WWII
GLIDER PILOTS
THE SILENT WARRIOR
Written
by Michael G. Skidmore
July
2011 Draft
Michael G. Skidmore
(918-455-0808)
WW II GLIDER
PILOTS
FADE IN:
1 EXT. Lawrence Kansas, City Airport
- Day
It’s June 14, 1941 and a car turns onto a dusty road
towards the airport.
OVER, we hear the voice of Chuck Skidmore talking with
his college
Roommate Johnny Parker.
CHUCK
Well, today is the day I guess, I will
Take-off by
myself and land
Or I take off
and crash Land.
(They both Laugh….)
JOHNNY
Are you scared?
CHUCK
Yes some times, but Capt Wilkes my
Flying instructor says I am a good
Pilot and will do fine.
(Capt Wilkes is a WW1 veteran and a retired US air
mail pilot, who
Still wears his white WW1 flying scarf).
JOHNNY
I know I would be scared for sure,
Why do you want to fly anyway?
CHUCK
Well, after we graduate from KU next week
I report July
15, to King City
California for Air Cadet Training School
And 4 months later I will have
A Silver wing on my chest,
A set of bars on my shoulders,
with a girl on
each arm.
JOHNNY
Yes, but you can get the girls here in Lawrence.
Besides I thought you wanted to be a writer- editor
and
Work for a newspaper like your father. (CONTINUED)
1 2.
CHUCK
I did, but the flying is more exciting,
And the pay is better.
(They both look at each other and smile)
1A CHUCK’S POV
Standing in front of the
airport office is Capt Wilkes with his arms folded on his
Chest, He doesn’t look
happy.
CHUCK
Capt Wilkes is mad at me.
JOHNNY
For what?
CHUCK
His number one rule is “always be on time”
And I am 15 min late.
1B EXT. Aircraft sitting next to the office – Day
Capt Wilkes walks
towards the aircraft, then stops turns around.
CAPT WILKES
You going to solo today?
CHUCK
Yes Sir, I am ready
(Chuck walks towards him, takes his jacket off)
CAPT WILKES
Then let’s do this, you take off climb to 300 feet
Make a slow turn to the right over the river,
Then head back west, when you’re ready
- turn back into the wind and land.
1C EXT. DAY The aircraft makes it to the grassy runway,
powers up and
Slowly starts moving, gaining speed and
then lifts into the air.
2 EXT. DAY Standing in front of the airport
office,
(CONTINUED)
2. CAPT WILKES AND JOHNNY
3.
End of the runway and touches down
Then taxies up to the hangar office,
We both can see a big smile on CHUCKS face.
3 EXT DAY Inside the Hangar Office,
CAPT WILKES signs CHUCKS
Airman’s
Certificate License and CHUCK
Fills out his log book.
CAPT WILKES
CHARLES Don’t you forget to write
Me and Let me know how
You’re doing in your Army Air cadet training.
CHARLES
I won’t and I want to thank you for all
You have done for me these past months.
(They shake hands and hug each other)
3A EXT DAY
CAPT WILKES waves to CHUCK and JOHNNY
As they drive
away down the
road and they
wave back.
4 EXT. King City California Train Station - DAY
CHUCK
(After a 2 day train ride Chuck arrives to start his
10 weeks
Of primary Flying training – This will be 60 hours of
flight
Time in a Ryan PT 21 primary trainer and completing
His ground school courses, which included, math and
Navigation with daily physical training)
4A CHUCK’S POV
Chuck gets off the train and sees the sign (AAC
office),
He walks up to the window and a Staff Sergeant –
looking impeccably
Dressed in his uniform looks up.
STAFF SERGEANT
Need to see your orders
CHUCK
Sure is hot today
(CONTINUED)
STAFF SERGEANT 4.
4A. (He doesn’t look
up, stamps chucks orders, signs the copy)
Then he looks up and hands back the paper.
STAFF
SERGEANT
Walk to the end of the ramp and the bus will be
Leaving in 15 min to the Palo Alto Airport cadet
flight school.
NEXT,
We see chuck look towards the end of the ramp.
Then we see the Staff
Sergeant get’s up from his chair and lean out the window and with
his index finger point’s,
down there.
LAST, we see chuck look down towards the end of
the ramp, then he looks back at the
Staff sergeant and with
his index finger he points, Got-cha and walks away.
9 weeks later
CHUCK
(Lights are out in the barracks and Chuck is under his
bunk
Writing a letter home to his parents, with his flash
light)
5. EXT. BARRACKS - NIGHT
CHUCK
Dear Mom and Dad, I graduated today from primary
flight school and have
my orders to report September 29, at Moffett Field,
California for my
advanced training courses where I will be flying a
BT-13,
it’s a plane with a 450 horsepower
engine in it. I
have some sad news to tell you,
my friend Shorty, the one from Texas was killed 2 days
ago
while landing. There was a cross wind when he tried to
land
and the wheels hit the ground hard and his plane
bounced and
cart wheeled and ended upside down
on him, and he broke his neck. He was so funny all the
time,
everyone including the training officers would tease
him all the time, asking how anyone that short
could get into
the air corps. He always was the
first in line
for anything. Everyman in the company,
including the camp
commander signed a card to be
sent to his parents.
Don’t worry about me,
I am being very safe and always listen to what
the instructor tells me. Your loving son Chuck.
5 weeks
later Moffett field, California (CONTINUED)
Chuck is
given a flight requirement “Check Ride” and fails 5.
6. EXT,
WESTERN UNION OFFICE - TELEGRAM - DAY
CHUCK
Dad, washed
out of flying cadet training,
Arrive Columbus
Kansas by train
November 6,
7am, love Chuck
On December 7, 1941 Chuck
was home in Columbus Kansas, when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor-
On December 30, Chuck
would enlist in the Army Air Corps for the second time at Fort Leavenworth,
Kansas, this time for bombardier training.
He was ordered to the Air Crew Replacement Training Center at Ellington
Field, Texas, for his initial training.
His training continued there until February 24 1942, at which point he
was transferred to Victorville Army Air Field, California, for advanced
training. He began training there on
February 28, 1942 as a member of an 80 man class. He failed to satisfactorily complete the
course and was eliminated as a trainee.
