D-Day Paratrooper recalls invasion 60 years ago

by Navy Journalist Michael J. Owen
Public Affairs Officer, NRD Buffalo
Grand Island Dispatch, June 18, 2004

"As paratroopers, we knew that if the assault by sea failed, there would be no rescue; our only plan was victory," said Island resident and former Pfc. Joseph Stefaniak, who parachuted into France 60 years ago in the largest air, land, and sea operation ever undertaken. The D-Day invasion dubbed "Operation Overlord" included more than 5,000 ships, 11,000 aircraft, 30,000 transported vehicles and 150,000 service members of the American and Allied Expeditionary Forces. The decisive battle helped end Hitler's Nazi domination and WWII the following year.

The main thrust of landing crafts and troops hit the beaches of Normandy along a 50-mile stretch June 6, 1944 at 6:30 a.m. as naval gunfire pounded enemy positions along the coast and 300 planes dropped bombs in advance of the attack. But, the actual invasion began hours before when 800 transports dropped 13,000 paratroopers behind enemy lines in the dark of night. Joe Stefaniak served with G-Company, 507 Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. Hitting the silk at 2:30 a.m., their mission was to disrupt German communications, supply lines and secure needed targets as the invasion advanced inland from the Beaches of Gold, Juno, Sword, Utah and Omaha.

After years of planning and training by Allied Forces, how the "The Longest Day" would end came down to the individual soldier, sailor, marine, coastguardsman or airman. As the boat ramp went down, the assault troops jumped, swam, ran and crawled to the cliffs while blanketed by enemy gunfire. Many troops entered the surf carrying eighty pounds of equipment and faced more than 200 yards of open beach before reaching a natural barrier. "They found themselves in hell and many drowned," stated Stefaniak. "It was sheer courage, determination and fear that got them off that beach."

Most men were about 20-years old. "Jumpen' Joe" Stefaniak was 22 and also carried the full weight of battle.

Departing from England, paratroopers carried packs weighing about 100 pounds.

"Our gear was so heavy that every man had to be helped into the plane," said Stefaniak. The 101st and 82nd U.S. Airborne Divisions were dropped in France's Cotentin peninsula. The 101st was to secure the western end behind Utah Beach and head off an eastern German advance. Stefaniak's 82nd landed farther inland and was ordered to seize bridges and halt an advance from the west.

Flying near the target, their C-47 aircraft came under heavy anti-aircraft fire.

"Bullets, flak, everything was coming through the plane. We thought it was going to go down. Everyone was cursing and yelling, let's get out of this...plane." Trying to avoid enemy fire, the 507 overshot their drop zone by 20 miles landing in swamps flooded by the Germans for defensive reasons.

"Many guys drowned and the Germans massacred others. If it weren't for the French, we would have lost more. They helped get us and our ammunition bundles out of the swamps." By 4:30 a.m., the 82nd had captured St-Mere-Eglise, becoming the first town liberated on D-Day. Additionally, one week after their jump into Graines, the 507 found out more than 500 Germans were killed. They lost about 35 Americans out of 180 in that operation. This included men from the 101st Airborne and one member of the 29th Infantry Division that joined them.

"How we ever got there from the beach, I'll never know," said Stefaniak. Troops from the 29th and also 1st Infantry Division took some of the heaviest losses while landing on Omaha Beach. "Sadly, in Graines we also had to leave our wounded behind in a church and the Nazi SS murdered them, shot them in the head. The Germans also burned the town and killed two priests that helped us. It's hard to talk about this unless you're with your own guys," he said with his head bowed.

During one operation, Stefaniak saw some Germans and wanted to take out the lead man, yet was ordered to break the command post radio and return to HQ. "We were running out of ammo, we lodged grenades, everything we had. But we got the report the Germans were breaking through."

