The ensuing action bore little resemblance to their briefing, but because the soldiers were well prepared, the regiment and the division accomplished its multiple missions, but none of them as rehearsed. This caused highly scattered drops and units were widely dispersed across the battlefront. The troop aircraft formations were widely scattered due to a combination of low clouds, poor visibility and enemy anti-aircraft fire. Two battalions were to seize key canal locks at La Barquette and destroy bridges over the Douve River, while the third battalion was in division reserve. The 501st drop zones were north and east of Carentan.
All units flew across the English Channel and were set to drop into Normandy, five hours prior to the seaborne landing. The 501st (less 3rd Battalion) took off from Merryfield Airport at 2245, 5 June 1944, while the 3rd Battalion departed at the same time from Welford. These very extensive and intensive briefings were to later prove vital during actual operations. Then with D-Day just days away, the 501st with the rest of the division was sequestered in well guarded marshaling camps where every man finally learned his own mission and the overall mission of the 501st and the 101st Airborne Division. Although none of the soldiers knew this initially, the regiment was training for Operation Overlord, the secret allied plan for the combined air, naval, amphibious, and airborne operations to breach Hitler's "Atlantic Wall." As D-Day drew closer, a few key commanders and staff were briefed on the part the 101st would play in Operation Overlord. In England, training was hard, realistic and became increasingly oriented toward an airborne assault into German-held Europe. Once in England the 501st became a permanent attachment of the 101st Airborne Division and was a vital part of that famous unit for the duration of World War II. This was its home base during prolonged maneuvers in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Louisiana, and until January 1944, when the regiment deployed to England, by way of Camp Myles Standish, MA. With jump training over, the regiment was assigned to the Airborne Command at Camp MacKall, NC. They then moved to Fort Benning, GA, to jump train all members not previously qualified.
So, when training was over in March 1943, the unit marched to Atlanta, GA, a distance of 105 miles (169 km). A heavy punching bag hung outside his quarters, and when not punching that, Johnson could often be seen throwing his huge knife at hanging plywood replicas of Hitler and Hirohito.Īll members of the regiment were parachute volunteers, but only a minor fraction were actually qualified jumpers during training at Camp Toccoa, GA. He set a record for running up Currahee Mountain (which loomed over Camp Toccoa) and challenged anyone in the regiment to beat his time. His nickname among his men became "Jumping Johnson." He was a zealot on physical conditioning, for himself and everyone in his regiment, and personally led calisthenics, running and all other physical activities. He had transferred to the Army after leaving Annapolis and had most recently been at the tank destroyer center before volunteering for parachute duty. Johnson attended the Naval Academy for two years he boxed while a midshipman. Known by his peers as "Skeets", he was very much in the swashbuckling mold of most of the original parachute regimental commanders, of whom the popular saying was "To command a parachute unit, you don't have to be nuts, but it helps!"
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