He was honorably discharged for the second time on April 25, 1942.
Shortly thereafter back at home in Columbus
Kansas, he was working for his father at the daily newspaper and read a Associated
Press wire about the Army needing Volunteers for the newly formed Air Force
Glider Program , Charles immediately
wired Washington DC, volunteering for the program.
On July 13, 1942, for the third time in a year
Chuck enlisted in the Army Air Force at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, this time as
a private. Eleven days later, on July
24, 1942, he was ordered to Sherman Field at Fort Leavenworth. He remained there until August 24, 1942 when
he received movement orders transferring him to the Lockbourne Army Air Base,
Ohio for pre-glider training.
On September 7, 1942, chuck and his classmates
were relocated to the glider pilot student pool at Randolph Field, Texas. Chuck remained at Randolph until October 6,
1942 when orders finally came through transferring him to the 21st
AAF Glider Training detachment at Pittsburg Kansas, for pre-glider training,
which was located a few miles from Chuck’s birthplace Columbus.
Chuck received 30 hours of
pre-glider training at Pittsburg, completing his flying requirements on
November 2, 1942. Chuck continued with
another 40 hours of elementary flight training and 15 hours of dead stick day
and night landings. Chucks class was
held at Pittsburg until December 28, 1942 because there no openings in a basic
training school. To pass the time the
students were given close order drill, daily calisthenics and classroom
instructions in military discipline and hygiene.
On January 3, 1942 chucks
detachment received orders transferring them to Vinita Oklahoma, assigning them
to the 27th AAF Glider Training Detachment. The following day they were assigned to
Class 43-3. Because no military
facilities were available the students were billeted in the courthouse annex in
town, a single story brick building that had been converted into an open bay
barracks to accommodate 200 students.
The student’s mess hall was a converted café in town. On January 4, 1943
Chuck and his classmates were promoted to staff sergeant, which helped their
morale considerably.
(CONTINUED)
Day 1
Glider Training – Burke Flying Service – Vinita Oklahoma 6.
( Basic glider
training at Vinita was conducted by Burke Flying
Service
under contract to the Army Air Force.
Ironically the airfield
Was located next to an insane asylum, a coincidence
that elicited a
Chuckle from the students. Glider students at Vinita received 30 hours
Of flight training in the Frankfort TG-1A, a civilian
glider known as
The “Cinema II”, and the three-place military TG-5, an
Aeronca
Defender that had been converted into a glider. Flight training took
Place at the airport, 3 miles north of the town. Chuck recorded
4 hours and 13 minutes in the TG-1a and 25 hours and
56 minutes
In the TG-5 while at Vinita. He successfully completed the flying
And ground school training on February 3, 1943. Four days later
on February 7,
he and his classmates were off to South Plains Army
Flying School at Lubbock, Texas, for advanced glider
training.)
7 . EXT.
Day training class arrive on the bus
NEXT,
men line up outside the bus for formation.
CHUCK
Hi my names CHUCK, what’s yours?
JOE
I’m Joe ……Wonder where the gliders are?
CHUCK
That’s them over there.
JOE
(Laughing) that’s nice, but those don’t have engines
in them….
CHUCK
What do you think a glider is?
JOE
We take off and fly to the battle,
then we turn
off the engine
and glide in and land so
they don’t hear us..
CHUCK
Where are you from, you volunteered and you
didn’t
know what you were going to be flying? (CONTINUED)
7.
JOE 7.
I
am from West Virginia, Valley of the
4 Rivers, Franklin
County ……but how do we get off
The ground.
CHUCK
They attach a nylon rope and another plane
Pulls us off the ground and in the air.
JOE
Smiling…..another plane …with a big engine….
Is going to pull the glider up.
CHUCK
Yes, won’t it be exciting.
JOE
Do we have guns on the plane,
to shoot at the enemy?
CHUCK
No, but maybe you can use your 45 sidearm
And shoot at
them out the window.
The good news is, we do get a Parachute,
But I have heard that no
One has ever made it out of a glider and
Have the chute open before
You would hit the ground.
JOE
(Has a worried look on his face as they come to
attention)
(While Chuck was at Vinita it was not uncommon for
Gliders to be released
Prematurely because of broken tow lines. When this occurred the
Student pilot simply looked for an open field large
enough
To accommodate the glider and landed there. On this day
While waiting his turn to fly, Chuck noticed one of
his
Classmates being towed off on a sole flight. The flight was brief
Because hardly had the Glider become airborne than
The tow rope broke.
Because of the low altitude the pilot
Could only continue straight ahead and land, which in
this case
Was on the grounds of the insane asylum
(CONTINUED)
3 weeks into glider training – 8.
EXT. 8 OPEN FIELD DAY
student glider practice session
CHUCK
Who is flying?
SSgt STUDENT PILOT
I think its Joe’s turn
(The glider is
yanked off the grassy field and into the air.
Then
a load POP, the tow line has broken. The glider disappears beyond the trees. )
8A GLIDER – JOE and co-pilot
JOE
Oh no, the tow line has snapped,
look for a place to land… fast.
C0-Pilot
Watch the air speed.
JOE
I see a spot straight ahead.
C0-Pilot
Watch out for the tree tops…. There I see an open
Area straight ahead.
Watch it, were going to
Hit the trees.
(The Glider skims the tree
tops and heads for a empty grassy area on the grounds of a
large white building-The
Oklahoma State Insane Asylum, coming to a stop just short of hitting a elderly man
sitting on a bench, - The man is dressed in a white gown reading a newspaper
and causally turns around to see the front of the glider 2 feet from his bench,
he gets up and looks at the pilots through the cockpit window and smiles. As
the pilot gets out of the gilder to check for damage the elderly man in the
white gown is looking the glider over wing tip to wing tip.)
EXT. 8B - Asylum front yard – Day
ELDERLY MAN
Where is
your engine?
JOE
The planes I fly don’t have engines.
(CONTINUED)
ELDERLY
MAN
ELDERLY MAN (CONTINUED)
8B. (Motions towards
two hospital staff members) 9.
I have another one for you….Come on in Brother….
