Massacre d'Hémevez

Hémevez Massacre

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Stele in memory of 7 soldiers of the 82nd Airborne murdered by the Germans on June 6, 1944.
★ Pfc Daniel B. TILLMAN
★ Pvt Robert G. WATSON
★ Pvt Anthony J. HITZTALER
★ Pvt Robert E. WERNER
★ Pvt DelmarC. McELHANEY
★ Pvt Andrew W. KLING
★ Pfc Elsworth M. HECK

The 303rd Squadron, 442nd Troop Carrier Group, is based in Fulbeck, England. It will be part of the units assigned to transport American paratroopers to Cotentin on the night of June 5th to 6th, 1944. The C-47 transport plane No. 42-92382, listed on the blackboard of the flight order as number 17, along with 44 others in this series No. 26, leave English soil for Normandy. It is 00:19. The planned Drop Zone is the 'T' drop zone located at 49°25' north, 1°22' west. This drop zone is near HAM.

At 02:44, number 17 drops its men. They belong to the 82nd Airborne Division, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), Headquarters of the 1st Battalion. Fourteen jump, the fifteenth, Private Tress B. BALCH, stays on board due to an incident, as his ventral parachute opened.

Private Ashton J. LANDRY makes a mistake that could have cost him his life. Upon landing, he climbs to the top of a hill, exposing himself, and receives a bullet in the leg fired by a German soldier on patrol. LANDRY's quick reflexes eliminate the German soldier with a burst from his Tommy Gun (submachine gun issued to individual soldiers in American airborne regiments). He tends to his wound and goes in search of his comrades. He meets two and reunites with the rest of the team, including Lieutenant Robert W. SHUTT. Grouped at thirteen, the fourteenth, Corporal Fred G. WONDELL, seriously injured with a pelvic fracture, will be treated and hidden in a nearby shelter. Later, he will be recovered and return to the United States.

The drop points are located along the Cherbourg/Paris railway and in the village of HÉMEVEZ, at a place called 'la chasse à Genêts.' In search of information, SHUTT designates LANDRY, who speaks French, on patrol with Privates Charles R. WRIGHT and Paul D. MOORE. The nearest farm is called 'CASTEL' (owned by Mrs. CACHET). They enter this farm with difficulty. The occupants are happy and frightened. A German patrol passes regularly at this time of the morning. One of the young girls leads them to a stable where they will stay hidden. As LANDRY says, 'Thanks to the German army for wearing those heavy studded boots!'

After leaving this place, they hear intense gunfire, machine guns, rifles. Shortly afterward, they see seven of their comrades, prisoners, hands on their necks, relieved of their belts and lined up facing a machine gun. LANDRY recognizes two of his best friends, Private Daniel B. TILLMAN and Private Robert G. WATSON. Moving from hiding place to hiding place, they remain buried in recent bomb craters and are supplied by the two young girls. Unfortunately, they are discovered by German soldiers and taken prisoner.

Confined in a building, where they will find about twenty American soldiers, LANDRY, noticing that only one soldier is guarding them and calculating the time of the rounds, escapes with his two comrades. They will have been prisoners for only about an hour. Night falls, and they take advantage of it to leave that place.

On the way, seeing a crashed glider, a few dead soldiers around the aircraft, they retrieve weapons and K-rations. During this discovery, Private Charles WRIGHT is injured by a German shot. Treated on the spot, he can escape from this region still occupied by the Germans.

Six days after landing, they will rejoin the American army, specifically the 82nd Airborne Division, 505th PIR, and will be interrogated by General GAVIN at his headquarters. On February 6, 1945, Private Ashton J. LANDRY is summoned to the SHAEF in Versailles (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force) to complete the investigation into the atrocities of HÉMEVEZ.

The Research

The research began in June 1994. Mr. Henri THIEBOT attended the ceremonies of the 607th PIR in GRAIGNES, another site of massacres. A veteran, of French origin, from this regiment strikes up a conversation. He explains that he witnessed a massacre on June 6, 1944, but does not remember the exact location. Placing it about thirty kilometers north of GRAIGNES. After investigations in the HAM sector, Mr. THIEBOT will find the exact location of this tragedy in HEMEVEZ.

In 1997, Mr. Michel GAUDRY continued the research with Mr. THIEBOT (correspondences and phone communications with Mr. LANDRY). The circumstances of this massacre will be known, and the names of the victims revealed. Then, Mr. Ashton J. LANDRY passed away in 2003. It will take until the first days of June 2004 to obtain certainty about these revelations.

(Note: In June 1944, Mr. Pierre RENAULT witnessed the scene. In the afternoon, a German went to the home of the deputy mayor, Mr. Emile LAINE, to report the presence of these bodies. Mr. Ernest MOUCHEL and Mr. Ernest ESNOUF, with the assistance of Mr. Roland ROBIOLE and Mrs. Jeanne LEQUERTIER, citizens of the village, buried the seven bodies in the church cemetery. Twenty days later, Mr. Emile LAINE assisted American investigators when they exhumed the seven bodies. They carefully examined these bodies to determine the circumstances of their executions while filming this scene. This piece of evidence could have been useful later in the case of a war crime trial. HEMEVEZ was liberated on June 17, 1944. In 2004, the population of HEMEVEZ erected a granite tombstone to honor the seven paratroopers who had been buried in the mass grave in the same place in June 1944. Mr. Philippe ROUXEL, honorary mayor of the municipality, organized the ceremony. A number of veterans from the 507th PIR returned to Normandy to attend the ceremony at the burial site in the church cemetery of HEMEVEZ to honor their comrades fallen in combat.)

