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This is one of the more
interesting results. Early this morning (February
13, 2016) I uploaded another Normandy Soldier of the
Day. This was one was about Pvt Sam Marzulla, Co A
325th Gli Inf 82nd Abn Div. Pvt Marzulla death was
listed as DOI (Died of Injury) on June 7, 1944.
I then extrapolated by saying
he was one of the 14 men from Co A who died when
Horsa LJ-135
flipped over and crashed. Within a few minutes I
received a FB request after reading my new post. I
then reread my post and realized that he was not one
of the 14 men who died on that Glider in the two
iconic photographs. I instantly corrected my error
but I still had a nagging suspicion that Pvt
Marzulla was part of this crash.
There were 29 Co A
men on this Glider plus the 2 Pilots. The Pilot was
killed and the Co-Pilot was injured. 14 Co A men
were killed on impact and 15 were evacuated to a
Field Hospital.
Here is a breakdown
for the Glider Landings for Co A that day June 7,
1944. There were 5 Horsa Gliders and 1 CG4 Glider.
Co A had 162 men who were scheduled to go to
Normandy. Out of the 5 Horsa Gliders and 1 CG4
Glider 152 men came in by Gilder and 10 by Boat.
The first Glider had 14 killed and 15 injured, the
second had 2 injured, the third had no injuries, the
fourth had 12 injured and the fifth never left the
airfield. The CG4 Glider had one man who was
injured.
Gliders 1, 2 and 4
landed close to each other, 2000 yards southeast of
LZ W. The 3rd Glider came in 3000 yards
east of LZ W. The CG4 Glider came in 2000 from LZ W
but no direction though. Gliders 1, 2 and 4 landed
just
south west of St. Come-du-Mont at coordinates:
403:923. There were 14 Co A men
killed on landing and 14 were buried at Hiesville
Cemetery the next day June 8. This means they were
all from Glider LJ-135. The reason being two fold;
the first none of the other Co A men were killed on
landing. Second was the fact that the injured men
were listed as evacuated.
This means they
were taken to another location. In this case the 4th
Med Bn 4th Inf Div just off Utah Beach.
4 of the men evacuated to Utah Beach were listed as
Seriously Injured in Action. One man died later on
June 7 and the other Wendell Stein died on
June 11 listed with DOI. The man who died on June 7 was
Pvt Sam Marzulla listed as DOI. This is the
man from yesterday I had original said was killed in
the Glider Crash and then corrected my article.
I can say without a doubt due
to documentation that the 14 men from Co A pictured
showing them covered next to the Glider were the men
who died in Horsa
LJ-135. I’ve attached the documentation to go along
with this article. The 15th man who died
in the crash was Flight Officer Richard G. Mercer
the Pilot.
Pvt Marzulla
& Pfc Stein who died after being evacuated were in
either Glider LJ-135, LG-998 or LJ-218. Since only
Glider LJ-135 was listed as destroyed Pvt
Marzulla & Pfc
Stein were a part of that crew. There were 30 men
who were injured on June 7. Attached to this
article are the Hospital Admission Cards for 23 out
of the 30 men including Pvt Marzulla
& Pfc Stein.
Also attached are the Hospital Admission Cards for
the 15 men who were killed in the Glider and buried
in Hiesville Cemetery. Included are the Morning
Reports for Co A and examples of a Horsa Manifest
and a CG4 Manifest for June 7.
In all are 83 pages
attached in a PDF format. Page 1 is one the two
iconic picture taken June 7, 1944. That comes from
Mark Bando’s book 101st Airborne: The
Screaming Eagles at Normandy. Pages 2 and 3 have the Flight Lists. Pages 4 thru 18 have the
Hospital Card Admission Cards and detailed records
for the 15 men who were killed on landing. The
Morning Reports for Co A of the 325th Gli
In 82nd Abn Div are from pages 19 thru
56. Pages 57 thru 81 have the Hospital Card
Admission Cards and detailed records for the 25 out
of 30 Co A men injured that day. The last two pages
are examples of Horsas and CG4 Manifests from Peter
Turnbull.
Here is the list of
the men Killed outright on June 7, 1944
Flight Officer
Mercer, Richard G.
First
Lieutenant Gayley, Jim A.
Sergeant
Vonrdruska, Edward G.
Corporal
Curlee, Dave E.
Private First
Class Alessi, Mario
Private First
Class Corlett, Walter E.
Private First
Class Gibson, Roy C.
Private First
Class Schaeffer, David
Private First
Class Smith, Arnold
Private
McCormick, James C.
Private
McQuade, Thomas J.
Private
Parker, Billy D.
Private
Parsons, Sherwood B.
Private
Sagalowitz, Nat
Private
Weiss, Murvin A.
And the men who
were injured on landing;
First
Lieutenant Heckman, Wilbur E.
Second
Lieutenant Katz, Stanley R.
Technical
Sergeant Owens, Harold E.
Staff Sergeant Lemberger, Carl L., Jr.
Staff Sergeant
Robbins, Glen H.
Sergeant
Franz, Edward J.
Private First
Class Arnold, Donald L.
Private First
Class Augustine, Tony D.
Private First
Class Brister, Robert M.
Private First
Class Dillon, Joe
Private First
Class Harter, Clyde I.
Private First
Class Kieffer, Edward A.
Private First
Class Lockwood, Loyal W.
Private First
Class Morio, James P.
Private First
Class Schug, Alfred M.
Private First
Class Springer, Chester
Private First
Class Stacks, Wendell A.
Private First
Class Stein, Wendell Jr. Died of
Injuries June 11, 1944
Private First
Class Veberg, Bernard O.
Private
Barnes, James D.
Private
Marzulla,
Sam Died of Injuries June 7, 1944
Private
Monteleone, Ralph S.
Private
Nigro, Salvatore J.
Private
Rowe, Horace L.
Private
Warnetzke, Theodore R.
Documentation for Co A of the 325th Gli Inf 82nd Abn
Div Crash
Brian Siddall
February 14, 2016
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