(On April 1, 1942 chuck was assigned to Class 43-8 and
the next day began
Advanced flight training in the big 15-place Waco
CG-4A glider. He
logged 48 minutes on his first flight with an
instructor. Gliders at
Lubbock were towed by twin-engine Lockheed C-60
Lodestars.
Chuck completed his flight and classroom training on
April 27, 1943,
Having logged a total of almost 16 hours and 22
landings in the CG-4A,
almost half of it as first pilot. He was discharged as a Staff Sergeant on
April 29
for the purpose of accepting an appointment as Flight
Officer on April 30, 1943.
The Flight
officer rank was new in the Army Air Corps, and was the equivalent to a junior
Grade warrant officer.
The pay was the same as a second lieutenant, with an 20%
pay for overseas duty.
The insignia of rank was an oval bar, the top surface of which
was Bristol
blue with a gold border around the edges and across the center of the bar.
Flight Officers were addressed as “Mister” rather than
by their rank. Of Course,
Glider pilots also received hazardous duty pay, i.e.,
flight pay, which amounted to
50% of one’s base pay.
Chuck looked resplendent in his officer’s pinks and
greens on graduation day. He
was in high spirits as he marched across the stage in
the base theater, saluted the
School commander, and was presented with his sterling
silver glider wings. He
Was now officially a glider pilot, a member of a very
unique group of fliers, and
proud of it.
Paragraph 59 of Personnel Orders No. 7, dated April 14, 1943, officially
Rated him a glider pilot, effective April 30, 1943,
and Paragraph 60 of the same
Order required him to participate in regular and
frequent flights upon entry into
active duty.
From that date forward, when someone ask him what the “G” in his
wings stood for, he usually
answered, “Guts.”
On April 30, 1943, special orders were issued
transferring the newly promoted Flight
Officer to Louisville, Kentucky, with the assignment
to the 27th Base Headquarters
And Air Base Squadron at Bowman Field. Officially, the base was known as the
Glider Pilot Combat Training unit (GPCTU), but
unofficially it was called the “Home
of the Winged Commandos.” Chuck would undergo additional flight
training at
Bowman and would be introduced for the first time to
ground combat training.
Because of the lack of CG-4A gliders for tactical
training it was necessary for glider
Pilots to train in light aircraft. Chucks first flight at Bowman was on May 11,
1943 in an
Aeronca L-3C in
which he logged three hours, half of it as first pilot. Dead stick spot
Landings were practiced regularly, frequently over two
sets of 50-foot barriers placed
Close together to teach glider pilots the technique of
short field landings. The object
Was to just clear the first barrier, land the glider,
and stop it before reaching the second
Barrier. When
glider pilots weren’t flying they were taking 20 mile hikes with full field
Packs, practicing hand-to-hand combat and learning
ground fighting tactics.)
(CONTINUED)
9. EXT.
American Legion Hall Dance -
Night JUNE 1, 1943
10.
(
Chuck meets his soon to be wife Norma Lee)
10. INT.
NIGHT - In line American Legion
Hall – Chuck and friend Leon
CHUCK
Leon, after a month of nothing, its
Wonderful to see so many girls in
One place isn’t it?
LEON
Man, you got that right.
11. INT Dance line
CHUCK
Excuse me, you too girls by your selves?
GIRLS
Yes we are….My name is Norma and this is Betty
CHUCK
My name is Chuck, this is my friend Leon.
Would you like
to sit with us?
NORMA
Yes that would be nice, thank you
12. INT Front Door
CHUCK
How much, I am paying for the girls.
13. INT Table
NORMA
Wow, the music is really good tonight.
CHUCK
Let’s dance
CHUCK
Leon, when you catch the waiter, order
us a round beers…Ok.
CHUCK
Norma did you come here often?
NORMA
I try to come every week end, but my (CONTINUED)
13.
NORMA (CONTINUED)
11.
Parents will only let me come if my
Girl friend is with me.
CHUCK
Where do you
live?
NORMA
I live about 3 blocks away…..Tell me what do you
Do in the Army?
CHUCK
I am in the Army Air Corps, I am a glider pilot.
NORMA
What’s a glider?
CHUCK
It’s a plane without a motor in it.
NORMA
Laughing……That’s a line I haven’t
Ever heard…..that’s funny.
What do you really do?
CHUCK
I really fly a glider, we take men and supplies
In, sometime’s behind enemy lines.
NORMA
And how do you do this without a motor in your plane?
CHUCK
Another airplane pulls us off the ground and takes
Us to where we need to be and then I disconnect the
Tow line and we glide in, so the enemy doesn’t hear
Us, or we hope the enemy doesn’t hear us….
See this silver wing on my chest, with the big “G”
that
Stands for Glider or some say it stands for Guts.
NORMA
Yes but isn’t that dangerous?
CHUCK
Yes
it can be, that’s why it’s for volunteers only. (CONTINUED)
13. CHUCK (CONTINUED)
12.
Besides its only dangerous if the enemy shoots at
me, and I try to land before they can see me.
That’s why they call us the “Silent Warriors”.
NORMA
You must be a brave person…..
CHUCK
Oh yes, very brave, handsome and strong……smiling…..
(The band is playing Glenn
Miller music and the dance floor is over filling -
Over the next 8 weekends many
spent at the Red Devil Tavern, just across from
Bowman Field or taking in
a movie Chuck and Norma are always together and after a very
Short courtships are
married on August 3, 1943. The couple set up housekeeping
at Norma’s Parents house
in New Albany for the duration of Chucks training.)
14. EXT - DAY
15. INT.
Cockpit
Chuck –Co Pilot and First
Pilot Flight Officer McNally are on participating in a low level
Tactical training flight
in a Aeronca L-3C aircraft. McNally who
is flying the aircraft, strikes an auxiliary power line damaging the aircraft,
the propeller, the landing gear and the engine, with the cockpit windscreen
being broken. The accident review board determined that the
Accident was 100% pilot
error, and was duly noted on McNally’s next performance report.
McNally
Chuck, check the map and see how much further we need
To go in this direction.
CHUCK
Looks like another 10 miles or so; it shows here,
power lines
But I haven’t seen any, be sure and watch for
them. What’s
Your altitude?
The Capt said to stay about 500 feet.
