101st Airborne, 326th Engineer Bn Photo?

[Walt's Daughter]

Doug and I have been pondering a photo that can be found (amongst other places) on the back cover of George Koskimaki's book. We've been having an ongoing discussion search (see his dad's page) regarding this. Below is his latest email to me and it is quite interesting.

 

http://www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com/Cha...arlesWilber.htm

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Marion, I just got back from my vacation which included stops at Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum and the Don F Pratt Museum at Fort Campbell, KY. At both of these museums the glider photo showing who I believe is my Dad was on display. I just called the AF Museum and they are looking into more information. At Ft. Campbell, the head of the museum, Captain Page, took me upstairs to their archives department. There we studied the glider photo. He found the picture rather odd. Note almost all of the soldiers are wearing their helmet straps on their chins-like a West Point cadet. Looking to the front there are no pilot or co-pilot and it appears that there is a tent with a air sock on top outside of the glider. Under my Dad's helmet is a woolen cap like it was winter time and two of the soldiers have an earlier liner that was replaced before the Normandy Invasion. Also none of the 101st troopers have helmet embelms-the Screaming Eagles didn't get them until April or May, 1944. Captain Page concluded that this was a "horse and pony picture" and was taken on March 23, 1944 when the 101st was visited by Winston Churchill. He then pulled out a tape on that day and it shows Churchill walking up to a Waco glider and then walking away from a glider in which you see the rear wheel and tail section up in the air. He believes the soldiers were placed in this glider with various weapons with the back section opened up for Churchill to view what a squad of American glidermen would look like. I will contact you with more information as it comes available. Later, Doug