#paratrooper

[usarmytrooper]

#shirtless #muscle #jock #military jock #military #us military #u.s. military #us armed forces #us army #army #soldier #american soldier #paratrooper #82d airborne #guy taking selfie #mirror #scruff #facial scruff #shoulders #washboard abs #v lines #adonis belt #male navel #sexy navel #uniform #military uniform #enlarged 4x #photo enlargement #photo enhancement #color correction

[theworldatwar]

British airborne troops captured just after D-day await transport to a pow camp - France 1944

#world war two #ww2 #worldwar2photos #history #1940s #ww2 history #wwii #world war 2 #ww2history #wwii era #British airborne #airborne #paratrooper #pow #prisoner #1944 #dday #men #comic

[leonidassowing]

#soldier #soldiers #greek army #Greece #army life #greek soldiers #uniform #army uniform #military #handsome #brave #warriors #paratrooper

[yourspeirs]

Rest in Peace

Jim "Pee Wee" Martin was one of the original paratroopers from G Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division. He passed away yesterday on September 11, 2022. He was born on April 29th 1921 and was 101 years old.

Rest easy.

#jim martin #jim pee wee martin #ww2 #war veteran #band of brothers #us army #paratrooper #101st airborne division

[blackswaneuroparedux]

I never admitted to anybody during my entire military service that I had been an actor. I was terrified that I would be put in charge of Ensa [Entertainments' National Service Association]. Not even my closest friends knew I was an actor. I told them I was reading English at St Andrews University.

- Richard Todd

In his heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, Richard Todd was Britain’s leading matinee idol. If you love old movies, you’ll have seen Todd in one of his starring roles in “The Virgin Queen” opposite Bette Davis, “Stage Struck” with Marlene Dietrich, or “The Dam Busters” for which he won a Golden Globe Award. He was the tough little Scotsman in the wartime weepie “The Hasty Heart” and had audiences madly hunting for hankies.

Those were the days when Todd streaked across North American film screens as virtually every romantic hero from Rob Roy to Robin Hood. Ian Fleming chose him to play James Bond in “Dr. No” in 1962, but a schedule clash meant Sean Connery stepped into the role.

Little less known is the fact that he was also among the first British soldiers and the first Irishman to land in Normandy on D Day. More specifically, he participated in Operation Tonga during the D-Day landings in Normandy on 6 June 1944.

So it must have been surreal for Richard Todd the hearthrob actor to find himself playing Major John Howard in the epic movie ‘The Longest Day’ (1962) based on Cornelius Ryan’s book. Not least because he served with Howard and took part in the fighting at Pegasus Bridge that Major John Howard was tasked to secure on D Day.

Richard Todd was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1919. His father was a medic in the British Army and, as his posting required, the early years of his life were spent in India. The family settled in Devon upon their return to England, and Richard was educated at Shrewsbury Public School, in Shropshire. The theatre was his first love, and he furthered his dramatic skills at the Italia Conti school, thereafter moving to Scotland where he helped to form the Dundee Repertory Theatre. When War was declared, Todd went to St. Andrew's University on the following day to volunteer. He was not a member of the University, but he not only convinced the selection unit that he was, but also added that he had been reading English there for six months, and that he had obtained a Cert A in his school cadet corps; a key point to being accepted as an officer. Despite success in passing off this invented career, Todd was to be disappointed by a lack of interest in him thereafter.

Becoming increasingly desperate to get into the War before it ended, he sent numerous letters to the War Office to press his case, which, in June 1940, was finally noticed.

Accepted by the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, Todd went to Sandhurst to receive his officer training. He had a very lucky escape here when he was in a corridor on the second floor of a building when it was hit by a bomb, and he was blown into the garden outside by the blast. He got to his feet in the darkness and did not feel particularly affected by it, but an examination by torchlight revealed that his whole body was covered in blood from numerous small wounds.

A spell his hospital delayed his passing out from Sandhurst until early 1941. Celebrating in London, he narrowly avoided death again when he found his usual haunt, the Cafe de Paris, was too crowded to admit him and so he went elsewhere; it was hit by a bomb that same night and 84 people were killed.

His Battalion, the 2nd/4th Battalion The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, was posted to XII Corps in defence of Kent, where a German invasion if it came would almost certainly land. Todd was given command of the infantry in the Dymchurch Redoubt, a fort of the Napoleonic era mounting two six-inch guns.

In the event of an invasion, this would certainly have been a primary target for the enemy, and those manning it were told that, with the main defensive line far to their rear, they would be left to fight to the end. General Montgomery commanded XII Corps at this time, and his characteristic emphasis on training and preparedness led to the formation of the first Battle Schools. Richard Todd attended one of these, and the experience allowed him to run his own School when, in December 1941, he was sent to Iceland with the 1st/4th King's Own Light Infantry to be trained in arctic and mountain warfare. Returning to England in September 1942, he eventually ended up in the 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion of the 6th Airborne Division. He was among troops of the 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion who, at 00:40 hours on 6 June 1944, landed behind the Normandy beaches in a cornfield, perilously close to tracer fire.

