L’armée américaine est la première à avoir pensé à se doter d’une Air Infantry et ce, dès 1918. Le Brigadier-General William “Billy” Mitchell suggère de retirer du front de Meuse-Argonne la 1st US Infantry Division, pour les initier au saut en parachute, afin de les larguer ensuite derrière les lignes allemandes et ainsi faciliter la prise de la forteresse de Metz. L’opération est programmée au printemps 1919. Il est prévu de mobiliser 1200 bombardiers Handley Page O/400. Une fois au sol, les soldats seraient ravitaillés par air et appuyés par la chasse. Cependant, la fin des hostilités intervient avant que l’opération ne puisse être lancée en novembre 1918. L’idée visionnaire de Mitchell restera sans lendemain en raison des coupes sombres infligées au budget de l’armée au sortir de la guerre. Il dit pourtant, dès novembre 1918, lors d’un discours au Call Field Memorial Museum: “L’époque où les armées à terre et les navires sur l’eau pouvaient décider du destin d’une nation en guerre est révolue. Le principal pouvoir de défense tout comme d’initiative contre un ennemi est désormais dans les airs.”. Il restera un véhément avocat de l’utilité et du potentiel des forces aériennes au sein de l’armée américaine, ce qui ne lui vaudra pas que des amis. Suite au crash du dirigeable Shenandoah en septembre 1925, il profère des accusations à l’encontre des hauts gradés de l’armée de terre et de la marine, il sera traduit en court martiale. Suite à sa suspension, il démissionne. Pourtant, il fut réhabilité à titre posthume pour sa vision et sa prescience, et sa qualité de pionnier, de bien des manières: promotion au titre de major général, attribution de son nom au bombardier North American B25 Mitchell…

Do you know about Leonard A. Funk Jr., one of the most illustrious paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne? Like Audie Murphy, Funk is the recipient of a mind-bloggling number of decorations, which he earned during the Normandy, Market Garden and Bulge campaigns. Funk was a part of the C Company, 1st Battalion of the 508th PIR of the 82nd. He experienced his first real fight on June 6th 1944, at 28 years old. He showed a remarkable leadership, avoiding any casualty in his unit during the days they spent in combat in Normandy, fact that earned him a Silver Star. Then came September and Operation Market Garden. Leading a 3-men patrol, he attacked a german battery composed of three 20mm anti-aircraft cannons that were targeting the allied gliders. They managed to neutralize both the cannons and their crew, which was composed of more than 20 soldiers, thus clearing the sky for the gliders and saving potentially hundreds of soldiers. For that, he earned the Distinguished Service Cross. In January 1945, Funk was sent to the Bulge. Now the first sergeant of his company, he and his men encountered a fugitive group of 80 german soldiers who had escaped their captivity in Holzheim, in Belgium. One of this group’s officer held his gun to Funk, ordering him to surrender. This is when happened a scene that could be extracted from a movie or even a video game: Funk pretended to comply and started unslinging his submachine gun, but instead of giving it up, he quickly opened fire all while ordering his men to seize the enemy’s weapons. In mere minutes, 21 germans were dead, many more were wounded and the rest captured, neutralizing a highly dangerous unit and allowing his own unit to keep on its mission. For this highly bold feat, he was awarded the Medal of Honor a few months later, in September 1945, as well as the Bronze star and the Purple Heart with two oak leaf clusters for other various accomplishments. After the war, he started working for the Veterans Administration in Pittsburgh, until he retired with his wife in Pennsylvania. A plaque commemorating his achievements and memory was erected at the Veterans Memorial of Braddock Hills, the city he was born and passed in.

Shedding light on the extraordinary trajectories of peculiar or unknown characters is one of the fundamental functions of History, right? Today, we wanted to tell you about one Audie Murphy – not to be confused with his almost namesake, the successful actor – an American soldier unlike any other. We almost fall short on words regarding Mr. Murphy’s military skills. You have to realize: he is one of the most decorated soldiers of the Second World War. He has consistently distinguished himself on the battlefield, because of his incredible feats, that were sometimes on the verge of madness, or at least proof of tremendous recklessness. What earned him the Medal of Honor, for example, could literally be taken from the scenario of a sensational but unplausible war movie, yet here is how things went: In January 1945, Murphy, who had just received a oak leaf cluster for his Purple Heart – nothing major – was sent with his 3rd Infantry Division in the city of Holtzwihr, during the battle of Colmar. The german counterattack against the city was very violent, and Murphy was wounded on both legs by mortar. Because his company had been almost decimated, Murphy was appointed commander. While they were waiting for reinforcements, the M10 tank destroyer that was with them was destroyed by the german forces, prompting Murphy to order his men to retreat. He remained alone at his post, with nothing but his M1 carbine and his field radio to direct the artillery fire, to try to hold the enemy. He then got to the wrecked, still burning M10, and got hold of its M2 .50 caliber machinegun. For more than an hour, he fired at the enemy soldiers and tanks, holding them off, decimating many of them, and sustained a minor leg injury in the process. He only stopped when he ran out of ammunition, to rejoin his men, and organize a counter-attack which allowed them to definitely push them back. He was only 19 years old.

