These are the tombstones we salute. In war, great men are not deliniated by the tone of their skin, the alter they worship at, nor their political affiliations. These are factors we, as human beings, often have no control over, and so we find it best not to differentiate between people on such grounds. Day of Defeat is not about politics, nor does it encourage any fascist or non-fascist views. It is a game; one of many platforms through which we may or may not learn of our combined past. As a species and as emotional beings, we have a responsibility to acknowledge what has come before us in an impartial light, lest we repeat the mistakes that have cost our forebearers their dignity and lives. We must not forget. We must not repeat. We must not dishonour. Each of us is what we have been given and by understanding who gave us what we have, we can better understand who we are and what best to give those who will come beyond us so that they may be wiser, stronger and more able to cope with the world we leave them. They did what they felt was right, just as we do and ours will. They are our elegy, we will be theirs. What will we chose to leave them? You are welcome to share articles saluting men, actions, innovations and/or experiences relating to all aspects of WW2 and other wars on our Hostorical Archives forum. Your article may even be showcased here. |
The Dirty Dozen: Epitaph by =DD=Lee Marvin During the second World War of the twentieth century, technology and innovation played a new and deadly role. Flight had been developed and streamlined as aircraft soared higher and faster to the gates of heaven itself. Armor was now a crucial piece, where mammoth iron beasts grumbled across battered warscapes to spit fire and death upon enemies. Infantry was deadlier than ever; mechanized and mobile, fast and relentless. The machine gun, one of the many trademarks of the first World War, could now bark louder and faster, and was more mobile and portable to further suit the rigors of this fast-moving conflict. With the introduction of the aircraft in the second World War, no one could realize the vital role it would play in the overall success of so many battles and campaigns to come. In Spring/Summer 1940, during the invasion of Belgium and France, Engineers and Infantry were dropped, by parachute and gliders, onto the once thought-to-be impenetrable Fort Eben Emel. Shaped charges breached the walls, troops entered, and the impenetrable fortress was overtaken in less than a few days. This concept of dropping laden troops from aircraft behind enemy lines to secure objectives and wreak havok on the enemy was the cornerstone of the airborne agenda. With continued Fallschirmjager [German Airborne forces] success in numerous campaigns, the world began to realize the importance of airborne units. Britain and the United States began to rapidly train troops. To fight a battle against what they perceived as the ultimate evil, they had to be prepared to be the best. The United States formed the 82nd Airborne Division [the "All Americans" of WWI fame, where Sgt. York made his mark], the 101st Airborne Division ["Screaming Eagles"], the 17th Airborne Division ["Eagle Talon"], the 13th Airborne Division ["Golden Dragon"], and the 11th Airborne Division ["The Angels"]. Training was rigorous: 5 mile runs, constant physical training, education in all types of combat, weaponry, defense, tactics, more physical training, jump training and rigger training [parachute preparation, maintenance, and packing]. By the time the soldiers of the Airborne divisions had graduated from their training, they were elite to say the least. These men were killers. Professional, motivated, educated, and hungry. A certain brotherhood developed between the troops from their shared experiences in training. Something that is difficult to explain to those who didn't partake. 1944 saw the light on the horizon for the Allied forces. Since 1941, the Allies had landed in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. Airborne operations were employed in all 3 landings, to some degree, but these were "practice runs" compared to what was in store for these soldiers when the time came to utilize all of their skills for the inevitable jump on "Festung Europa": "Fortress Europe". Millions of troops and supplies were massed in England, the Allies massive natural aircraft carrier. Troopers of the 82nd and 101st continued to prepare and train for their mission ahead. In down time, young paratroopers had time to remember that they were young. Boys played baseball, listened to music, chased girls... After all, they were all just kids. One such group of boys were Polish refugees who had fled