” “Camille,” and “Nicolas” – Germans referred to her as “Artemis” 

To learn more about Virginia Hall visit http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/hall.html#. 

~Felicia

Preserving D-Day: A Soldier's War Memorabilia

July has certainly proven to be a busy month.  Yesterday, we had our annual Family Day 40s Festival.  In spite the heat of the day, our visitors were able to talk to WWII Veterans about their experiences, talk to living historians, examine artifacts, play games, and make crafts.  Overall it was a very successful event and we would like to say thank you to everyone who came out for this event!

Let's get back to the task at hand - preserving D-Day.  Once again we return to our collection to examine a few more artifacts.  I would like to give special thanks to Hugh for once again providing the information and images for this post.  

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German Souvenirs

Aaron S. Kirks, a native of Bassett, Virginia, was a member of the National Guard before the war.  A member of Battery A, 111th Field Artillery of the 29th Infantry Division, Sgt. Kirks landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day and served throughout the war with the 29th.  Kirks served as a radio operator and Forward Observer for his battery.  Wounded in Combat, he received the Purple Heart and four Battle Stars on his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

When he returned home from the war, Kirks brought the above memorabilia home with him.  The first photograph shows a collection of German souvenirs which includes (moving counter-clockwise from the top) a breast eagle insignia, Coast Artillery badge, antique pocket knife, and civilian War Merit Cross.  In the photograph on the left, Kirks brought home a cigarette lighter with scratched on initials and Old Gold cigarettes from a K-Ration box.  To the right, is a TEC 4 sleeve insignia. 

Aaron S. Kirks

Aaron's son, Barry, shared several stories family stories about his father.  Barry's grandmother said once Aaron came home, he did nothing but eat and sleep for about a month (healing mind and body).  Aaron's wife told their son that his father was bothered from time to time by dreams of June 6, as he remembered the sights of all the bodies in the waters of the English Channel.  Aaron spoke of the "Bedford Boys" always with reverence saying they had a tough road to hoe.  Barry would remember his father removing small pieces of shrapnel that came to the surface of his skin for the remainder of his life.  He remembers his father as a happy man with a great sense of humor who would often dance with his wife in the kitchen.  Aaron Kirks died in 1973 when Barry was 21 years old. 

Certificate given to Kirks for continuous service with the 29th Infantry Division on D-Day to the capture of St. Lo.

Memorabilia were a gift to the National D-Day Memorial by Barry Kirks and Denise Hinkle

~Felicia 

Preserving D-Day: Invasion Gear

June has certainly been a busy month around the Memorial, and July promises to be equally active!  After our Memorial day weekend events, we hosted a commemorative ceremony for the 69^th anniversary of D-Day, a Father’s Day event, and a high energy, 3-day day camp for nearly 30 students!  But we survived and are now gearing up for our annual Family Day Event scheduled for Saturday, July 20^th.  Whew!  So, if you need my excuse, then that helps explain why the blog sometimes gets neglected this time of year…

So, back to the task at hand – this week we’re returning to our collection to examine a set of artifacts both directly related to the invasion.  The first is an assault vest given to the Memorial by John E. Hornberger.  The second artifact is an M1926 Lifebelt given by the 29^th Infantry Division Historical Association which was recovered from the sands of Omaha Beach.  

The Assault Vest

 

The Assault Vest was developed quickly for the D-Day invasion.  It was modeled after an assault Jerkin used by British commando units.  The American vest had a number of pockets to allow a soldier to carry all of his equipment without having to carry a separate pack and multiple equipment bags.  On D-Day it was issued to some of the initial assault units and to some men of the 2^nd and 5^th Rangers.  Only about 14,000 vests were ever manufactured.  The Army did not adopt them as standard equipment for ongoing use after D-Day.

The vest met with mixed reviews on the part of users.  Many found the vest fit poorly and was too hot and heavy with poor weight distribution. The lower pockets of the vest below the waist hampered movement.  Most soldiers preferred the M-1928 pack and individual special equipment bags worn independently or attached to their web belts.  Most vests were discarded as quickly as possible or cut off at the waistband.  In general the assault vest was unsuccessful and not issued again.  It is, however, a unique part of the D-Day story.

The M1926 Lifebelt

The M1926 Lifebelt was issued by the Navy to all assault troops participating in D-Day.  The belt had two inflatable tubes which could be inflated by two co2 cartridges or by mouth blowing into the two black tubes.

Though called a lifebelt it was not intended to be worn around the waist, but rather as high as possible under the armpits.  Because of the weight of the equipment carried by the troops, if the belt was worn at waist level top heavy troops would be turned upside down and drown.  This tragically happened too often.