McNally
Were at 200 feet
CHUCK
Pull up fast. (CONTINUED)
15. McNally 13.
OhOh is that a power line? Hold on…..he powers up the
engine as the plane skims the power line.
MvNALLY (CONTINUED)
And
immediately starts down towards the ground.
CHUCK
Over there to the right, looks like a corn field.
(The aircraft engine sputters and the plane continues
in
A steep dive, just leveling out as they land in the
corn field,
Fortunately neither
man was injured).
16. EXT. DAY
Bowman Field
September 10 1943, this morning
a flight of 30 light aircraft take off
in trail
On a round-robin flight to
Lexington, Kentucky and return. It is listed on the
Training report as a simulated
glider combat mission. Both legs of the
flight
Will be flown at 700 feet. The Bowman to Lexington leg was uneventful,
but
On the return flight tragedy
strikes. During a left turn directly
into the sun,
Two aircraft in the middle of
the formation collide, doing major damage to
Both aircraft. The first aircraft went into a flat spin and
crashed in the field
Below. The pilot died from blunt force trauma when
the aircraft impacted the
Ground. The other pilot fared no better. He was able to exit the aircraft and
Pull his ripcord, but was too
low to the ground for his main parachute to deploy.
He was killed instantly on
impact with the ground. His aircraft
crashed nearby
And burned. Chuck flying near the end of the formation
sees the 2 planes
go down and immediately pulls
back on the stick to gain altitude and instantly
sees a clear field he can land
in just ahead.
As Chuck runs onto the adjacent
field he sees another aircraft making a
Landing but suddenly it makes a
violent pitch downward and crash into
the
Ground, hitting a fence and then
a ditch before coming to rest on its side. As
Chuck gets to the aircraft he
sees two young men trying to get the pilot
Out. Also arriving are two
other glider pilots that have landed to help.
Chuck
Looks in the cockpit and
realizes it’s his friend Spencer.
17. INT FIELD DAY - DAMAGED AIRCRAFT , The aircraft
motor has been ripped from its
mounting And has been pushed back through the instrument panel and
is resting on the pilot whose flight suit is soaked with leaking
fuel.
17A.
Aircraft Cockpit
CHUCK
Oh My God , Spencer can you hear me. (CONTINUED)
17.A
SPENCER
14.
(Unconscious and moaning)
CHUCK
Speaking
to the two young men, (get back immediately, and
CHUCK (CONTINUED)
Get
rid of those cigarettes. There is leaking fuel all over here
And the ground, you will start a fire and kill us all.
)
GLIDER PILOT 1
We have got to get this engine off of him, hits
burning him
And it’s going to catch this fuel on fire.
GLIDER PILOT 2
(Takes off his flight jacket) cover his legs so they
don’t get
Burned and let’s rip the back of the seat off and use
it
To lift the engine up so we can get him out.
CHUCK
(For the second time chuck tells the two men to move
back
And put out the cigarettes.)
Hey I just told you two to get back and put out the
cigarettes, NOW
CHUCK
Looks like his leg and arm are broken, be careful when
you lift
The instrument panel up.
CHUCK
(Chuck looks up and around to see the two men still
Looking into the aircraft, he stands up,
and draws his
45 cal sidearm out and points it at the
two men.)
CHUCK
You two back up real slow and don’t drop those
Cigarettes on
the ground or I will shoot you
Both.
(The two men backed up slowly and then run away)
17B. DAY
INT OPEN FIELD
(After thirty minutes or so they are able to get the
engine off of Spencer, freeing his legs and arms
and removing him from the aircraft still unconscious. He
Was placed on a blanket that someone had
provided. Shortly thereafter a
Military ambulance carrying a doctor arrived from
Bowman Field. The
Doctor examined Spencer, started a IV to prevent
shock, and we help put him into the
18.
Ambulance for the trip back to the base hospital. Spencer’s 15.
Injuries included a brain concussion, and crushed
right foot, lacerations
And puncture wounds all over his arms and legs, and
abrasions galore. He
Remained semiconscious for two days, suffered partial
amnesia and was
A patient for eleven months in three different
military hospitals. He was placed
Back on flying
status on August 5, 1944.
18. EXT DAY
BARRACKS
ORDERLY
Skidmore your to report to the
Base Commander’s Office Immediately.
The Sherriff is there, says you threaten to
Shoot 2 men yesterday.
18A. INT HQ
OFFICE BASE COMMANDER
Sir reporting as ordered.
BASE COMMANDER
Flight Officer Skidmore these men say you
Threaten to shoot them yesterday, is
That true?
CHUCK
Yes Sir I did.
BASE COMMANDER
For what reasons?
CHUCK
During a flight
training accident
yesterday, I
landed my aircraft
and was helping get Flight Officer
Spencer out of
his plane. These two men were
the first to
arrive at the crash site, but when
I arrived they
had cigarettes dangling
from their mouths.
I immediately ask them
to put out the
cigarettes
and to back up because of the fuel
leaking from
the wings. A few
minutes later I
ask them
a second time with no results.
My third
request I drew my side
Arm and told
them
to slowly move
away or
I would shoot them.
(CONTINUED)
18A.
BASE COMMANDER 16.
Sherriff please get these two idiot’s out
of my
office. It’s a good thing I
wasn’t there, because I would ask
them one time….then I would
of shot you both in the Ass.
Flight Officer Skidmore, you may
Return to your duties.
(Chuck completed his training at
Bowman, now called the Glider Crew Training
Center, in Mid October 1943. On October21, the 1st Troop
Carrier Command
Issued orders assigning Chuck
and 227 other Bowman Field graduates to the
38th Troop Carrier
Squadron at Camp Mackall in Hoffman, North Carolina.