Charles Trépel was a great soldier, one of the best. He lived a life too short, that didn’t allow him to reach his full potential. Nonetheless, he did live a very intense life. Born on September 21st, 1908 in Odessa, Crimea, Russia, he allegedly descended from a Czechoslovakian origin. He spent his youth in a very chaotic socio-political context. Following 1917’s Russian revolution, he left for Germany, where the baseness of his life makes him go from extreme misery to opulence and back again. The rise of Nazism, starting from 1933, was a foundational element of his lifeline: it represented a mortal foe for him. The same year, he left Germany for France and relocated in Paris. At that time, he already had an exceptional physical shape, and was especially fond of athletics. Shortly after he was mobilized in the French army’s artillery, he was made lieutenant in june 1940, before being demobilized a few months later. He then left for Spain, to join Barcelona, then Gibraltar, in September 1941. He established himself in the FFL Camp of Old Dean, in England, in November 1941. There, he started following a special training. He was assigned to the FNFL in may 1942, under Philippe Kieffer’s command, in the british Special Service Brigade. Their unit, the 10 Commando Inter-ally, stayed in Wales until may 1943. Trépel couldn’t participate in the Dieppes Raid of August 28 1942 because he was only a lieutenant. But he made the most of this setback, and took the time to study the combat and landing techniques of the british army. 1943 was a major year in Trépel’s life: he earned commandment of the new Troop 8, and started selecting his men according to a draconian process involving walking 7 miles in 60min. The selection took place in Achnacarry, Scotland. The difficulty of the selection was justified by Trépel’s standards, but also the rumor of Europe’s imminent liberation, that was fuelled by the recent successes in North Africa. Trépel wanted to be ready for action. However, this selection wasn’t devoid of humanity: Trépel treated his men with the utmost respect, and oftentimes he would personally monitor the healing of his men’s wounds. He was tough, but he was fair, as long as his men showed their willpower. Following this commando session, 65 men received their badge and their famous green beret, thus forming Troop 8. When Trépel went back to England, he was made captain, and was thus on equal measures with the other troop leaders. The internal structure of the unit was completed shortly after, leaving Trépel free of setting up his strategy, based on individual infiltration, the real commando tactic. He was tireless, working over and over on military books, cartographies and topographies. He also worked, though in a less formal manner, on estimating the advantages and characteristics of each of his men, because of their diversified origins. It didn’t matter to him where the men came from, what mattered was what set them apart from the others, and what they could bring to the table. After the announcement of the dislocation of the Troop 10, the 8 received orders: they had to go to departing bases on the south coast of England, in order to participate in the 10 Hardtack Operations, assigned to the two French troops. Trépel was named leader of a raid on Berck Plage. His men had yet another opportunity to witness his extreme thoroughness, his attention to detail that sometimes bordered on absurdity, and his inhuman sense of anticipation. For this operation, he had handpicked his men, including some natives of the city. The raids were slated for the night of the 24th to the 25th December, however various mishaps only allowed 5 raids to effectively take place. Trépel’s raid was one of the cancelled ones, which was a huge shock for him. Following this disappointment, he went to London, and came back with a newly assigned mission and a newfound motivation. The 8 was split in 2 groups: Trépel’s and Lieutenant Chausse’s, his right hand man. Trépel’s group left for the Great Yarmouth base, while Chausse’s launched his operation on the Belgian coasts in the night of the 20th to the 21st February 1944. When Chausse came back to base, he was made aware of a disturbing rumor whereby Trépel was missing and his operation had failed. A month later, the Troop 8 finally reunited, and Bougrain, Trépel’s group’s radio operator, was able to tell the story. Their raid was directed on a point of the Netherlands’ coast, north of Schevenonger. The first assault was a critical failure. A few days later, during the second assault, and despite a lack of discretion, Trépel and 6 men boarded their Dinghy and disappeared in the darkness of the night. The Doris that had transported the men waited until 4am, and when the crew finally welcomed the Dinghy back, there were only 2 survivors onboard, and Trépel was not one of them. Despite this terrible loss, the Troop 8 participated in the D-Day, with Lord Lovat’s unit. After the liberation of Holland, the investigation launched to find out why and how the men had disappeared bore no fruits, until june 1945, where 6 bodies were found, close to their point of landing. Captain Trépel is now resting with his comrades in the british cemetery of Wistdvin, near La Haye. The cause of their death remains unclear to this day. However, the reasons why Captain Charles Trépel had made history were obvious.