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Belt 8 - Page 4

took his place. Hale was one of the first Fox men to die." Around 8:00 that night
after the men had dabbed themselves with charcoal, burnt cork, shoe polish -- any-
thing black and sticky -- Captain Movey called out Morris and said, "Fall out the
company with complete gear." It was an 800-yard march to the hangars where the
men picked up their chutes. You could hear hand grenades clicking together in their
pocket as they walked. Carrying their chutes in their arms the men proceeded the
runways, platoons stopping before their respective planes. As far as the eye could
see there were blunt nose C47s neat in a line. Over 10,000 black-faced fierce-
looking men of the 101st screaming eagle airborne division awaiting near their planes
ready to take-off from several different airfields. Some were stretched out on the
ground, heads resting on their chutes gazing into the sky. No one dozed off. Others
sat hands clasped over their knees talking and just thinking. At about 10:30 "O. K.
men. Get your chutes on. As soon as you have them on line according to your position
of the stick." It was a hell of a job putting on one chute over all that equipment.
"At the same time nine C47s took off from a field near Nottingham. They carried three
complete trap finder groups and their radar equipment. Charles Malley, Jerry Fielly
and Steve Pustola all Fox men were in one of these planes. These men would jump an
hour or so before the main body in order to set up their radar stations and drive
the armada planes to the drop zone. At 12:30 Malley's plane crossed the coast of
France. A few seconds later flak knocked off the left engine causing the pilot to
turn back and make a forced landing in the Channel. He did a good job. All the men,
ten of them, got out of the plane before she sank and were picked up afterwards by
a patrol boat and taken to England."

Equipment. Here is a complete list of what each man was carrying: Every man
and officer now 7000 feet up and heading for France was carrying the fol lowing equip-
ment and items attached to his body in one way or another.