Everyone departed the following
day by rail, bus and private conveyance,
Each granted five days leave
before reporting to their duty station on
October 29, 1943. Their reassignment orders specified that’s
friends or
Relatives were prohibited from
either accompanying or joining them at their
New base. Everyone was certain that upon completion of
tactical training they
Would be headed overseas. Chucks wife, Norma, would remain at her
parents
home during his absence. Foe the next several weeks Chuck underwent
intensive combat training, usually
hauling glider troopers, airborne weaponry, or
vehicles of the 101st
Airborne Division from nearby Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
On November 26 1943, his combat
training at Mackell completed, orders were
Issued transferring Chuck and a
large contingent of glider pilots base there to the
439th Troop Carrier
Group temporally based at nearby Pope Field, North
Carolina. When Chuck reported to
the 439th he was assigned to the 91st Troop Group
Squadron, which promptly divided
the glider pilots into 50-man flights for training
Purposes. Chuck was assigned to flight “C”. Many of the C-47 pilots had little or
No experience towing gliders so
they practiced day and night doing just that until
Mid-January when the Group
began to prepare for overseas movement.
Much of
their training at Pope Field
was conducted at nearby Laurinburg-Maxton Army base,
North Carolina.
In early February, 1944 the air
echelon of the 439th was ordered to Bear Field, Fort
Wayne, Indiana, the aerial port
of embarkation, arriving there on the 14th of the
Month.
The ground echelon would follow by ship to England. The advance parties
Of the 439th and two
of its squadrons, the 91st and 92nd, departed Bear Field
in their
C47 transports on February 19,
1944. The remaining two squadrons, the 93rd and
The 94th , did not
arrive at Balderton until March 6, 1944.
The airdrome was located
2 miles south of Newark,
England in the midlands. Chuck and the
ground echelon
Of the 439th TC
Group and its four squadrons left New York aboard the U.S.S George
Washington, an Army Troop
transport, on February 28, 1944. After
eleven days at sea
(Continued)
18A.
17.
The ship arrived at
Liverpool, England on March 10, 1944.
From there they traveled
By rail to Balderton where
they would remain until April 26, 1944.
On that date
The group was relocated to
the airdrome at Upottery, England.
After the Group arrived in
the United Kingdom the training continued unabated
In preparation for the
invasion of the continent. Several
maneuvers were held
To further Hone the skills of the C-47 and
glider pilots. About a month before the
D-Day invasion of
Normandy, France the 439th was relocated to Taunton in
Southern England. On June 3, 1944 everyone was herded into
barracks and
Hangars that were
surrounded by barbed wire. Everyone knew
that they would
Soon be facing the enemy. Finally, the day that every Allied soldier
looked
Forward to had arrived. You could feel the tension in the air. Chuck would not fly
The D-Day mission on June
6, 1944, but would fly in glider trooper
Reinforcements of the 101st Airborne Division the following day, D-Day +
1.
19. EXT
JUNE 7, 4:00 AM Awakened by CQ (charge of quarters
CHUCK
Let’s go guys, Mark, JC, Ken get up,
Let’s get to the chow hall while
The line is short and the
Food is hot, wonder what they
Are serving us for our
Last meal…..
MARK
I don’t care what it is as long
as I get Large portions.
20. EXT
4:30 AM Mess Hall Line
CHUCK
I can smell fried Eggs….we haven’t
Had Eggs since we left the USA.
Look….Chocolate Cake, well
I would not of thought of
That combination….but it
Smells good doesn’t it.
21. EXT 5:15 AM - Glider Pilots Briefing Room
Company Commander
Things got better last night, the Germans
Haven’t brought up their tanks yet and
And our units are holding their ground. (CONTINUED)
21.
COMPANY COMMANDER (CON’T) 18.
There is still a lot of confusion though,
Many of the paratroopers
were dropped
In the wrong zones, so were not
Sure where everybody is located at.
Your mission is the same as always,
get your gliders to the assigned
Landing zones and unload your
Men and materials as quickly
As possible.
GLIDER PILOT
Sir; what do we do after we land
Our gliders,
Where do we go?
COMPANY COMMANDER
(A Brief period of silence)
I don’t know, I guess we never
Really thought of that.
(All glider pilot volunteers were told
When they enlisted that on
Combat missions the
Casualty rates were expected to
be 50%)
GLIDER PILOT
(“RUN LIKE HELL”)
Laughter from the group…….
COMPANY COMMANDER
Make it back to the coast
As best you can.
Also…. all the C-47 crews have
been told: The Glider Pilots will
will release when the pilot of
C-47 Leading the formation
Starts a gradual turn to the
Left to return to the coast.
“If any C-47 pilots cuts his
Glider off during an
Invasion without sufficient (CONTINUED)
21.
19.
COMPANY COMMANDER
(CON’T)
Reason, and there shouldn’t
Be any, he’d better keep on
Going because if he comes
Back here, I’ll be waiting for him”
God bless you all, it’s been a
Honor to be your commander.
22. EXT
5:45 AM Flight Line
(A Long
line of Gliders on the sides with a C-47
Aircraft moving onto the
Center of the runway ready
To hook up to the front glider.)
23. INT - CHUCKS GLIDER – Paratroopers were already
seated on both sides of the cabin
As Chuck and his Co-pilot – JC make it to their seats.
AIRBORNE LIEUTENANT
There’s no use of you too
Fastening on those
Parachutes because we’ll
Never let you use them.
CHUCK
Don’t worry Lieutenant we
Only bring them on board
To use them as seat cushions.
(Chuck drapes the shoulder
straps over the back of the seats)
23A. INT.
Glider Cockpit Day-Morning -
(Approaching the Normandy Peninsula)
CHUCK
(C-47 Pilot via Telephone from the Glider)
Anderson what’s making all
Those splashes?
ANDERSON
Those are P-51s dropping their
Tip tanks.
CHUCK
You’re a damn liar, (CONTINUED)
23A.
CHUCK (CON’T) 20.
There aren’t that many tip
Tanks in the whole Army
Air Force…..They must be German
Shells falling into the water.
24. EXT Day - Glider landing zone, 1 1/2 Mile
from St Mere
Eglise
25. INT
Glider Cockpit
CHUCK
What’s are altitude?
C0-Pilot - JC
600 feet.
CHUCK
Cut us loose.
(the tow line is released
and the glider turns
Into the landing zone)
CHUCK
There’s the field…
(Into chucks ear a loud
voice is heard….BUSTER)
Chucks turns his head and
shoulder for split second, then back concentrating on
Landing the glider.
Machine gun fire hits the
glider passing thru the cockpit
Floor and stitching the
wing to the tip.
CO-PILOT - JC
The Germans have flooded
the field.
