European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 14, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Re  a re v " v l a s4s Dave Casey this Landing Craft has been added to a Monument in Saint Raphael France honouring the allies invasion. Courtesy Douglas Dillard Douglas Dillard 29 years after his la Motte jump. 551st always jumped by Day. The germans we met were mercenaries and did t come up to German standards. The 517th Parachute regiment dropped earlier and landed on the other Side of  French civilians Bryan said were tickled to death to see americans soldiers As they moved North chasing the germans. Bryan noted that members of the French Resis Tance were helpful in locating things for the Ameri cans but it could be dangerous to follow their Lead. They often screwed up things Bryan said. Bryan moved North with his unit until it participated in the Battle of the bulge in Belgium in the Winter of 1944-45. We lost 92 percent of our battalion in that Battle. I was fortunate. I got thrown out of a jeep and had a bad walk injured leg after  Bryan said he talked to several German prisoners during the War. I would Tell them that it always amazed me that you germans who have the Best education system the Best inventors and the Best engineers would Fol Low a paperhanger Hitler was called a paperhanger in Wii propaganda. And they would answer me that they were always taught to follow a Leader and not think for them selves or make decisions on their own. They were just not individualists like we americans  Charles hand was a 21-year-old second lieutenant with the 551st Parachute inf at the time of the la Motte jump. Speaking from his Home in Beechum ga., hand said the gliders came in 15 minutes after the paratroops. They were hitting the Trees and crumbling up something awful when they landed. Our chaplain started to run to help the Guys out of the gliders but splinters were flying everywhere and there was some machine gun fire and i heard him shout the hell with them " the germans hand said were Good fighters but they had a big Handicap in Southern France forced Courtesy Max Bryan heavyweight Champion Joe Louis and the Uso entertain troops at an operation Dragoon staging area.  men from the soviet Union satellite coun tries who did t want to fight the West they wanted to fight Stalin. On our Way to Cannes around the Var River 40 of them gave up without much trouble snid hand. Hand like Many veterans of the 551st, has revisited his old battlefields. Went Over for the 40th and the 45th anniversaries. I won t be coming with the group this year because my wife has Back trouble and i m no Spring Chicken with my 72 years  Douglas Dillard a re tired colonel made the la Motte jump Back when he was a communications sergeant with a co. He was the youngest Man in the 551st Parachute inf by several Charles hand months. Dillard like Bryan lied about his age to get into the service. In an interview from his office in Crofton md., Dillard said i wanted to serve and i wanted to join my dad stationed in North Africa. So i put a lot of pressure on my Mother to sign the papers so i could join. I finally got my records straightened out in 1950." Dillard also landed on the Large Stevens estate but his radio equipment got entangled in a 100 foot tree. I was working at getting my equipment out of the tree and avoiding the germans " said Dillard. We were loaded Down quite heavily with our Basic weapons and every Man had a land mine which we used to secure the perimeter of our area. It worked out  about an hour after the drop at 6 p.m., dil lard got his radio. Our first sergeant landed right on top of some germans in a ditch. They surrendered  Dillard said gliders were crashing All Over their drop area and several men were killed. We tested the glider concept in 1943, and found we could triple the number of troops dropped into an area with  Dillard said operation Dragoon can t be com pared to the Normandy invasion because resistance from the germans was scattered and individual. Dillard participated in the freeing of a Raguinan. The germans tried to retake it after being chased but earlier in the Day. The French attitude toward us was tremendous said Dillard. Going through Provence and especially through the haute Alps was like going Home. Those people were As Good As the belgians to us and they Don t get any better than the  August 14,1994 sunday pages