Captain Harold Sperber served in World War II as a Pathfinder co-pilot. Pathfinders were small paratrooper groups that were sent to mark landing zones ahead of major paratrooper missions. Their work helped insure the success of the drop, but it was incredibly dangerous because they flew in very small numbers, very low to the ground (to avoid radar), and had no backup chutes.
In this episode, Sperber describes the mission he had on the night of June 5th, 1944, the day before the D-Day. Sperber and the rest of the pathfinders flew over Normandy and were hit, forcing them to retreat back to the English channel. They narrowly avoided crash landing and freezing to death in the cold waters.
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PREVIEW: The Battle of Merville Gun Battery
Battalion Surgeon in the Bulge: CPT Loran B. Morgan M.D.
PREVIEW: Battalion Surgeon in the Bulge
B-17 Crewmember in WWII: LtC. James Wirth
PREVIEW: B-17 Crewmember in WWII
Minefield in Vietnam: LtCol Jim Riordan
Demolition Unit on D-Day: ENS Nathan Irwin
The Power of a Radio: SSgt Brian Keith
The Importance of Medics: CPT Max Cleland
Blowing a Path Through Omaha Beach: BM1 Nelson Dubroc
Maj. Richard Jacobson: Pathfinder Pilot in Normandy
S/Sgt. Alfred Bell: Bleeding in the Basement
The French History Podcast: Silent Village with Robert Pike
S1c Richard Coombs: Crawling Through the Sands of Omaha
Col. Robert E. Stoffey: Flying in Darkness
T/Sgt Donald Malarkey: Band of Brothers
Capt Warren “Bing” Evans Part II: The Allied Invasion of Italy
Capt Warren “Bing” Evans Part I: The Invasion of Sicily
Cpl. Ted Fleser: The Invasion of Sicily
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