persecution at the hands of the Nazi regime and came to America to enlist in her armed forces to comabt this menace. What better way to seek revenge than to join the Airborne, which would be the first troops to set foot onto the German field. This group of boys adopted the monicker, "The Warsaw 7". Later, this group became "The Filthy 13". Even after this, the group became "THE DIRTY DOZEN". "The Dirty Dozen" were demolitions saboteurs of Regimental HeadQuarters [RHQ]/506th Parachute Infantry Regiment [PIR]. While in England awaiting the invasion, Jack McNiece [a Native American from Oklahoma], conceived of the idea that the group should take a Native Oath to "not shave or bathe until they had returned from battle." As this started in early 1944, the group became pretty "ripe" by June. Sources say that the "Filthy 13" were so smelly that most of their unit lived across the field from the rest of the soldiers before going to Exeter for the invasion. On the evening of June 5th as C-47s screamed from their tarmacs to the night sky, laden with troops, most troopers muttered soft prayers under their excessive equipment. Some were so heavily laden that they could not stand. Hundreds of pounds of pistol ammunition, submachine gun ammunition, belts of machine gun ammunition, grenades, TNT, Composition B, Composition C, blasting caps, fuses, blasting machines, rations, water... Everything a soldier needed to survive had to be carried on his person and jumped with. It was this group, "the Dirty Dozen", which was attached to the 3rd Battalion of the 506th PIR for the wooden bridges mission. As such, they departed for Drop Zone 'D' from Exeter Airfleid. One of the most famous Airborne photos of the second World War was of "the Dirty Dozen" troopers, with Indian Mohawks and Warpaint. Not all of the troops wore this attire, but the fearsome appearance of the paratrooper was enhanced by this. The final battle in the feature film "Saving Private Ryan" was actually modeled after the struggle for a bridge guarded by the "Dirty Dozen". All of the ferocity of the battle depicted on screen in this film was based on accounts from troopers of the "Dirty Dozen" who had survived this battle. Our clan wishes to embrace the brotherhood which these men shared. To learn while we play. To remember while we entertain. To never forget. --June 17th, '02 |
The Dirty Dozen: Epitaph by =DD=Lee Marvin During the second World War of the twentieth century, technology and innovation played a new and deadly role. Flight had been developed and streamlined as aircraft soared higher and faster to the gates of heaven itself. Armor was now a crucial piece, where mammoth iron beasts grumbled across battered warscapes to spit fire and death upon enemies. Infantry was deadlier than ever; mechanized and mobile, fast and relentless. The machine gun, one of the many trademarks of the first World War, could now bark louder and faster, and was more mobile and portable to further suit the rigors of this fast-moving conflict. With the introduction of the aircraft in the second World War, no one could realize the vital role it would play in the overall success of so many battles and campaigns to come. In Spring/Summer 1940, during the invasion of Belgium and France, Engineers and Infantry were dropped, by parachute and gliders, onto the once thought-to-be impenetrable Fort Eben Emel. Shaped charges breached the walls, troops entered, and the impenetrable fortress was overtaken in less than a few days. This concept of dropping laden troops from aircraft behind enemy lines to secure objectives and wreak havok on the enemy was the cornerstone of the airborne agenda. With continued Fallschirmjager [German Airborne forces] success in numerous campaigns, the world began to realize the importance of airborne units. Britain and the United States began to rapidly train troops. To fight a battle against what they perceived as the ultimate evil, they had to be prepared to be the best. The United States formed the 82nd Airborne Division [the "All Americans" of WWI fame, where Sgt. York made his mark], the 101st Airborne Division ["Screaming Eagles"], the 17th Airborne Division ["Eagle Talon"], the 13th Airborne Division ["Golden Dragon"], and the 11th Airborne Division ["The Angels"]. Training was rigorous: 5 mile runs, constant physical training, education in all types of combat, weaponry, defense, tactics, more physical training, jump training and rigger training [parachute preparation, maintenance, and packing]. By the time the soldiers of the Airborne divisions had graduated from their training, they were elite to say the least. These men were killers. Professional, motivated, educated, and hungry. A certain brotherhood developed between the troops from their shared experiences in training. Something that is difficult to explain to those who didn't partake. 