In another operation to save Carentan, the 507, led by then Lt. Frank Naughton, blew the bridge leading into the town. "That's when I saw my first Tiger Tank and thought, I'm dead. If the Germans had gotten over the river, they could've reinforced their lines and move toward the beaches, mounting an offensive against us," he said. Later, Joe ran into some Frenchman and tried to get a bearing. "We were off the map, but because of our dispersion, it confused the Germans and they couldn't mount a defensive. Yet, I still wondered how in the hell we got there."

Stefaniak's group was always ready to fight. "We were constantly under attack and as soon as we dug in, we were moved to another spot. Any assignment they gave us, we took, and we're dam proud of it."

Some assignments later sparked humor at gatherings. While holding a position behind a hedgerow, Stefaniak was ordered to escort a very old Frenchman to get his cow out of the pasture. "Suddenly, I see a couple of [Germans], so I opened fire emptying two clips of ammo while the Frenchman ran. Everyone was laughing and asking how come that old Frenchman beat me back to the line." Later the Army confirmed the death of four Germans, but Stefaniak didn't want credit for it. "I said it wasn't me, it must have been airburst or something."

Holding a recent photo of cows grazing in that pasture taken during the 58th D-Day reunion, Stefaniak told how he challenged the origin of that order in 1944. "I told my lieutenant that one of you Sob's sent me to get that cow, one-cow and I almost got my butt shot off. So let's bring our Bibles to the next reunion and we'll both swear to the facts," he grinned.

Awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Combat Infantry Badge, Presidential Citation and many other commendations, Joe is also proud of his Good Conduct Medal. "I was a working PFC and used to get in trouble a lot. My first sergeant was a tough son of a B, but I still got my Good Conduct," he revealed.

Also during the reunion, Joe went to visit his sergeant's grave, but the journey proved too difficult. Killed June 13 in Normandy, 1st Sgt. Reynolds J. Bello rests in peace among thousands of other Americans buried in France, around Europe and the Pacific. "I went back to thank him, but when I got to the cemetery, I started to cry and had to walk away. I just couldn't go in, seeing all the graves of those brave young men."

When the invasion was over, Allied Forces had suffered nearly 10,000 casualties and more than 4,000 were dead.

After D-Day, the 507th was assigned to 17th Airborne Division jumping over the Rhine in the Battle of the Budge. Three more combat missions followed and by the end of WWII, the 507th had fought in four campaigns and 11 battles. About half of the regiment's roughly 2,000 troopers never returned home and nearly 900 were injured. In France, a granite monument of a paratrooper stands 14-foot tall and its outstretched boot appears ready to touch the ground representing the beginning of the end of the war, of Hitler and the start of the invasion.

Reflecting on the high casualties suffered on the beach, Stefaniak expressed humble gratitude to the Army for his part in D-Day. "You don't know where or what you're going to land in. As soon as your chute opens - boom - you hit the ground. But I'm glad they let me jump," said the veteran paratrooper.

In later years he recalled meeting and thanking a D-Day Ranger at the Buffalo naval park. "Why are you thanking me, you dropped in there four hours before I did," the Ranger told Joe. "Yes, but if you guys hadn't gotten over those hills and cliffs, we would of all been captured or killed," Stefaniak replied.

An active member of the Pfc. Charles N. DeGlopper VFW Post 9249 on Grand Island, Stefaniak also recalled the heroism of the namesake Congressional Medal of Honor winner. Also with the 82nd Airborne Division in Normandy, DeGlopper was with Co. C, 325th Glider Infantry and killed 60 years ago June 9, 1944 at Merderet River at la Fiere, France. With his platoon cut off and pinned down in a shallow roadside ditch, DeGlopper stood up in the open drawing and returning fierce fire until killed, so his unit could withdraw, regroup and establish the first bridgehead over the Merderet. The fallen comrade was remembered in a ceremony last Saturday at Maple Grove Cemetery and at a VFW "Salute to WWII Vets" Dance that evening.

As WWII Veterans of "The Greatest Generation" pass through the Pearly Gates at a rate of more than a 1,000 a day, take time to respect, listen and cherish their stories and memories as we commemorate the 60th anniversaries of WWII events through 2005.