The exhibition “Indochina: French Paratroopers 1944-1954”, an original creation of the Airborne Museum, is on view from April 10 until November 30, 2025. A subject little explored in World War II museums in Normandy, but which actually makes sense from a historical point of view.

Indochina as a whole has been a French colony since 1887. With the armistice of June 1940, while mainland France was occupied by Germany, Indochina was invaded by Japanese troops, who had already been in conflict with nearby China. Hô-Chi-Minh, founder of the Indochinese Communist Party in 1930, created the Viet-Minh the following year, a nationalist, anti-Japanese and anti-colonialist movement.

After several years of French occupation, resistance and guerrilla warfare, on March 9, 1945 at 8:00 p.m., the Japanese, fearing an Allied invasion, took the French forces by surprise. 40,000 civilians and soldiers were confined to camps or towns. Throughout the country, this “coup de force” led to massacres of the population.

On March 11, 1945, while Japan continued its exactions, the Emperor of Annam proclaimed the end of the French protectorate treaty and the independence of his country, followed by the kings of Cambodia and Laos. This situation fosters the emergence of the Viet Minh, which forms a Liberation Committee. On August 15, 1945, the Emperor of Japan accepted the terms of surrender that put an end to the Pacific War. His agreements also stipulated that the Imperial Japanese Army would leave Indochinese territory without delay.

On September 2, Japan signs the act of surrender ending the Second World War. On the same day, Ho-Chi-Minh proclaimed Vietnamese independence in the presence of an American OSS officer, Major Patti, who sang the Vietnamese anthem alongside General Giap.

The programs of the organizations related to tourism in Normandy useful to organize yourself (a lot of information overlaps from one program to another obviously):

• Program of the Tourist Office of the Cotentin Bay
• Program of Normandie Tourism

And last but not least, the Airborne Museum’s very own Camp Geronimo program.

The official poster of the 79th anniversary realized by the Tourist Office of the Cotentin Bay:

Information about traffic restrictions issued by the town hall of Sainte-Mère-Eglise:

We just learned about veteran Tom Rice’s passing, last night. He was Staff Sergeant of the C Company of the 501th PIR in the 101st Airborne. We still vividly remember his parachute jump over Carentan in june 2019. Here he is on the first photo, with Henri-Jean Renaud, former Sainte-Mère-Eglise mayor Alexandre Renaud’s son, in 2019. Additionally, roughly a month ago, on october 19th, veteran Forrest “Huff” Huffstetler passed, at the age of 98 years old. Having enrolled very young in the US Army, he joined the 82nd Airborne Division and was deployed in Sicily and Salerno, before participating in D-Day with his comrades of the H Company, 3rd Battalion, 505th PIR, as PFC. He landed at 2am the morning of the 6th on Drop Zone O near Sainte-Mère-Eglise, and had the opportunity of fighting alongside Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Krause. He was also present when Krause declared the village liberated and hung the american flag in town. Here is a photo of Mr. Huffstetler (on the left) alongside his comrade veteran Joseph Morettini, from the E Company of the 508th, also from the 82nd Airborne, who passed in 2020. They were at the Airborne Museum for the commemorations of the 75th anniversary, in 2019, and were attending the ceremony of the 50th anniversary of general Eisenhower’s passing. May all three rest in peace.

There are coincidences that make so much sense that they become almost unbelievable. Take for example the fact that John Steele, one of the symbols of the airborne landings in Sainte-Mère-Eglise and Normandy in general, was born in Metropolis, Illinois, a city that, in 1972, 60 years after his birth, would officially become “Superman’s hometown”, the “Man of Steel”. Some 50 years later, in 2022, another link is about to be established. Sainte-Mère-Eglise’s mayor has been contacted by an inhabitant of Metropolis, Vicki Mayhall, who has a special project: make the two cities sister cities. Discussions are already well under way and it will undoubtedly be formalized soon! Mrs. Mayhall has also contacted the Airborne Museum for another project: the erection of a John Steele statue in Metropolis. No, it will not be made of steele, but in bronze, although it will not alter the integrity of the initiative! And so Sainte-Mère-Eglise eagerly awaits these projects’ realization. The first step was completed this Friday 11th November, with the unveiling of a John Steele sign at the entrance of the town, right next to Superman’s. On the last photo are the members of the board of the project with Mr. Steele’s family. You will find below in the comment section the link towards the project’s page, which indicates where to send any donation.

