2nd Lt
Alexander F. Sweeney came into Co C 307th
Abn Engr Bn (C) 25 April 1944 as a
replacement Officer. 6 days later on 3 May
1944 2nd Lt Sweeney went to Hq Co
82nd Abn Div on DS (Detached
Service) indefinitely. 2nd Lt
Sweeney was the Engineer Liaison between the
82nd Abn Div and the 307th
Abn Eng Bn (C). This means that Lt Sweeney
was the only Co C man to go into Normandy.
On 6 June 1944 2nd
Lt Sweeney was on the ground. Whether he
jumped or came in by Glider we don’t know as
the manifests for the 82nd have
only been found for the 507th
Prcht Inf so far. 2nd Lt Sweeney
was killed on 6 June 1944. Lt Sweeney was
buried on 8 June 1944 at the 82nd
Abn Div Cemetery. Sweeney was the 54th
soldier buried in the 82nd Abn
Div Cemetery (which became the Blosville
Cemetery).
2nd Lt
Sweeney was buried in plot A-07-312. His
wounds were not fully explained on AG Report
in 1944. He was moved a few weeks later in
the Blosville Cemetery and was buried in
plot B-06-112. When Lt Sweeney was sent
home in 1948 his wounds were consistent with
either a Gilder crash or shot in the head.
When doing research on
Lt Sweeney I discovered in a book that a Lt
was killed in Normandy and was an Engineer.
The book had the wrong name of the Lt
Engineer who was killed. The book itself is
very entertaining but must be taken with a
grain of salt. The one good then it did
have been a mention of a narrative of a 505th
Prcht Inf 1st Lt. I received a
copy of the original narrative that was
given to Cornelius Ryan while writing his
book The Longest Day.
Lt Sammon talked about
the death of what he believed to have been
an Engineer. It does match up with the type
of wound and the area where he was killed.
The problem is the fact that he said “I
believe”. If in the IDPF it had stated that
is had died of a gunshot wound that would
tie the two things together. On the
disinterment in 1948 it talks of a fractured
skull and mandible. That could still point
to either glider crash or gunshot.
Either
way Lt Sweeney was killed on 6 June 1944 and died of a head
wound. I have included the
area where the 1st Lt Sammon was
when the 2nd Lt with him was
killed when shot in the head. His narrative
is attached with the pages concerning this
time period in Normandy.
There are 4 pictures of
the 82nd Abv Div
Cemetery/Blosville Cemetery. In the first
two it shows in the purple box where Lt
Sweeney was buried at the 82nd
Abn Div Cemetery. The next two shows were
he was moved to a few weeks later about 200
yards to the south. The next two show the
entire Blosville Cemetery and where he was
buried in Plot B. The last photo is his
gravestone in Virginia where he is buried
today.
If you want to read the
documentation about what happened to 2nd
Lt Sweeney and the narrative for 1st
Lt Sammon just click here
2nd Lt Sweeney 1944.
Bn Siddall
November 5, 2013
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