On the night of June 5, 1944 while Hq Co 1st Bn of
the 505th Prcht Inf was loading for the jump into
Normandy a hand grenade exploded. 4 soldiers
were killed, 14 wounded and one Air Corps soldier
was wounded.
The Pilot for that plane was Weston Harper who
was the wingman for Major Matson on the right side
and was in the lead serial, Chalk #2.
Was lucky enough to speak with Mr. Harper September
30, 2008. He said that he was standing in the
doorway behind the cockpit when the explosion
occurred. He was knocked down and when he got
up he saw his radio man down on the ground, wounded
by shrapnel.
Below is a listing of the 18 Hq Co 1st Bn soldiers involved in the
explosion.
Here is a link to the
Medical Reports for the soldiers wounded/killed
that night as well.
|
82nd Abn Div 505th
Prcht Inf Spanhoe Airfield Incident Jume
5, 1944 |
|
Division |
Regiment |
Neptune Co |
Name |
ASN |
Neptune Grade |
After Action |
Status Date |
Location Killed |
|
82nd Abn Div |
505th Prcht Inf |
Hq Co 1st Bn |
Damianov, George |
33025675 |
Staff Sergeant |
LWA |
6/5/1944 |
|
|
82nd Abn Div |
505th Prcht Inf |
Hq Co 1st Bn |
Bowman, Ernest A. |
13067220 |
Corporal |
LWA |
6/5/1944 |
|
|
82nd Abn Div |
505th Prcht Inf |
Hq Co 1st Bn |
Elliott, Dale E. |
15098928 |
Corporal |
LWA |
6/5/1944 |
|
|
82nd Abn Div |
505th Prcht Inf |
Hq Co 1st Bn |
Vaught, Kenneth A. |
18020793 |
Corporal |
DOI |
6/5/1944 |
Killed by exploding grenade in airplane on the ground at Spanhoe |
|
82nd Abn Div |
505th Prcht Inf |
Hq Co 1st Bn |
Dockery, Ward |
14069731 |
Private First Class |
LWA |
6/5/1944 |
|
|
82nd Abn Div |
505th Prcht Inf |
Hq Co 1st Bn |
Hardwick, Lee A. |
37379540 |
Private First Class |
LWA |
6/5/1944 |
|
|
82nd Abn Div |
505th Prcht Inf |
Hq Co 1st Bn |
Leakey, Robert L. |
39177388 |
Private First Class |
DOI |
6/5/1944 |
Killed by exploding grenade in airplane on the ground at Spanhoe |
|
82nd Abn Div |
505th Prcht Inf |
Hq Co 1st Bn |
Waldron, Claude F. |
14076690 |
Private First Class |
LWA |
6/5/1944 |
|
|
82nd Abn Div |
505th Prcht Inf |
Hq Co 1st Bn |
Davidson, Lloyd E. |
14080933 |
Private |
LWA |
6/5/1944 |
|
|
82nd Abn Div |
505th Prcht Inf |
Hq Co 1st Bn |
DeGangi, Adolph J. |
11090708 |
Private |
LWA |
6/5/1944 |
|
|
82nd Abn Div |
505th Prcht Inf |
Hq Co 1st Bn |
Green, Colon B. |
34088595 |
Private |
LWA |
6/5/1944 |
|
|
82nd Abn Div |
505th Prcht Inf |
Hq Co 1st Bn |
Hampton, Enoch M., Jr. |
14018847 |
Private |
LWA |
6/5/1944 |
|
|
82nd Abn Div |
505th Prcht Inf |
Hq Co 1st Bn |
Marchisella, Joseph |
39294398 |
Private |
LWA |
6/5/1944 |
|
|
82nd Abn Div |
505th Prcht Inf |
Hq Co 1st Bn |
Meelberg, Eddie O. |
37092097 |
Private |
DOI |
6/5/1944 |
Killed by exploding grenade in airplane on the ground at Spanhoe |
|
82nd Abn Div |
505th Prcht Inf |
Hq Co 1st Bn |
Ott, Herbert F. |
13124647 |
Private |
LWA |
6/5/1944 |
|
|
82nd Abn Div |
505th Prcht Inf |
Hq Co 1st Bn |
Perritto, Forrest E. |
20433483 |
Private |
LWA |
6/5/1944 |
|
|
82nd Abn Div |
505th Prcht Inf |
Hq Co 1st Bn |
Smith, Roy |
34148001 |
Private |
LWA |
6/5/1944 |
|
|
82nd Abn Div |
505th Prcht Inf |
Hq Co 1st Bn |
Vah, Pete |
15092020 |
Private |
DOI |
6/5/1944 |
Killed by exploding grenade in airplane on the ground at Spanhoe |
|