1944 saw the light on the horizon for the Allied forces. Since 1941, the Allies had landed in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. Airborne operations were employed in all 3 landings, to some degree, but these were "practice runs" compared to what was in store for these soldiers when the time came to utilize all of their skills for the inevitable jump on "Festung Europa": "Fortress Europe". Millions of troops and supplies were massed in England, the Allies massive natural aircraft carrier. Troopers of the 82nd and 101st continued to prepare and train for their mission ahead. In down time, young paratroopers had time to remember that they were young. Boys played baseball, listened to music, chased girls... After all, they were all just kids. One such group of boys were Polish refugees who had fled persecution at the hands of the Nazi regime and came to America to enlist in her armed forces to comabt this menace. What better way to seek revenge than to join the Airborne, which would be the first troops to set foot onto the German field. This group of boys adopted the monicker, "The Warsaw 7". Later, this group became "The Filthy 13". Even after this, the group became "THE DIRTY DOZEN". "The Dirty Dozen" were demolitions saboteurs of Regimental HeadQuarters [RHQ]/506th Parachute Infantry Regiment [PIR]. While in England awaiting the invasion, Jack McNiece [a Native American from Oklahoma], conceived of the idea that the group should take a Native Oath to "not shave or bathe until they had returned from battle." As this started in early 1944, the group became pretty "ripe" by June. Sources say that the "Filthy 13" were so smelly that most of their unit lived across the field from the rest of the soldiers before going to Exeter for the invasion. On the evening of June 5th as C-47s screamed from their tarmacs to the night sky, laden with troops, most troopers muttered soft prayers under their excessive equipment. Some were so heavily laden that they could not stand. Hundreds of pounds of pistol ammunition, submachine gun ammunition, belts of machine gun ammunition, grenades, TNT, Composition B, Composition C, blasting caps, fuses, blasting machines, rations, water... Everything a soldier needed to survive had to be carried on his person and jumped with. It was this group, "the Dirty Dozen", which was attached to the 3rd Battalion of the 506th PIR for the wooden bridges mission. As such, they departed for Drop Zone 'D' from Exeter Airfleid. One of the most famous Airborne photos of the second World War was of "the Dirty Dozen" troopers, with Indian Mohawks and Warpaint. Not all of the troops wore this attire, but the fearsome appearance of the paratrooper was enhanced by this. The final battle in the feature film "Saving Private Ryan" was actually modeled after the struggle for a bridge guarded by the "Dirty Dozen". All of the ferocity of the battle depicted on screen in this film was based on accounts from troopers of the "Dirty Dozen" who had survived this battle. Our clan wishes to embrace the brotherhood which these men shared. To learn while we play. To remember while we entertain. To never forget. --June 17th, '02 |
These are the tombstones we salute. In war, great men are not deliniated by the tone of their skin, the alter they worship at, nor their political affiliations. These are factors we, as human beings, often have no control over, and so we find it best not to differentiate between people on such grounds. Day of Defeat is not about politics, nor does it encourage any fascist or non-fascist views. It is a game; one of many platforms through which we may or may not learn of our combined past. As a species and as emotional beings, we have a responsibility to acknowledge what has come before us in an impartial light, lest we repeat the mistakes that have cost our forebearers their dignity and lives. We must not forget. We must not repeat. We must not dishonour. Each of us is what we have been given and by understanding who gave us what we have, we can better understand who we are and what best to give those who will come beyond us so that they may be wiser, stronger and more able to cope with the world we leave them. They did what they felt was right, just as we do and ours will. They are our elegy, we will be theirs. What will we chose to leave them? You are welcome to share articles saluting men, actions, innovations and/or experiences relating to all aspects of WW2 and other wars on our Hostorical Archives forum. Your article may even be showcased here. |