Todd scrambled into a wood and with 150 other paratroopers reached Pegasus and Ranville bridges, vital crossings to allow Allied forces to break out from the beachheads into Normandy. They had been seized by a glider force from the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry under the command of Major John Howard, who needed reinforcements to fend off ferocious German attacks.

In his memoirs, Caught in the Act, Todd would write of the carnage, “There was no cessation in the Germans' probing with patrols and counter-attacks, some led by tanks, and the regimental aid post was overrun in the early hours. The wounded being tended there were all killed where they lay. There was sporadic enemy mortar and artillery fire we could do nothing about. One shell landed in a hedge near me, killing a couple of our men.”

Todd would go on and see action at the Battle of the Bulge and push into the Rhine into Germany. After VE day, his division returned to the UK for a few weeks, then was sent on counter-insurgency operations in Palestine. During this posting he was seriously injured when his Jeep overturned, breaking both shoulders and receiving a concussion. He returned to the UK to be demobilised in 1946. 

In 1962, Todd was given the part of Major John Howard in the film adaptation of Cornelius Ryan's book about the D-Day landings, ‘The Longest Day’ (1962). Due to the nature of cinema, it was impossible for the film to give a thorough reflection of the role of the 6th Airborne Division during the Invasion, and as such their activities were solely represented by a reconstruction of the capture of Bénouville Bridge by Howard's coup-de-main force. Although briefly mentioned, the role of the 7th Battalion in the defence of the western bridgehead was largely ignored, and so it appeared as if the defence of the bridge rested only on Howard's men.

Naturally, the omission of their fierce defence of Bénouville caused some resentment amongst veterans, not least because one of their own was championing this re-working of history. Todd, however, regarded ‘The Longest Day’ (1962) as a film rather than a documentary, and his part in it was simply that of an actor doing as he was told.

Richard Todd would never have guessed, that in 17 years since he was on Pegasus Bridge as a paratrooper that he would standing there again as an actor portraying Major John Howard who was given the order: 'Hold,… until relieved'. It had to be Richard Todd’s 'twilight-zone' moment.

The ‘relieve’ for Howard had to come from Lord Lovat and his troops, who had landed on SWORD Beach, and were legging it towards Pegasus Bridge.

Before the shooting of the scenes were started at Pegasus Bridge, the film producer of The Longest Day, Darryl F. Zanuck, had the real life Lord Lovat and Major John Howard brought over to meet the men who were going to portray them (Peter Lawford portrayed Lord Lovat). The men had not seen each other since 6 June 1944.

Photo (above). From L-R: Peter Lawford, Lord Lovat, Richard Todd, Major John Howard.

#todd #richard todd #quote #british army #D Day #DDay #Normandy #pegasus bridge #war #second world war #major john howard #parachute #battle #actor #soldier #paratrooper #the longest day #film #movie #cinema #britain

[clonefandomevents]

Announcing Specialist Bingo Card!

This month's new Bingo is a little different to the others, in that there are no prompts to choose from. Instead, it will be the 25 different specialties the clone troopers have, and to make a fill you will have to create something for the specific specialty. They can be oc's or canon clones, as long as they suit each category.

Specialties are:

Snow, Sand, Flame, Dive/Aqua, SpecOps, Slicer, Heavy Guns, ARC, ARF, Commando, Medic, Pilot, Maintenance, CommTech, Bridge Crew, Riot Trooper, Paratrooper, Bomb Squad, Flight Crew, Cadet, Mess Crew, Trainer, Officer, Security, Shiny.

#specialist bingo #clone specialties #snow trooper #sand trooper #flame trooper #aqua trooper #specops trooper #slicing trooper #heavy gunner trooper #ARC trooper #ARF trooper #commando trooper #medic trooper #pilot trooper #maintenance trooper #commtech trooper #bridge trooper #riot trooper #paratrooper #bomb squad trooper #flight trooper #cadet trooper #mess crew trooper #trainer trooper #officer trooper #security trooper #shiny trooper

[abramsbridge]

#Paratrooper

[nocternalrandomness]

”Santa in the door”

#Christmas #Noel #Merry Christmas #Santa Clause #St. Nick #Presents #Airborne #Paratrooper #Parachuting #Christmas art

[lemon-pilled]

this is what the whole coa plot basically is right

#identity v #idv #idv batter #ganji gupta #idv entomologist #melly plinius #idv wu chang #xie bi'an #fan wujiu #paratrooper #ecosphere #binary star #artsies #i drew this for a thing on insta. if you see it on an acc called 'dailyidvcoa' dont worry thats also me

[scottdarkarts]

Commission done for Mortian Tank

Design diary - Did my little research into the existing droptroop catalog range on the client's store and the concept direction is not to divert too far from its current aesthetic yet have some ornaments and features that will set the design apart, looking like the leader of the droptroops. Leather quilted jacket plays a big part in this dieselpunk vibe, so a few variations and attire styles are introduced to have some fun add-ons and convertible bits for hobbyists to play around with.

