by Monique Mousseau Taylor 551st PIB Pathfinders This post continues research into the 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion. It will focus on their part in Operation DRAGOON in Southern France, which began August 15, 1944. * The full article is available to paid subscribers of my Substack, Forgotten Archives of History. Read the full article on Substack →

by Monique Mousseau Taylor First hand oral accounts from WWII glider pilots are increasingly rare and valuable to those who are interested in this part of history. I came across one on a podcast called Warriors in Their Own Words: “Gliding Into Sicily: Samuel Fine.” * The full article is available to paid subscribers of my Substack, Forgotten Archives of History. Read the full article on Substack →

by Monique Mousseau Taylor Captain Bennett Allan is briefing his fellow glider pilots in a pre-invasion maneuver... The following report has been reproduced below exactly as the original was written. In letting the reader experience the moment the men wrote the reports, I do not correct or change spelling, grammar or errors. I noted where words are missing with a [sic]. * The full article is available to paid subscribers of my Substack, Forgotten Archives of History. Read t

by Monique Mousseau Taylor Hitler stunned the world when it was finally disclosed that the German combat glider, the DFS -230, was a major player in the capture of Fort Eben Emael and the bridges which protected it from ground attack. The glider had all the attributes Germany needed to gain the edge, it could carry a limited number of men or amount of cargo including weapons, and most importantly, it was silent. The only warning a glider was approaching was the sound of the t

by Monique Mousseau Taylor What is happening with the current records situation I have edited this first version that went out and made this a free post due to so many people wanting to share it. This is the first of what will likely be a few articles analyzing the current difficulties in accessing historical military records. However, to do that, there are some clear classifications that must be understood before we can see what is happening. So my approach is to assign the

by Monique Mousseau Taylor 313th Troop Carrier Group Glider being prepared for another mission, Holland, IX TCC. Photo courtesy of Fold3. For the background on this post and those that will follow on the 313th in Operation MARKET you can listen to the episode The Incredible Story of the 313th Troop Carrier Group Glider Pilots in Operation MARKET. * The full article is available to paid subscribers of my Substack, Forgotten Archives of History. Read the full article on Subst

by Monique Mousseau Taylor Glider and Tactical Development During the writing of Suicide Jockeys a great amount of the research done for it did not make it into the book. It never does since authors have to meet the publishers word count and I had pushed mine to the absolute limit. One aspect of the unpublished research concerned the literal building of the gliders and glider program from scratch. Just to give a bit of context, deciding the training program and duties of a gl

by Monique Mousseau Taylor Serial A-22 Landing Zone “N”, and what one mission report does and does not establish Operational security was a serious problem in the European Theater. The Allies watched constantly for German espionage, and the Germans worked — often successfully — to determine Allied intentions, just as the Allies worked to determine theirs. That contest was present in every war before this one and in every war since. What is less common is finding a trace of it

by Monique Mousseau Taylor A glimpse into the chaos of an active glider landing zone Above: Gliders on Broadway - note the uneven terrain. Photo Courtesy of National Archives Operation THURSDAY was an Allied mission and the largest glider operation in the China Burma India Theater of war (CBI). Planned by General Orde Wingate, the Operation was to span over seven days commencing on the evening of March 5, 1944, with the first Pathfinder glider departure at 17:00. The main bod

by Monique Mousseau Taylor Two mules were stalled side by side in the glider, while the third mule was in a stall behind them and in the center. This would have balanced out the load. —Photo source: Charles Day, courtesy of the U.S. National Archives Guerrilla-style fighting in the jungles of Burma presented special challenges for Generals Orde Wingate, Joseph Stilwell and Frank Merrill and their troops in the China Burma India Theater of WWII. Previous ground troops that ope

In a previous post I discussed the German DFS-230 which was an assault glider of very limited size. On the other end of the spectrum was...

The Christmas Battle of WWII Photo Courtesy of Fold The Battle of the Bulge and the Christmas Siege of Bastogne is especially remembered this time of year. The focus is often on the individual units involved, so for those not as familiar with this battle and its many moving parts I wanted to go back to the basics. 1. The Battle of the Bulge was not the actual name of the Operation. The original name for the plan German Colonel General Jodl presented to Adolph Hitler, at Hitle

As I start going through a WWII veterans service records and what information you can glean from it I will also point out how it can help...

You have finally received a packet of records from the National Personnel Veterans Records Center in St. Louis. So what does all the...

A lot of people are not aware of some simple ways to start a search for a relative or their military service. If you have requested their...