325th GIR Normandy

[sturgill]

Impression:
1st Battalion
325th Glider Infantry Regiment
82nd Airborne Division
Normandy, France
Late June-July 1944


Original Photos of the 325th Preparing for the Normandy Invasion:
i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/Paul71/325headingtotheyrbird.jpg

i36.photobucket.com/albums/e32/sparksbw/scan0001-5.jpg

smg.photobucket.com/albums/v464/ChallengeBlue/82d%20Museum%20Archives/?action=view¤t=325England.jpg


Original Photos of the 325th in Normandy:
i36.photobucket.com/albums/e32/sparksbw/scan0024.jpg

i36.photobucket.com/albums/e32/sparksbw/wound325th.jpg

i36.photobucket.com/albums/e32/sparksbw/scan0036.jpg

i36.photobucket.com/albums/e32/sparksbw/325th3.jpg

i36.photobucket.com/albums/e32/sparksbw/325th1.jpg

i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/Paul71/325machinegunpit.jpg

smg.photobucket.com/albums/v464/ChallengeBlue/82d%20Museum%20Archives/LTC%20Charles%20Major%20Collection%202-325/?action=view¤t=scan0020.jpg

smg.photobucket.com/albums/v464/ChallengeBlue/82d%20Museum%20Archives/LTC%20Charles%20Major%20Collection%202-325/?action=view¤t=scan0011.jpg

smg.photobucket.com/albums/v464/ChallengeBlue/82d%20Museum%20Archives/LTC%20Charles%20Major%20Collection%202-325/?action=view¤t=scan0010.jpg

smg.photobucket.com/albums/v464/ChallengeBlue/82d%20Museum%20Archives/LTC%20Charles%20Major%20Collection%202-325/?action=view¤t=scan0012.jpg

smg.photobucket.com/albums/v464/ChallengeBlue/82d%20Museum%20Archives/LTC%20Charles%20Major%20Collection%202-325/?action=view¤t=scan0009.jpg


Video Footage of the 325th Preparing for the Normandy Invasion:
combatreels.com/82nd_Airborne_Division_Normandy_DVD.cfm

Approximately 1:11 into the video there is footage of glider riders marching to their gliders. Nearly all have musettes.


In Regard to Photos Found in Phil Nordyke's The All Americans In WWII: (courtesy of Matt Wiggins)
Page 84, top: you can clearly see low slung musettes on the back of the glider riders.

Page 84, middle: can't see the troopers' backs but you can see e-tools hanging off of belts, an indication of musettes. Seems like a lot of guys have stuff tied to the bottom of their musettes too. Guy with the bazooka has a spoon stuck in his canteen carrier.

Page 85, top: middle trooper has his bayonet on his belt, another possible sign of musette use; guy boarding glider has spoon stuck in back pocket.

Page 85, middle: these guys are wearing the green 3/4" helmet nets.


From All American All The Way by Phil Nordyke:
"Lieutenant James B. Helmer, commanding the Machine Gun Platoon, Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 325th, with his men and their gear, prepared to board their GC-4A Waco Glider. "Our heavy equipment and machine guns had been loaded the day before to save time and confusion at the last minute. Our glider load consisted of one water cooled machine gun, twelve boxes (3,000 rounds) of machine gun ammunition, six cloverleaves of extra mortar ammunition, a demolition kit containing the equivalent of twenty-five pounds of TNT, comouflage nets, spare [machine gun] barrels, spare parts kit, one gallon of water for the machine gun, an emergency five gallon can of drinking water, two collapsible life rafts, and fifteen men including the pilot and co-pilot. Each man carried his gas mask and pack with shelter half, raincoat, toilet articles, one day's K-rations, two days' emergency D-rations (six concentrated chocolate bars), first aid packet, and extra cigarettes. Each man also carried his personal weapon, ammunition for it, plus two hand grenades, a trench knife or bayonet, and a life belt. The personal weapons total: One Thompson submachine gun with two hundred rounds of .45-caliber ammunition (my own), two carbines with seventy-five rounds each, and eight M1 Garand rifles with one hundred twenty-eight rounds each. I also carried a complete set of maps, both small and large scale, of the area we were to land in. The total load, including personnel, weighed approximately 4,500 pounds. Our 'safe load' in practice had always been 3,750 pounds, but the pilot assured me our load would fly OK. The main danger of excessive load [was] the necessity of increasing the landing speed and a longer landing area."



