Pvt. James V. Schairer

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I finished a short bio of our adopted soldier Pvt. James V. Schairer at the Flanders Fields American Cemetery at Waregem, Belgium.

In 1919, the Distinguished Service Cross was conferred posthumously upon Pvt. Schairer for extraordinary heroism in action near Montfaucon, France on September 26, 1918. “Seeing two men fall wounded, Private Schairer immediately went to their assistance, unmindful of the extreme danger to which he was exposed; and, after dragging the men to a shell hole, administered effective first aid.” For his valor, he also received the French Croix de Guerre. In precedence for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross ranks immediately behind the Medal of Honor. Unfortunately, he never got a chance to wear the cross. He was killed, a month later in the performance of his duties at the age of 24.

You can read the short bio here

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Museum review: For Freedom museum, Knokke (B)

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View my photo album of the museumYesterday, I visited the For Freedom museum in Knokke at the Belgian coast. It has been open for a few years now, but I never got around to visiting it. The main reason being that it is a bit out of my WW2 US paratrooper scope, but it is a beautiful collection and very well displayed. Like the Eyewitness Museum, it has mannequins with silicone heads with real hair, which looks very realistic.
The display is mostly related to the British and Canadian troops that liberated the area of Knokke.
The display with the soldiers trying to cross a canal with rowing boats is breathtaking!
So if you’re at the Belgian coast, you should really visit this museum.

View my photo album of the For Freedom museum

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Escape compass hidden in comb

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Escape compass hidden in combWayne Herrington from Australia sent me a picture of an extraordinary escape compass he found. He bought a plastic hair comb with a hidden compass off an RAAF veteran. He had a dentist’s x-ray photo made of the comb showing the same type of swinger compass you can see on this web site molded into it. Such combs and other common toiletry and personal items are very rare. Unless you buy it from someone who knows what they’ve got, it’s an item that’s almost impossible to locate. Thanks to Wayne for wanting to share this!

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Photos Wings & Wheels 2014

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View my Wings & Wheels photos

I liked this souvenir helmet, but too expensive...

I visited Wings & Wheels on Saturday when the weather was good. We first prowled the militaria fair. Twice over. But I didn’t find much this year. Just the mines warning sign you see in one of the photos. Each year, there’s more repro and airsoft-related stuff and just plain surplus junk.

The vehicles were nice though, and there were more of them (again) then the years before.

View my photo album

 

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Airborne 44 – Vol. 5 new comic book

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Volume 5 of the Airborne 44 comic book series was just released in Dutch. I really love this series because it approaches the well known battles from an original personal angle, and the authors always do their homework on uniforms and equipment.

This new volume opens the third set, so the story of vol. 5 will be continued in vol. 6. The drawings are of the same high standard as before, as is the beautiful water-coloring that reminds of the style of Hermann (Jeremiah).

The story in this album is only marginally about an airborne operation, but it’s told on the backdrop of the Battle of the Bulge. There are flash backs that take us to the United States before WW2. A time of general poverty and high unemployment. This is how the two paratroopers in the story end up enlisting in the army.

I recommend you buy all 5 volumes if you haven’t got any of them yet.

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Museum review: Eyewitness Museum, Beek (NL)

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Yesterday, I visited this new museum in The Netherlands that was opened a little over a year ago by Wim Seelen. It’s near my parents’ home, so it was high time I’d pay it a visit.

I thought it was a small private museum, but inside it’s bigger than it seems from the outside. It contains many unique treasures, especially if you’re interested in American and German paratroopers. The story line in the museum is that you follow a fictitious German paratrooper called August on all the fronts he fought at throughout the war. You can easily spend half an our in the first room alone, that’s how impressive the mannequins are! The heads and hands are made of silicone, with real hair implants and eye and teeth prothesis. These mannequins and beautiful dioramas (the Eastern front snowscape diorama is even air-cooled!) all add to an immersive experience which I think sets the norm for new museums to come.

If you are planning on visiting the Netherlands American Cemetery at Margraten, be sure to make the small detour for this great museum.

View photos of my visit of the Eyewitness Museum

More information on www.eyewitnesswo2.com

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70th anniversary D-Day

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Today marks the 70th anniversary of D-Day. For those of you who like me cannot be in Normandy, BBC One will cover the ceremonies and offer special shows and interviews.

Surely, many more programmes, documentaries and movies will be on TV this period. I’m now watching “Inside World War II” on National Geographic Channel while I’m typing this. Nothing new, but the colored period footage is well worth watching.

More information about the programme and sights and activities in Normandy, visit this official D-Day 70th anniversary website of the Normandy region. You’d already have to be there now to attend any of the ceremonies and activities, because traffic in the area will be pretty much locked down.

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Memorial Day at Flanders Fields American Cemetery

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This past Sunday, my son and I visited our adopted grave at the Flanders Fields American Cemetery in Waregem, Belgium. This was a very special day for us. It was sunny and there were a lot more people than I had expected. The largest crowd since 20 years, I’m told. No doubt that President Obama’s visit of the cemetery and the recent start of the adopt-a-grave campaign had something to do with this. I am now trying to find out more about ‘our’ soldier, Pvt. James V. Schairer. I’ll try and make a page on this site about what I’ve already found out so far.

I’ve already found out that he was part of the  147th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Division, U.S. Army. He entered the service from Ohio and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

See photo album

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Plastic ‘economy’ jump wings

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This set of jump wings is for sale at paratrooper.fr. At first sight, they look like normal silver plated clutch back jump wings, but they are in fact made of plastic and painted. These are said to be a rare British Made late war economy model, although they are unmarked. They come from a veteran of the 501st PIR, 101st Airborne. It’s the first time I see one like this, so they must be rare, but they are priced accordingly. Photos courtesy and copyright of paratrooper.fr.

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M22 Airborne tank

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I just came across this piece of Airborne arsenal I somehow missed over the years. It appeared in the 1944 issue of Recognition, a US Army publication with photos to train troops to recognize allied and axis vehicles, planes and ships. This particular issue focussed on US armor. In 1941, the Army set out the development of a so-called Airborne Light Tank that could be airlifted and dropped with parachute troops.

The main requirements of the tender were that the tank should use the existing standard 37mm gun and should weigh no more than 7.5 tonnes (to give you an idea: the M4 Sherman weighed 30 tonnes, the M3 Stuart 13 tonnes).

 

Three manufacturers responded to the call for tender, and Marmon-Herrington was selected to build the first prototype, which was called the AirBorne Light Tank T9. The prototype was satisfactory and further prototypes were developed with the designation T9E1. The main changes being the changed shape of the turret and running gear, the reduction in the number of on-board .30 cal machine guns and the addition of hooks by which the tank could be suspended from an aircraft. Trials were made to deliver a T9E1 with a C-54, but for that to work, the turret would have to be removed. Needless to say, this solution wasn’t workable in combat conditions. Nevertheless, even before finalizing the testing of the prototypes, the tank was taken into production. A total of 830 would be built, half of which went to the British. In august 1944, the tank’s designation was changed to “Tank Light M22 Airborne”.

The British were the only ones to actually use the M22 in combat. They named it the “Locust”. The British had the advantage of having the larger Hamilcar glider that could deliver the M22 in one piece. This was done successfully in combat during Operation Varsity in March 1945.

 

The Americans only used the M22 in training, both in the US and in Britain. None were actually air-dropped. Still, this has gotten me interested and I plan on building the 1/35 scale model made by Bronco. If anyone knows where I can buy one in Europe, please let me know. I can only find ads for it in China and Hong Kong. I’ll end up paying more for shipping and customs duties than for the model itself.

 

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