CHUCK
Hold on were going to hit
hard.
(The glider lands in 3
feet of water
And quickly comes to a
stop, the paratrooper’s
Exit immediately out the
side door)
CO-PILOT - JC
Chuck are you hurt?
CHUCK
No, how about your?
CO-PILOT - JC
Look behind your seat….
(Behind chucks seatback is
a line of bullet
Holes, just where his head
was?)
You sure you OK?
(CONTINUED)
25.
CHUCK 21
Did you yell at me as
we cut loose from the C-47….
Calling me BUSTER.
CO-PILOT - JC
No, why?
CHUCK
BUSTER was a nickname
My grandfather called me.
If I hadn’t turned my head
that
machine gun spray would
of taken my head off.
Guess my grandfather was
Looking out for me…..
Let’s get the hell out of
here, fast.
26.
EXT Glider in the water -
NEXT Chuck and his Co-pilot
quickly take off their flack
Jackets and rip a large
hole in the fabric on the side of gilder and slide
Out into the water. About 12 feet away another glider is in the
water
And the pilot is
franticly looking for his co-pilot, seems he still
had his flak jacket
when He went into the water and into a
deep hole. Only his hands were above the water, the
pilot pulls
him up by the hair, as he
spits out a mouth of dirty water.
Bullets are flying
everywhere hitting the water and tearing up
the side of the gilder.
CHUCK
Lets head for the edge row
over there.
27. EXT
DAY We see chuck and his Co-pilot
hitting the dirt next to 20 paratroopers
That are taking
machine gun fire from a hidden bunker. After a hail of
Return rifle fire
and a bazooka hit, the resistance stopped, then a
Single shot rang
out from the bunker followed by laughter. Soon 12
Polish conscripts
appeared waving a white flag. It seems they didn’t
Want To fight the
Americans soldiers, so they shot the German
Sergeant that was
in charge.
28.
EXT DAY
- Farm House
PARATROOPER
In the house, anybody…come
out
With your hands up.
AMERICAN SOLDIER
Don’t shoot; I
am a Paratrooper, injured
I have a woman with me… (CONTINUED)
28. INT.
FARM HOUSE - DAY
22.
FRENCH GIRL
Hello Americans, this way…..
NEXT -
BEDROOM
AMERICAN SOLDIER
(Seems the paratrooper had jumped the night before
And had fractured his leg when he fell through the
Thatched roof of the farm house. The Young French
Was caring for him, so he just lay there waiting for
The war to come to him.)
29. EXT Nightfall Chuck and his Co-pilot have left
the Paratrooper and
Are
headed back to the beach, when they decide to
Stop
for the night.
CHUCK
Come on I see some people digging over there.
The two of them join the group in digging a spot
For the night
to sleep in.
SERGEANT
Hey….. you two can’t dig in here.
CHUCK
Why not?
SERGEANT
Because we’re starting a temporary American
Cemetery here.
(That did it;
they went elsewhere down the road
To a apple grove
At sunlight they hear people marching down the road
Ahead, Chuck takes off the safety on his Thompson
Machine gun.
It’s some US Army Infantry moving up the line.
30. EXT Side of the road - (
A group of soldiers yelling …. They have
6 SS German Soldiers
Lined up and are searching them, they want to know if
they are from
St Mere Eglise, because they had
found body’s of American
Paratroopers that had been
shot before they reached the ground, many still
Hanging from trees and
buildings around the town. Then American
30.
Cont’d
23.
Cigarettes and money are
found on three of them. The American
Paratroopers immediately
line them up and slit their throats
One by one. As the column
of men marching by watched, no one stops
Or says a word, they just
look ahead and move down the road.
CHUCK
Come on JC, let’s get going….
(Over the next 24 hours the two of them spend time
With a 105mm artillery crew, providing perimeter
Guard, and then with a communications outfit.)
31. EXT
DAY - 101st Airborne Command
post. – Captains Desk
CHUCK
-Salutes-
Sir, were Glider Pilots with the 439th
Troop Group, were looking for
Pilots from our unit that
Might have passed here today.
CAPTAIN
Yes, some of them are here. I
Sent them next door to
Get a sandwich and something
To drink. Be sure to
Fill up your canteens, there is little
Fresh water in the area.
Your all being assigned to
Guard some German
Prisoners down
at Omaha beach,
And then you will accompany them
On a (LST- Landing Ship Tank)
back to
England. Report to the
Beach master.
CHUCK
Thank you Sir. – Salutes
32. EXT
DAY - OMAHA BEACH - BEACH MASTER
CHUCK
Salutes – Sir, We were sent down from the
101st command post
32.
CHUCK (Cont’d) 24.
To help guard some German prisoners
and accompany
them back to England.
BEACHMASTER
Ok, I need two of you to stay here
The rest of you spread out down
The barbed wire
all the way
To the end. No
one! is to
cross over or beyond that wire, if
they do, you shoot them, don’t kill
them just wing them, to let
the others know you mean
business,
unless it’s one of
those SS Officer Bastards, then
you have my permission to
blow their Dam head off.
33. EXT
DAY - LCI (LANDING CRAFT,INFANTRY)
OFFICER
Ok we will take the first 50
on board out to the
LST.
CHUCK
Ok, move up the first group.
(A Army Major steps up with a group of prisoners)
MAJOR
Can you take this group?
CHUCK
Salutes - Yes Sir, we have more LCI’s
On the way.
MAJOR
I will be needing all of your rifles
As you board.
(CONTINUED)
33. 25.
CHUCK
Sir we have to turn in our
Weapons to Supply when
We get back to the Air field.
MAJOR
It doesn’t make sense to
take them with you when we
need them here. I will also
need all the extra ammo your
carrying.
(It made sense so we all surrendered our rifles,
And kept our 45 sidearms, However once we got
Back to our home base in England the Supply
Officer couldn’t see the wisdom of the
Whole thing and threatened to take
Action to make us pay for them, luckily
Our Commander vetoed that idea.)
34. DAY ON BOARD – (LST) – JUST OFF THE SHORELINE
Sitting near Chucks LST is a Oil Tanker that takes
A Torpedo hit from a German E-Boat, The
Ship breaks apart and sinks within a few
Minutes. There is only one survivor
a man and his
dog. A few moments later
We see a British Ground
Attack aircraft fire on and sink
The E-Boat, the GI’s on board,
Start clapping and yelling.