Impression Photos:
Front
i978.photobucket.com/albums/ae261/ssturgill1944/DSCN2254.jpg

Left Side
i978.photobucket.com/albums/ae261/ssturgill1944/DSCN2255.jpg

Rear
i978.photobucket.com/albums/ae261/ssturgill1944/DSCN2256.jpg

Right Side
i978.photobucket.com/albums/ae261/ssturgill1944/DSCN2257.jpg

Additional Image of Front Side
i978.photobucket.com/albums/ae261/ssturgill1944/DSCN2261.jpg


Packing List:
Headgear
M1 Helmet, Fixed Bale (Original) and High Pressure Liner (Refurbished) with 1/4" net (Original)

Uniforms/Footwear:
M1941 Field Jacket (Original)*
M1942 Wool Shirt-Special, with Gas Flap (Original)
M1937 Wool Trousers-Special, with Gas Flap (Original) with Web Belt (Original)
GI Summer Undershirt (Original)
GI Boxer Shorts (At the Front)
M1938 Dismounted Leggings (Original)
Roughout Service Shoes (WWII Impressions)
GI Socks (Original)

*Has 82nd Airborne Divisional Insignia and Invasion Flag sewn on.

Field Equipment:
M1936 Combat Suspenders (What Price Glory)
M1936 Musette Bag (Original)
M1936 Pistol Belt (Original)
M1 Carbine Magazine Pouch (At the Front)
M1910 First Aid Pouch (Schipperfabrik) with Bandage Tin (Original)
M1910 Dismounted Canteen Cover with Canteen, Cup, and Spoon (Original)
M1943 Entrenching Tool with Cover (Original)

Contents of Musette Bag:
Red Cross Sweater Vest (Original)
2x GI Socks (Original)
Civilian White T-Shirt (Modern, correct style)
1 Day's (3) K-Rations (Reproduction)
Dismounted Rain Coat (Original)
Toothbrush (Service of Supply)

Personal Items (Carried on person and in pockets of uniform):
GI Pocket Knife (Original)
ID Tags (WWII Dogtags)** with M1940 Dogtag Chain (m1940dogtagchain.com)
ETO ID Card (Service of Supply)
D-Ration (Service of Supply)
"Old Gold" Cigarettes from K-Ration (Reproduction, made by myself)
TM 30-302, French Language Guide (Original)
TM 30-602, French Phrase Book (Original)
M1941 Knit Wool "Jeep" Cap (What Price Glory)

**Taped together.

Weapons and Ordnance:
M1 Carbine (Inland Division) with Web Sling (Reproduction)
5 Magazines for M1 Carbine***
Mk II Hand Grenade

***Two in magazine pouch, two in pocket of field jacket, and one in weapon.



I would like to give a big thank you to Matt Wiggins for a good deal of research help on this one!

Any and all comments, suggestions, criticisms, etc. are welcome!

Thanks,
-Shawn

[Gump]

In this picture

i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/Paul71/325headingtothegliders.jpg

Is this Normandy? It looks like M1943 jackets and theres no invasion stripe paint on the C47s

[Boogiewoogie]

May 22, 2011 7:37:20 GMT -5 Gump said:

In this picture

i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/Paul71/325headingtothegliders.jpg

Is this Normandy? It looks like M1943 jackets and theres no invasion stripe paint on the C47s

That is the 327th going to Holland.

Martin

[S/Sgt.Noble30thID]

Notice the insignia painted on the helmets.


Charlie

[sturgill]

My bad...grabbed the wrong link when I was putting the post together. It has been fixed.

-Shawn

[2ndidmedic]

Very well done.

[Gump]

In the original pictures I only see sergeants and officers with the M-1 Carbine?

[sixoclock]

I was working at Silent Wings Museum when Phil was researching for the referenced book. Outstanding job there on the photo intepretation. Spot on! Thanks for posting this info. The jeep there at SWM was restored by glider pilots. They painted a 325th unit number on the bumper.

[sturgill]

May 23, 2011 18:15:31 GMT -5 Gump said:

In the original pictures I only see sergeants and officers with the M-1 Carbine?

This has come up before on another thread. It is all that I currently have available. I am working on getting a Garand, but I'm in high school and do not currently have a job (which I'm hoping to change soon).

Reason for Editing: Better wording.

[Boogiewoogie]

Machine gun crews and mortars also had them. If a person is hanging with those a carbine is fine.

Martin

[1marinediv]

Impression looks good!

[gliderriderdoc325]

smg.photobucket.com/albums/v464/C....nt=scan0020.jpg

did anyone else notice in this picture that the guy on the MG seems to be wearing 42 trousers with leggings? i guess i know what my next impressions gonna be! (that was a joke)

i tried looking through the rest of that album to see if i could get a better look, maybe there were more pics taken of him. but no joy, just something i thought was interesting. kind of like that picture of the Ranger in a 42 jacket.

-D

[JumpinJames]

I like the 325th guys with the cotton flag sewn on there wool shirts, instead of the m41 jacket they lack....very neat