#dieselpunk #scifiart #concept art #character design #traditionalart #characterillustration #graphic design #scifi #science fiction #warhammer 40k art #military #paratrooper

[talesofwar]

Capitaine Jean Graziani, born in Algeria in the same town Albert Camus was born. Joined the US Army at the age of 16 in 1942 after allied forces landed in Algeria before being kicked out because of his age. Joined the French resistance, shipping him to Scotland to be trained as an SAS demolition specialist before being parachuted in occupied France to delay the German retreat of 1944, destroying bridges, railways and sabotaging a hundred phone lines. He will serve in the 3rd BCCP paratrooper regiment in Indochina, leading a commando unit behind enemy lines before being captured by the Viet Minh during an attempt to rescue an encircle column of the 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion. He will stay 4 years in a prisoner camp despite two escapes attempts, his last enabling hime to sail 60km along the Song Gain river on a makeshift raft. He would later be assigned to a counter-insurgency unit in Algeria where he will be killed on January 6, 1959 after being hit with submachine gun fire in the guts during an operation in Kabylie. He had enough time to give his watch to a good friend of him during his helicopter transfer. The journey of this shock troop officer pictures very well the journey of many French officers during the post WW2 colonial wars and their ambiguity. Often pulled from the ranks of the resistance to fight tyranny, they ressorted to the same techniques to maintain France's grasp on its colonial empire. Many of them ended in jail or as outcasts, torn and disabused by their experience of violence mixed with politics and the slow decay of their empire and youth ideals.

#french #soldier #capitaine #indochina #beautifuldestinations #colonial wars #history #war #paratrooper #special forces #algeria

[bikerlovertexas]

#Approved #Leapfest #RIARNG #Army National Guard #Airborne #Paratrooper #Static #Line #International #Competition #flickr

[theworldatwar]

Paratroopers from the US 17th Airborne Division descend from the sky as they land near Wesel, Germany - Operation Varsity, March 1945

#world war two #1940s #worldwar2photos #history #ww2 #wwii #ww2 history #wwii era #world war 2 #ww2history #airborne #us airborne #Wesel #Germany #1945 #paratrooper #paratroopers #operation varsity #varsity

[military1st]

A U.S. Army paratrooper during multinational training exercise Operation Askari Storm in Kenya.

The U.S. Army by Spc. John Lytle (2018).

#military 1st #military #army #paratrooper #para

[marycorleone]

The Girl Paratrooper - Chapter IV

"No! We have nothing to talk about! Leave me alone!" She screamed.

"You know you love me! Jeez, until when?"

"I AM MARRIED! Go home!"

Joe tried to touch her arm, but Mary didn't allow.

"Go home and don't talk to me anymore!"

Lieb disappeared and Mary wet home, covered in tears. She got home alone. Johnny e Pat Martin were hosted with she and Bill and while her was into the bath, Pat called her.

"Mary, we are here. You okay?"

Nervously, Mary answered that she was fine. After the bath, Mary saw Bill and the couple talking in the room, so she went bed.

Mary was pretending sleep while she was hearing all her guests were talking about. Bill said their marriage was a mistake and in heart she knew that was true, but hear it hurt her feelings.

She woke up early and went to the kitchen. Mary thought she was alone but Johnny showed up.

"Shit Johnny! You scared me!"

"Sorry, but after all what happened last night, I think you need to speak your mind with someone else."

Mary was silent. She was thinking about what Johnny said was true. She needed help.

"It was Lieb. Right? You still..."

"No! Don't bring this subject again!"

"You don't want to see, but it's true! You still love Liebgott!"

Mary started to cry.

"Johnny, you all can see? I fuckin believed I could hide."

"Both you and Bill don't love each other. You love Lieb. Bill..."

"Bill want that girl. I know. I saw it! The way he looked her! Oh, that's great!" She was cried, but was a sarcastic cry "My husband loves other girl."

"Lower your voice!"

"C'mon! Let's go to the area!" She was furious.

Johnny insisted in the subject of the divorce, but Mary recoiled. She didn't willing to give up of her marriage cause she and Bill had married just two years ago.

She said to Johnny that was just a hard phase and they would get over it.

Johnny was silent. Later, he and Pat went home, left she and Bill alone again.

Then Bill looked Mary and said.

"Now we need a lot to talk about."

No. The same sentence again? No.

@msmercury84 @roadtogracelandx45

#band of brothers #joe liebgott #hbo war #joseph liebgott #johnny martin #f!oc #kaya scodelario #ross mccall #paratrooper #wild bill #wild bill guarnere #bill guarnere

[coaz-photography]

To the praying mother and the worried father

Let your children go

If they come back they’ll come home stronger

And if they don’t you’ll know

#world war II #World War Two #world at war #ww2 #pathfinder #paratrooper #toy #G.I. Joe #toy photography #coazphotography #the river #good charlotte #song project