34A. DAY -(LST)
WATER RESCUE
Miraculously, the German commander of the E-Boat
Is recued by the LST: He has
A severe leg wound.
Chuck helps carry him
to the operating table below deck where an
American medic tends to the wound.
When the medic wants to cut apart
The officer’s sealskin pants, he explodes
With anger, so Chuck and the medic
removed his pants which must of (CONTINUED)
34A (Continued)
26.
Been dreadfully painful, but the German
Never uttered a sound and sat stoically
as the medic tended his wound.
35. NIGHT - LST -
MIDNIGHT MEAL
NAVY CORPSMAN
Handing out K-rations to the German prisoners
GERMAN MAJOR
NO, NO, says something in German.
NAVY CORPSMAN
Anybody know what’s wrong with this Kraut…..
GERMAN CORPORAL
The Major says he wants better food
WOUNDED ARMY SARGEANT
Corporal would you please tell the Major
That if he doesn’t eat our rations…
Myself and a few other men here
Will stuff them down his throat, cans and all.
36. NIGHT - LST BELOW DECK
The LST was a mess; they had 1,200 German prisoners on
board and only 4 GI cans to serve as toilets. Among the 1,200
Were several officers who were pretty well subdued,
except
For one Nazi storm trooper. This lieutenant insisted that
Every German prisoner passing by him give him the
Nazi salute.
CHUCK finally got tired of seeing this
And told the Corporal to tell the Lieutenant
- without the preliminary Nazi Salute - that if
He, the Nazi, saluted one more time, he (Chuck)
Intended to emphasize his point with his Combat
Knife……
And that was the end of the saluting.
37. EXT
DAY - British Port – Unloading Prisoners
BRITISH SOLDIER
How was it over there?
(CONTINUED)
37.
CHUCK
27.
It was bad….I lost a lot
Of good friends this week.
Chuck takes a few steps and turns
around and looks towards
France……And Thanks God for
Surviving his first combat mission
Against the enemy.
(JULY 5 1944, IN ACCORDANCE WITH GENERAL ORDER 33,
CHUCK
AND THE OTHER GLIDER PILOTS OF THE 439TH TC
GROUP WHO
FLEW THE NORMANDY MISSION WERE AWARDED THE AIR MEDAL
FOR MERITORIOUS SERVICE IN COMBAT AND A BRONZE
ARROWHEAD TO THE EUROPEAN-AFRICAN-MIDDLE EASTERN
MEDAL FOR A COMBAT LANDING. )
THE MAGNIFICENT SPIRIT AND ENTHUSIASM DISPLAYED BY
THESE
INDIVIDUALS COMBINED WITH SKILL, COURAGE AND DEVOTION
TO DUTY IS REFLECTED IN THEIR BRILLIANT OPERATION OF
UNARMED AND UNARMORED TROOP CARRIER AIRCRAFT AT
MINIMUM ALTIDUDES AND AIR SPEEDS, IN UNFAVORABLE
WEATHER CONDITIONS, OVER WATER, AND INTO THE FACE
OF VIGOROUS ENEMY OPPOSITION, WITH NO POSSIBILITY
OF EMPLOYING EVASIVE ACTION, TO SPEARHEAD THE
ALLIED INVASION OF THE CONTINENT AND TO SUPPORT AIR
AND GROUND FORCES IN THE CRITICAL PERIOD WHICH
FOLLOWED. THEIR RESPECTIVE DUTY ASSIGNMENTS
WERE PERFORMED IN SUCH AN ADMIRABLE MANNER AS
TO PRODUCE
EXCEPTIONAL RESULTS IN THE GREATEST AND
MOST SUCCESFUL AIRBORNE OPERATION IN THE HISTORY
OF WORLD AVIATION.
SIGNED: GENERAL DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER – SUPREME
ALLIED COMMANDER
(Training continued at Upottery until September 1944
When the 439th was alerted to move to
Juvincourt, France
(ALG A-68) as the vanguard of the 50th
troop Carrier
Wing. The
movement of equipment and personnel took
Several days, but the air echelon returned to England
the
Following week to take part in the invasion of Holland
Scheduled
to begin on September 17, 1944. (CONTINUED)
38. EXT.
DAY OPERATION MARKET
GARDEN 28.
September 17, 1944 - D-Day, Chuck
is driven to his glider in a jeep…..he arrives and
starts his pre-flight
check. He sees his glider
is carrying a ¼ ton jeep trailer covered with
a tarp. Chuck
ask the loadmaster what was in
the trailer and is told 800 pounds of
land mines, but not to worry because it
would take the weight of a sizable vehicle
to detonate them, small consolation he
Thought. Three
glider Troopers of the 82nd
Airborne Division were also included
in his load.
39. EXT.
OUTSIDE OF THE GLIDER
CHUCK
(Flags down the crew chief),
Where’s my
co-pilot?
CREW CHIEF
Smiles…. The Colonel decided against using two pilots
on
This mission.
40. INT
COCKPIT
CHUCK
(Chuck is next in line for hookup, when someone
Appears climbing over the jeep and into
The co-pilots seat. In full combat dress
And carrying a Thompson Machine gun
is Warrant Officer Walter F. Domanski,
The assistant engineering officer of the
91st TC squadron. )
CHUCK
What the hell you doing here?
DOMANSKI
Hi, got room for one more don’t you…..
CHUCK
Yes , but you’re not supposed to be here.
DOMANSKI
I am tired of
missing all the action…… Big smile (CONTINUED)
40.
29.
CHUCK
What happens when the Colonel finds out
Your AWOL and on the way to Holland?
DOMANSKI
Well, guess he will send someone to
come and get
me. But they have to
find me first.
(The four hour flight to Holland was
Very long and exhausting for Chuck
Being at the controls the entire trip,
his flight suit
was wet from
perspiration, beads of water are
showing inside his watch crystal)
41. EXT THE HOLLAND COAST – COCKPIT
CHUCK
Look…. the Germans are shooting at
The
column…….Just then the C-47 Tow plane
In front of Chucks glider takes a
direct hit in the right engine
and goes into a steep dive pulling
the glider with him.
