On June 6, 1944 the Allied Forces of Britain, America, Canada, and France attacked German forces on the coast of Normandy, France. With a huge force of over 150,000 soldiers, the Allies attacked and gained a victory that became the turning point for World War II in Europe.
As we honor the 77th Anniversary of D-Day, we are excited to announce our collaboration with Marie Pascal LeGrand to construct a memorial in Picauville, France to honor some of the paratroopers of 101st Airborne Division who died during D-Day in as they were shot down by German anti-aircraft fire. Specifically, this memorial park will honor the sixteen known paratroopers and the four crewmembers of a C-47 aircraft that was hit and crashed in Picauville, leaving no survivors.
As the Foundation has organized plans for the memorial, we have received numerous messages from our members expressing intent to visit the memorial once complete. Currently, the land surrounding the crash site has been purchased by LeGrand, designs have been finalized, and supporters have committed funds to the project.
In the video above, you can see illustrations of the memorial’s design, which features a scale outline of the crashed C-47 aircraft in the park’s landscape. Twenty trees will also be planted around the park to pay tribute to the Soldiers who died in the crash.
If you would like to support projects like this to preserve the legacy of our Soldiers, please consider becoming a member of the Fort Campbell Historical Foundation.