European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 24, 1950, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Yanks storm Rhine then head due East by Ernest Leiser stars and stripes staff writer with both East of the March 44 co materialized out of the cellars and the shadows and scuffed Down the Road single file toward file they were crossing m the first wave of storm a Guy in front said All i Hope la that those bastards on the other Side know there supposed to and then the artillery cuts Loose All at once be As he artillery pieces Phis tanks and to plus All Cut Loose at once in a Cyclone of no one bothers to talk any Over the Shoul Ders of capt Wanne parkers doughs shone the full Spring Moon in front of on the other Side of the the bursts of shells painted the Skyline red and silhouetted distorted figures in their they walked across the open Fields to the that stank of burned powder and rotted they walked through their own solid Waves of Thunder that Snook the marshy in fits and they moved up and reached the boats 300 Yards from the the engineers who the assault Craft were seven men to the storm 15 to the assault they heaved them Over and Slid them Down to the open in a Long they dragged and carried them the 300 Yards that seemed like crouching they they watched the far Bank pounded to at All the boats of the first Waves were at the Waters the doughs and engineers at their1 five More on 4 River Navy Bridges Gap for army with the 9th East tie March 9th army used a secret weapon to Cross the Between the first Waves of assault troops and the completion of Bridges across the Leo foot there would be a Gap in that might be it was this circumstance that Ted it Gen Simp son to pull the Navy Rabbit out of his m the 9th army Navy consists of Landing Craft medium Lam and Landing Craft vehicle and personnel they should just fill the Hie time before the engineers get their first Bridge Tihe Navy is ferrying the Gist loads of heavy stuff Over to the infantry on the the Navy task commanded by u Comdr i Laird of Long had been in training for months Fiir this single watch on Rhine caught napping in us crossing b Richard Memillan United press correspondent with British 2d March 31st wearing led British forces across the they crossed in and up to hours after the Rhine ceased to be can say the program is very much on there was practically no men who were supposed to be standing watch on the Rhine must have been asleep or it was a tactical Surprise and there were not a great Many troops holding Down Recs and it looked As if they might be waiting to see where first landings would be the watch on the Rhine proves no defense Rees was surrounded quickly by the 51st Street fighting was nearly Over in Wesel by and the Garrison commander was buffaloes climbed the High Bank of the waddled Down the Grassy slopes and took the plunge and soon became a regular shuttle a brigadier of the commandos exclaimed As his Craft took the water Hannibal crossed the Alps were making history creasing the Rhine with i saw one Buffalo hit its gasoline tanks spurted adding a Crim son flush to the another zigzagged under enemy fire and began to a far As cum these were the Only casualties in this i climbed into one Buffalo when it came near the West Bank and talked to commando Fred he told How he was arranging am munition on the other Side when in the flare of a Light he saw three i waved at them with what i thought was a Bayonet said they came screaming just at that moment i noticed my weapon was just a piece of British paratroops jump a Cross Rhine airborne units Chase routed germans by Bud Button and strides staff writer Issel River March 25 paratroopers today drove East Ward from the Island of bloody ground they took and to spearhead the Allied thrust beyond the wrecked past the Black skeletons of transport planes and away from the Fields mottled with the colors of their Lite remnants of and British struck at enemy forces routed in yesterdays airborne the troopers were Back fighting As dough but even if they should stay Earth bound they will always be the Guys who jumped across the Rhine and opened the Road to die it the hard the was burning when we hooked up and shoved for the Bob Reeder and fhe rest of the carriers Crew never said they stayed in there and kept up level and we went Over the Side into a weird Eky of bursting Lazy tracers and coloured flak hit the next Man in the air end he blew up troopers touched the ground and started but some of them died in their shroud col Jim Philadelphia West stepped out of his walked through the Bur gun fire and began to attack be fore he had a let alone his 513th Parachute rat of the 17th an it cd Ward another West on Page 2 burning planes Mark gliders9 target by a Tussell jokes stars and stripes staff writer with 436th Carrier Over March paratroops bad hit their dropping zone almost an hour before the first glider tows swept All that could be seen were the burning wrecks of planes which had swung Back toward Friendly territory West of the and the Multi coloured patches of chutes hanging in the Trees and crumpled against the ground on the East the Carrier Raf Lancaster and pulling giant Hotsa and the c47s of the filth to Carrier with twin owed As slow As freight trains As they slowed Northeast from their Assembly Point near when they neared the Landing they were in rigid the Raf on the left and the americans on the our group col Adriel Wal of bad taken first ship off on schedule and the operation bad run like Assembly Points were hit on the 1st it p Rhoades of had our plane in the glider run exactly on despite the fighters which were constantly sweeping the ground looking for gun pm flak and Small arms fire came up from the area Northeast of Wesel Rhoades and his 2d it Adler of were homing the on Page 1 crossing Rhine in 3d army Advance jeeps and Armor of the 87th id nil Over a Bridge the Rhine photo glider landings take Luck and but Many turn into funeral pyres by de Clark stars and stripes staff writer East of the Rhine with 17th an hard to adequately describe a Ghadar particularly when its made smack in the of enemy territory with fighting going on All too much happens too some Lucky gliders and their Crews made without Many riddled and smashed Tackack and torn by artillery and Small arms fire As they hit the became charred and burned out funeral to the left one ripped through and through with Tackack crashes nose on deep into the Loamy not a Man of the Battle vets of 79th div dont like Reserve role by Art stars with the 79th a St div East of the Rhine of the 314th regt were braised the Battle plan didst Call for them to spearhead the Cross of Lorraine divisions push across the the 314th want going Over until Long after this want the usual Lead role that the regiment had in its drive across across the this tune the 314th was the strategic Reserve and the doughs didst like but when the order to move out came at 11 am saturday there was the usual Preattle every one knew the Early Crossings were that the Bridgehead had been secured against Only Light somehow this was May be because it was it was like the curtain Call for the final act everyone was convinced this was the last big and staff writer the communications team started rolling toward the Rhine in followed by a weasel loaded with As we came up Over the Dike on the West the Rhine looked this didst seem like was too an Ai Fourst busted shrapnel filled the a piece of flying steel caught one of the doughs Riding in the tearing a hunk of flesh out of his medics hauled the injured Man and Phil lip b1 a k e e mane Vered the weasel Down the Bank onto the Navy that was the Only incident of the i never thought id Cross the Rhine in a jeep said it Donald of you feel a Little naked in the Middle of the River with no Fox Hole to dive in a hell of a poor Crew comes Outin a few fire started by tracers roars through the the framework crumbles Over and what used to be a glider joins the rest of the soldering and charred trying desperately to lend before another hit finishes other gliders come winging dangerously close to the ships and men already on the the new arrivals smash through rip through crash into grounded one loses a Wing As it collides with a Telephone men who Are unhurt Tumble out of the last there Are a few Calls for medics but not much Trtat be done about despite the losses the number of glider troops on the Field and those near by is gradually those who have made it have the Job now of trying to reach their prearranged Assembly most of the men belly crawl toward what they think is fhe right German Tackack up from across the Fields and liberators come swooping in at 50 Para Chute loads of supplies breaking out of their bomb easier to hit than the bag ships dont give a Damn about whats coming at one of them gets Burns quickly and its getting late in the afternoon but outfits Are beginning to find each and learn that As it looked Many Are still almost a few and Call out to each then they dig holes for the night