Stele in memory of 7 soldiers of the 82nd Airborne murdered by the Germans on June 6, 1944.★ Pfc Daniel B. TILLMAN★ Pvt Robert G. WATSON★ Pvt Anthony J. HITZTALER★ Pvt Robert E. WERNER★ Pvt DelmarC. McELHANEY★ Pvt Andrew W. KLING★ Pfc Elsworth M. HECKThe 303rd Squadron, 442nd Troop Carrier Group, is based in Fulbeck, England. It will be part of the units assigned to transport American paratroopers to Cotentin on the night of June 5th to 6th, 1944. The C-47 transport plane No. 42-92382, listed on the blackboard of the flight order as number 17, along with 44 others in this series No. 26, leave English soil for Normandy. It is 00:19. The planned Drop Zone is the 'T' drop zone located at 49°25' north, 1°22' west. This drop zone is near HAM.At 02:44, number 17 drops its men. They belong to the 82nd Airborne Division, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), Headquarters of the 1st Battalion. Fourteen jump, the fifteenth, Private Tress B. BALCH, stays on board due to an incident, as his ventral parachute opened.Private Ashton J. LANDRY makes a mistake that could have cost him his life. Upon landing, he climbs to the top of a hill, exposing himself, and receives a bullet in the leg fired by a German soldier on patrol. LANDRY's quick reflexes eliminate the German soldier with a burst from his Tommy Gun (submachine gun issued to individual soldiers in American airborne regiments). He tends to his wound and goes in search of his comrades. He meets two and reunites with the rest of the team, including Lieutenant Robert W. SHUTT. Grouped at thirteen, the fourteenth, Corporal Fred G. WONDELL, seriously injured with a pelvic fracture, will be treated and hidden in a nearby shelter. Later, he will be recovered and return to the United States.The drop points are located along the Cherbourg Paris railway and in the village of HÉMEVEZ, at a place called 'la chasse à Genêts.' In search of information, SHUTT designates LANDRY, who speaks French, on patrol with Privates Charles R. WRIGHT and Paul D. MOORE. The nearest farm is called 'CASTEL' (owned by Mrs. CACHET). They enter this farm with difficulty. The occupants are happy and frightened. A German patrol passes regularly at this time of the morning. One of the young girls leads them to a stable where they will stay hidden. As LANDRY says, 'Thanks to the German army for wearing those heavy studded boots!'After leaving this place, they hear intense gunfire, machine guns, rifles. Shortly afterward, they see seven of their comrades, prisoners, hands on their necks, relieved of their belts and lined up facing a machine gun. LANDRY recognizes two of his best friends, Private Daniel B. TILLMAN and Private Robert G. WATSON. Moving from hiding place to hiding place, they remain buried in recent bomb craters and are supplied by the two young girls. Unfortunately, they are discovered by German soldiers and taken prisoner.Confined in a building, where they will find about twenty American soldiers, LANDRY, noticing that only one soldier is guarding them and calculating the time of the rounds, escapes with his two comrades. They will have been prisoners for only about an hour. Night falls, and they take advantage of it to leave that place.On the way, seeing a crashed glider, a few dead soldiers around the aircraft, they retrieve weapons and K-rations. During this discovery, Private Charles WRIGHT is injured by a German shot. Treated on the spot, he can escape from this region still occupied by the Germans.Six days after landing, they will rejoin the American army, specifically the 82nd Airborne Division, 505th PIR, and will be interrogated by General GAVIN at his headquarters. On February 6, 1945, Private Ashton J. LANDRY is summoned to the SHAEF in Versailles (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force) to complete the investigation into the atrocities of HÉMEVEZ.The ResearchThe research began in June 1994. Mr. Henri THIEBOT attended the ceremonies of the 607th PIR in GRAIGNES, another site of massacres. A veteran, of French origin, from this regiment strikes up a conversation. He explains that he witnessed a massacre on June 6, 1944, but does not remember the exact location. Placing it about thirty kilometers north of GRAIGNES. After investigations in the HAM sector, Mr. THIEBOT will find the exact location of this tragedy in HEMEVEZ.In 1997, Mr. Michel GAUDRY continued the research with Mr. THIEBOT (correspondences and phone communications with Mr. LANDRY). The circumstances of this massacre will be known, and the names of the victims revealed. Then, Mr. Ashton J. LANDRY passed away in 2003. It will take until the first days of June 2004 to obtain certainty about these revelations.(Note: In June 1944, Mr. Pierre RENAULT witnessed the scene. In the afternoon, a German went to the home of the deputy mayor, Mr. Emile LAINE, to report the presence of these bodies. Mr. Ernest MOUCHEL and Mr. Ernest ESNOUF, with the assistance of Mr. Roland ROBIOLE and Mrs. Jeanne LEQUERTIER, citizens of the village, buried the seven bodies in the church cemetery. Twenty days later, Mr. Emile LAINE assisted American investigators when they exhumed the seven bodies. They carefully examined these bodies to determine the circumstances of their executions while filming this scene. This piece of evidence could have been useful later in the case of a war crime trial. HEMEVEZ was liberated on June 17, 1944. In 2004, the population of HEMEVEZ erected a granite tombstone to honor the seven paratroopers who had been buried in the mass grave in the same place in June 1944. Mr. Philippe ROUXEL, honorary mayor of the municipality, organized the ceremony. A number of veterans from the 507th PIR returned to Normandy to attend the ceremony at the burial site in the church cemetery of HEMEVEZ to honor their comrades fallen in combat.)

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