European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 5, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse For a amps Slop Hon Hoyt Angross earlier this year at his apartment in Berlin where he left in 1937 and lives today at age 73, Thompson sub machine gun with the Stock Cut Angross carried the Thompson around with him throughout the War. Late in the Day of june 4, Angress received guidance on How to jump. Quot the rigging sergeant took me Over to a big Box in the Corner of the hangar and had me jump off it. A either feet together or about 20 inches apart a he kept telling me. He also gave me a other instructions like How to Check the Chute panels what to do with the Chute once you land things like a bit later a Young lieutenant took Angress to a Sand table in one of the hangar rooms and pointed out the hazards to be avoided at All costs. A that was the last time i saw him. He was dead 24 hours later. We lost a hell of a lot of Good he remembers the c-47 As having a Large a Donald Duck painted on the Side. Inside the same rigging sergeant informed Angress that he was not part of the stick a full complement of parachutists in a plan and therefore could not be court Martiale if he decided at the last minute not to jump. He Only had to step aside so As not to hold the rest up and no questions would be asked. He would return to England and be taken in later by ship. If however he decided to go through with the jump he would Bethe first one out right behind the equipment bundle. A i had absolutely no intention of not going a says Angress. A. As the planes rendezvoused Over London Angress notes what he Calls a noodles of planes a Hotd Arma a a a. A a his plane passed Low Over the Channel islands Jersey and Guernsey in order to avoid German antiaircraft fire. From that Point everything happened quickly. They ascended to what Angress believes was 800 feet reaching the West coast of Normandy a co tenting Peninsula where they were hit by enemy fire. Their communications system was knocked out requiring the jump master to walk up to the cockpit for information and orders. The anti aircraft fire caused the Pilot to panic and he turned Back toward the water a Long before reaching the drop zone. The Pilot was later court Martiale for his actions Angross notes. Seconds before they were hit the plane next to them went Down. In the meantime everyone was or a Rcd to Hookup to the jump line. The jump master grabbed Angress Arm and told him if he left it in that position when he jumped he have it anymore. The jump master placed his Arm in the Correct position on the line and Angress did no to move it an Inch until the time came to jump. Finally before the plane made it Back to open water the order was Given to jump. A i Only know that someone touched my shoulder and said of jump Chicken. And Chicken jumped a Angress relates As if it were an everyday occurrence. Angress recalls All the Hasty instructions. Check your oscillation Check your panels. Push up on your helmet. He had enough time to Survey the ground beneath him noticing a wide open pasture with a White horse running frantically about spooked by the arrival of this uninvited guest. At the last second he thought about his feet but it did no to Mailer. A i did no to have a Choice of How to land because the Chute hit an Apple tree. It was the softest Landing you could imagine i never really hit the ground. My feet were dangling just on the ground and my butt was about thirty inches from it. All i had to do was free myself from the harness and i was All a completely alone with the Clouds passing Over now and then revealing the late Spring Moon Angress was upset. He see a single soul and hear anything but the horse. He stood under the Apple tree pondering what to do with the Hung up Chute unaware that he had just parachuted behind German lines some 20 Miles from the bulk of the 82nd. After a futile Effort to free the Chute and fold it up As instructed he thought a the hell with it let them worry about collecting the Damn thing a he found out later that two of the men in the stick had landed in the water though luckily in a shallow spot from where they made their Way to Shore. Two others held up in an abandoned train just outside a German battalion Headquarters. Most were captured immediately. Angress rummaged through his gear before taking out his flashlight and starting out toward the Road and what he believed to be a Blue Light the designated meeting Point. Unaware that the Fields were on different Levels he climbed Over one of the hedgerows and tumbled Down an embankment losing his flashlight in the process. He Calls that his first disaster. He could Sec clearly though thanks to the Moon. Wandering a bit further he came to a Road Active with German traffic. A i could clearly make out the German helmets definitely not american ones a. He says. As he plodded along he was suddenly challenged by three German soldiers Manning a machine gun machine gun was pointed in the opposite direction probably toward the Shore Angress recalls. A a voice called out a a Over a a a who a there. Angross answered in his native German a a Untcr-affi2icraufpatwuilic." no on patrol. A suspicious voice answered a a Korrie come closer. Angress responded by removing a grenade from his webbing and lobbing it in the direction of the machine gun nest. He then ran Down the path As fast As his overburdened legs would carry him a which Wasny to very fast considering the equipment i had. The Chute i had gotten rid of but i was still pretty a he heard Yelling behind him and then one of the soldiers fired a pistol from what Angress estimates As 35 Yards a the shot lore the camouflage net on my helmet and made a Dent in the Back. It was marvelous shooting a he says. Angress Luck ran out a couple of weeks later. He and 50 other paratroopers were captured by germans at que Teton a Village 25 Kilometres from st. Mere eglise the 50sth�?Ts original objective. One Day a German Soldier came indoors to join the group and was brusquely directed by the senior officer to a take your trough and sit outside you ditty Angross now says with a Grin a so we prisoners of War in american uniforms were sitting around the table with the germans having a Urcla Lively decent breakfast and that poor Guy had to cat outside like an animal. It really was the american pos were gradually moved Back to Cherbourg where Angress got treatment for his wounds in a military Hospital. On june 27, the 9th div liberated the port City and Angress was freed after 12 Days As a made his second jump on sept. 17,1944, As part of the liberation of Holland. He also took part in the Battle of the bulge which he describes As a the most miserable thing i could the Young interrogator provided Gavin with use Ful information about German intentions that he had extracted from captured soldiers. The information apparently impressed the general because Angress Rose to master sergeant by March 1945. Angress War Odyssey came to an end when the 82nd airborne div linked up with the russians just outside the City of ludwigs lust East of the Elbe River in North Central Germany. Before the linkup Angress a unit liberated a concentration Camp in Nobbelin a Small town outside ludwigs lust. Nobbelin was part of a network of Camps controlled from Cue Gamme just South of Hamburg. The 508th had the grisly task of assisting in burying the dead at the Camp. Thus the Young master sergeant personally witnessed the results of the horrors he was later to study and write about. Shortly before Angress was to take a physical in concert with a Battlefield commission he heard that those with enough Points could be discharged from the army he rushed into the duty room and started the wheels turning for his trip Home. By the time summer began the 25-year-od combat Veteran was using the i Bill at Wesleyan University in. Connecticut just As the 82nd airborne div was assuming occupation duties in Berlin a where Angress Odyssey had begun eight years earlier and where Nowy at age 73, he lives. Stephen Hoyt who was a in translator in Orhn ttys 1991 to 1993, lives in a paso. . Host aupied or Mjor and press at to o state University of new York at Stony Brack. June 5, 1994 sunday Pace 7