September 29th is Saint Michael’s day in France. He is the saint patron of, amongst others, the French paratroopers. It all began in 1944, when a british chaplain gave medals representing Saint Michael to the paratroopers of the 2nd SAS, before their jump in Bretagne, to join the Resistance. The following year, the military chaplain Valin de la Vaissière formally suggested Saint Michael as patron of the paratroopers. This idea was approved by father Jego, chaplain of the 3rd Battalion of the 1st RCP. In 1948, it is father Jego who, during a service which went down in history, held in the cathedral of Hanoï (during the Indochina war), ended his sermon by “Et par Saint Michel, vive les parachutists!”, a sentence that became the traditional conclusion of the speeches made by the paratrooper regiment chiefs. The election of Saint Michael as protector makes perfect sense, since he was tasked to fight off the rebellion of the angels, and descended from the sky, leading his militia, to face them, according to John’s Apocalypse. One thinks of Eugène Delacroix’s mural in Paris’ Saint Sulpice church, or of Luca Giordano’s painting, both representing a winged Michael dominating the fallen angels.

Two and a half years ago, Lieutenant Colonel James “Maggie” Megellas, from the 3rd Battalion, 504th PIR, 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division, passed, at the age of 103 years old. He was known as the most decorated officer in the history of his division. Considering the timing of his passing, he sadly wasn’t able, at the time, to be laid to rest with the proper honors. This has finally been made right, this past Friday, September 2nd, as a great military ceremony was held at the National Cemetery of Arlington, during which Megellas was laid in his resting place. His service records include Italy’s Operation Husky, where he and his comrades of the 504th distinguished themselves by earning the nickname “Devils in Baggy Pants” directly from the German soldiers, because of their special paratrooper uniforms, and their combat skills. Megellas went on to participate in Operation Market Garden, where he crossed the Waal river, as well as in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. Finally, he fought in Germany, where he and his platoon took part in the liberation of the Wöbbelin concentration camp, near the city of Ludwigslust. During an interview in 2014, Megellas said that this was where he saw the terrifying reality of the Holocaust, and realized the full importance of the cause for which the Allies fought, and why it was so important to end this madness. We thank him for his service. May he rest in peace.

On August 19th, passed Robert Levine, an american veteran who landed in Utah Beach as a 90th Infantry private on June 10th 1944. He was also honorary president of the association Normandy 44. On July 10th 1944, he was wounded by a grenade while his unit was in Mont-Castre, and was subsequently taken prisoner by the Germans. That night, american artillery barrages hit the small german camp he was kept him, wounding him a second time, critically. He was then rushed to a makeshift field hospital in a farmhouse. There, the german doctor in charge of healing him, named Edgar Woll, quickly noticed the H on his dog tags, and asked for its meaning. Hebrew. At this moment, Levine abandoned all hope of surviving, expecting to be brutally executed, or worse. But when he awoke, after being operated for his leg injury, the german doctor was gone, and so was his leg, which the doctor had to amputate. However, it seemed that the doctor had taken the liberty to throw away Levine’s dog tags, saving his life in the process. He had also left a handwritten note in Levine’s pocket explaining exactly why he had to amputate his leg, and also giving him his name and address. Levine was then transferred to a school cafeteria converted to german hospital for prisoners of war in Rennes, where he was kept until the liberation of the city in August 1944. There, he feared for his life a second time in a very short span, as one night, the hospital was caught under Ally bombardments. A shell penetrated his room and hit the wall! Levine survived nonetheless and soon after, was able to come back home in the USA, and continue his life. It was only in 1982, when he came back in France for the first time after 38 years, that Levine was able to start the difficult process of reconnecting with his past, and start working on making peace with what he went through. He also contacted Woll’s family. Woll himself had passed, but his family and Levine became very close. 76 years after the events of 1944, in 2020, Levine would face death for the third time, as he was tested for COVID-19. He was placed in the COVID ward of the Hackensack, New Jersey hospital, which coincidentally happened to be a former cafeteria too!

This 16 august is the day of a special anniversary: the 82nd anniversary of the very first military paratrooper parachute jump in the history of the United States, by lieutenant William T. Ryder. The 16 august of the calendar is therefore known as the National Airborne Day, which was instituted by president Bush on august 14 2002. Ryder was apart of the 200 volunteer soldiers selected to form the first paratrooper platoon, who was billeted at Lawson Army Air Field, in Fort Benning. He finished the written exam, which was supposed to take 2 hours, in 45 minutes, managing to still earn the top score! After having followed an intensive training designed by himself, Ryder and 10 members of the platoon embarked aboard a Douglas C-33 and effectively jumped on the first military paratrooper jump of the US Army, on august 16 1940. Ryder then became parachute training officer of the Airborne Command at Camp Mackall, near Fort Bragg. Despite his technical prowesses, his pioneering in the discipline, and his irreproachable physical condition, to his deep dismay, Ryder was officially deployed in combat only for Operation Husky: in july 1943, he jumped alongside James Gavin in Sicily. Nonetheless, instead of it, he was still assigned missions of the highest regard. He was notably appointed to advise General MacArthur on airborne operations in February 1944 in Brisbane, Australia. Following the end of the conflict, Ryder notably worked as expert in guided missile systems, at the Pentagon, from 1963 to 1966, after which he retired and moved to Pinehurst, South Carolina to enjoy tranquillity with his wife.