This WWII Photo Restoration Project Has Left Me in Awe

Did you see the prior photo restoration project I posted?  The one where this:

 became this...

Well, first, you should know that I have really awesome and astute friends because without them I just might have missed out on a truly remarkable story.

After I shared the original post on Facebook, one of my friends noted that the Jeep's name was Katie (just beneath the windshield there) and that the paratrooper (the father of the woman who asked me for the restoration)  was wearing the Screaming Eagle shoulder patch of the 101st Airborne. That was the unit that inspired the book and movie, "Band of Brothers."

Christy (the daughter) quickly confirmed and added, "He jumped in behind enemy lines the night before D-day on a suicide mission."

I'm sorry but what did you say???

I will admit that I felt a little like a dufus for not having asked for more of this gentleman's history. I was so focused on the restoration that I literally missed the hero for the trees!

And when I say hero, I mean HERO.

Christy went on to share:

He was in every major battle the 101st airborne had in WWII and is in the famous picture with Eisenhower who met the 101st before they jumped in before D-Day.  The generals calculated the 101st would suffer 90% casualty rate so they flew in steak and ice cream for them before they left.  Kinda like a last meal.  My dad jumped in ahead of the invasion behind German enemy lines to set up beacons for the other paratroopers who were going to be dropped later and to wreak havoc with the Germans.  It was a suicide mission and they told them that so they only took guys who volunteered.  My dad of course volunteered, cause he was that kind of man.  He told me he could see the D-Day ships lined up and out on the ocean coming to the beaches the night before.  He stated he never saw so many ships in his life and he felt sorry for those poor bastards landing on those beaches.

 

From there he want to Carentan, Holland, and then was called up to go to Bastogne.  As the other troops were leaving Bastogne, the 101st was going up. By then that unit was battled hardened, seasoned veterans.   He was in the perimeter of Bastogne, in foxholes repealing the German panzer divisions.  

 

He received his Bronze Star for Bastogne.  He and his buddy allowed panzer tanks to roll over them and expose a the tanks underbelly where the armour wasn't as thick and they would destroy the tanks hitting that spot.  The Americans at that time had no weapons to pierce the German panzer tanks so you had to hit them in a certain spot.  My dad and his buddy knocked out six panzer tanks. He also met Patton when he liberated Bastogne along with the air-force who dropped supplies to them.  Funny, generals and other big shots never impressed my dad.

 

After Bastogne, he fought in the Ardennes Forest which was terrible.  He said it was almost as bad as Bastogne.  He then fought his way to Germany and Berchtesgaden where Hitler's mountain home was.   After that, he was training to be sent to Japan then the war ended, thank goodness. 

 

He never spoke of the war until much later in his life, around his late 70's when we were out in the fields farming together.  It changed my dad forever.  My mom said when he stepped off the train from coming home, she knew he was not the same man she married and that never changed back.  My sister was already 3 years old and had never seen him!   

 

Not all the casualities are left on the battlefields.  My dad never said he or any of the others were heroes, just doing their job.  He said the heroes where the ones who didn't come back.  

Quite a bit to absorb, isn't it? And there is more...flashing forward, Christy added:

 

I was in the army, stationed in Germany where my dad fought years before and my son was born on German soil.   You never know, do you.   My son was very special to my dad and they had a close relationship.  I bet he never thought a grandkid of his would be born on German soil after the war.

I enjoyed doing photo restoration before but this has taken it to a whole new level for me. I'm fascinated, honored, intrigued and feel incredibly privileged to be able to bring these photos back to life. Christy said they brought tears to the eyes of those who received them as gifts this past Christmas. That touched me very much. Prior to my working on them, Christy had the only copies.

 

My friend, Peter, said it so well,

 

"Some of this material wasn't treated well by our parents. Some of our fathers did not think that their WWII experiences were anything extraordinary enough to merit special consideration. Some of them even preferred to not be reminded of times that could be considered the "good old days" only if you weren't there. But for the sake of family history and indeed, for the history of the world, they should be preserved."

I'll show you a restoration I did of Christy's maternal grandfather in a coming post. And yes, he, too, has quite a story.

 

In the meantime, if you would like to see if I can help you preserve some of your photos as well, please don't hesitate to contact me. Email [email protected]