DOMANSKI
Oh my god, cut loose, cut loose…….
(He watches the two planes as they
Plummet towards
the ground)
CHUCK
Do you see any parachutes?
Is anybody getting out?
DOMANSKI
No, Nobody got out…… I didn’t see any chutes.
CHUCK
I always knew you wouldn’t have enough
Time to get out of these gliders.
I guess that’s why we use these
Parachutes for cushions…..
Besides, I wouldn’t leave the men in the back anyhow.
41. 30.
(Near the end of the 90 mile overland portion
of the flight the glider began to take machine gun
ground fire from a windmill, as the tracer
bullets came up it look like a fiery whip coming
towards him. Fortunately no one was hit
or the glider damage.)
Chuck receives a Green light
from the tow
plane and releases the Glider.
Turning to the left he quickly spots his
Landing zone. As he circles towards
The field below more ground fire is
Coming his way. As he makes his
approach he sees another C-47
tow plane do down trailing
fire.
In an effort to evade the enemy fire coming
Up at him Chuck put’s the glider into a steep dive,
Quickly picking up speed.
CHUCK
Chuck feels someone rapping on his helmet, its
One of his passengers, a burly airborne sergeant
AIRBORNE SERGEANT
Hey….Slow this S.O.B. Down!
CHUCK
What the hell………..
Not sure what to do, chuck continues flying
The glider towards the landing zone.
AIRBORNE
SERGEANT
The sergeant starts pounding Chuck in the back……
Causing the glider to begin dropping even faster.
(CONTINUED)
41. COCKPIT 31.
DOMANSKI
Resting his Thompson
Machine gun on the
The sergeants shoulders …….
If you don’t get back in the back I’ll
Slow you down permanently.
AIRBORNE SERGEANT
Since the sergeant had left his weapon
In the back of the glider, and probably
Because he sensed that discretion was
The better part of valor, he beat a hasty
Retreat to the back of the CG-4A.
CHUCK
Thanks, Walter…I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.
42. EXT LANDING ZONE HOLLAND
1:30PM
Chuck lands the glider with no injury’s to him or
The passengers, but the field he has landed in
Is overgrown with giant Beets, which have
Torn up the bottom of the glider.
Chuck helps unload the trailer and
A few minutes a jeep arrives to tow the
Trailer away.
CHUCK
Walter, good luck guy, you keep your
head down and
your ass further down…..
they both laugh, then shake hands.
DOMANSKI
So long Chuck, thanks for the free ride…….
Chuck starts his trek back to the
coast and then to his base in England.
Walking most of the way and
Catching a ride
when he can.
The end of the third day chucks finds
A burned out farm house and
43. EXT
FARM HOUSE (CONTINUED) 32.
A collapsed potato shed with some
Empty potato sacks, which he uses to cover
himself with for the night.
CHUCK
Daylight arrives and just as chuck is ready to leave,
Germans are arriving in a truck. His
Heart is beating so fast and the sweat is starting
To run down his face into his eyes.
He doesn’t move, there is a German officer
Giving orders,
then he hears more trucks. Within
A few minutes later they move out back
on the road,
going in the direction chuck has
just come from.
44. EXT
EMPTY ROAD
CHUCK
Sounds of a vehicle coming towards him
Very fast…..he get down in the ditch…..
Its a jeep with an American Infantryman
Driving, Chuck
jumps up waving….
The jeep comes
to comes to a screeching halt
Raising a small cloud of dust and dirt.
JEEP DRIVER
What the world
you doing out here alone,
I was ready to
shoot at you …jumping
Up like that.
You alone?
CHUCK
Yes I am .
45. EXT JEEP -
DAY
JEEP DRIVER
You know the Germans are right
Down the road!
Get in here…
Man you are lucky, if you had missed me
You would have been dead or in a prison camp.
(CONTINUED
45. 33.
CHUCK
Yes, I had a close call with some
German trucks
Early this morning.
(The jeep raises dirt and gravel as the
driver takes
off down the road as fast
as he can go towards the coastal area
and the American and British lines.)
46. EXT DAY
- AIR CORPS AIRFIELD
The driver drops Chuck off at a temporary
Air evacuation
Air Field.
CHUCK
Corporal, Thanks for stopping for me…….
JEEP DRIVER
Salutes…..Good Luck Sir…..
47. EXT DAY
- AIRFIELD OPERATIONS SHACK
CHUCK
Salutes….Sir I am with the 439th glider
Group, can I catch a ride back to England?
MAJOR
Are you C-47 Rated?
CHUCK
Yes Sir, co-pilot.
MAJOR
Right outside, they are loading
some wounded,
you tell Captain
Fleck, I sent you to fly Co-pilot this trip. (CONTINUED)
48. EXT
DAY – C-47 COCKPIT 34.
CHUCK
Captain Fleck. I am flying Co-Pilot this trip.
CAPTAIN FLECK
Welcome aboard…..I heard it was bad for you
Glider pilots…..was it
CHUCK
Well…. I saw one glider go down, still
Attached to the C-47, and had another C-47
Fly just over my landing zone on fire….I could see
The Tail Number, I knew the Pilot, there were no
survivors.
CAPTAIN FLECK
It should be an easy trip back….
Will you do the pre flight check,
And we will get out of here and have a beer
At the officers club in England
In a few hours.
49. EXT
DAY - C-47 TAKING OFF
FADE IN COCKPIT Pilots powers up engines
TAKE OFF FADE OUT
-THE END-
(Continued)
35.
Of the 6,500 Men who volunteered for the Army Air
Corps Glider Program, at the war’s end only 3,400 would be going home to their families.
The Life
Expectancy of Pilots in Combat was:
BOMBER
PILOTS – 1 HR, 46 MIN
FIGHTER
PILOTS – 19 MIN
GLIDER
PILOTS – 17 SECONDS
As of July 2009, there are less than 150 World War II
Combat Glider Pilots still alive.
(CONTINUED)
Written By:
Michael G. Skidmore
4204 South Chestnut Ct
Broken Arrow Oklahoma 74011
918-455-0808
