Bud Olson enlisted in the US Army and received advanced schooling in intelligence and enemy weapons while in England prior to the Normandy invasion, his first combat experience. He arrived in Normandy on June 7 by Horsa glider along with 29 men, a pilot, and a copilot. Staff Sergeant Olson never saw any of his fellow passengers again, believing that he was the only survivor of the crash who was able to continue fighting. Through the first three days of the invasion, he and 3rd Battalion, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, were engaged in minor skirmishes. On the evening of D+2, his unit received orders to move out toward the bridge at La Fiere. With the rest of his unit, he participated on the frontal assault across the La Fiere causeway on D+3. After the attack, Olson was ordered to locate and lead the 90th Division ground troops from Utah Beach across the causeway. After the battle, Olson was ordered to lead a detail to pick up the dead soldiers that littered the area. His men refused, so he located a vat of Calvados and got them “gloriously drunk.” Olsen, a nondrinker, and his men finished the job. After the war, Olson returned home, married his sweetheart, bought a small ranch in his native Montana, and started a family. An expert on regional Native American history, Olson served as a local county commissioner for many years.

A veteran of both the Sicily and Italy campaigns with “A” Company, 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Dave Bullington made his third combat jump on D-Day, a perfect and dry landing near his assigned drop zone. His job at Normandy was Browning Automatic Rifleman (BAR). The BAR weighed 20 pounds empty and fired a 20-round magazine (300 rounds per minute in manual, 650 rounds per minute in full automatic) and was an extremely effective and reliable weapon against infantry. At La Fiere, he unloaded his BAR over and over at close range into the crowd of German infantry on the causeway, as he and “A” Company repelled the first and second German cross-causeway attacks on D-Day and D+1. Quiet and soft-spoken, Bullington was proud but never boastful of his notable deeds in WWII. He was one of a handful of four-jump veterans in WWII and added a fifth a decade later in Korea.

A first lieutenant and rifle platoon leader for “B” Company, 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment at Normandy, Homer Jones played a key role in capturing La Fiere Manoir after taking command of “B” Company when his original company commander, Captain Royal Taylor, was wounded in the jump. On D-Day morning, Jones led “B” Company in a coordinated attack on the manoir, reaching the cellar of the main building, tossing grenades in the windows and firing his Thompson sub-machine gun up through the floorboards. In the early afternoon of D-Day, he led “B” Company across the La Fiere causeway to reinforce the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment in establishing a bridgehead on the Cauquigny (west) side of the Merderet River marsh, but was overrun by the Germans as they attacked and secured Cauquigny. “B” Company suffered several casualties while retreating through the marsh.

John Marr joined the US Army in June 1941 with the sole intention of becoming a paratrooper, becoming one of the elite. Following his graduation from jump school, John was assigned to the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment in preparation for that unit’s attachment to the 82nd Airborne for the Normandy invasion. Like many 507 troopers, Marr found himself far off of his intended drop zone when he landed in the middle of a swamp early on the morning of June 6. Eventually locating his commanding officer, he made his way to La Fière and participated in the successful capture of the manor. Later that afternoon, Marr and his fellow G Company troopers made their way across the causeway to Cauquigny only to be forced out by oncoming German forces. Marr and his men made their way to an isolated group of paratroopers under the command of Colonel Charles Timmes. On D+2, Marr was ordered to find a way to link up with other American forces from his isolated and surrounded position. Marr and scout Norman Carter discovered a route to establish contact and get more supplies. Later that evening, Marr participated in the failed night attack on Cauquigny. Following the failed attack, he and the rest of the survivors in Timmes Orchard held their defensive positions until the battle for the causeway had been won. Following Normandy, Marr was promoted to Executive Officer of G Company, then later became commanding officer of B Company 507th. He led that unit through the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Varsity in 1945. John stayed in the Army after World War II, serving in Korea and Vietnam. During the latter conflict, he served as a full colonel, commanding the 17th Combat Aviation Group. His decorations include two Silver Stars, three Bronze Stars, the Purple Heart, two Legions of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and nine Air Medals.