Normandy, France
June 6-29, 1944

Beginning around 1:30 A.M., June 6, 1944, the U.S. 101st Airborne Division helped launch Operation OVERLORD by dropping just behind the Normandy coast. The 6,600 paratroopers who wore the "Screaming Eagle" patch had a vital mission. Along with their comrades from the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, they were to protect the western flank of the Allied forces invading Normandy from the sea. This involved seizing the base of the Cotentin Peninsula behind Utah Beach. The 101st also received orders to assist in the advance of the 4th Infantry Division after the latter landed at Utah Beach. The paratroopers were supposed to secure four causeways that provided the only exits from the flooded ground behind the beachhead, as well as capture or destroy five bridges over the Douve River.

Major General Maxwell D. Taylor, the commander of the Screaming Eagles, circulated among his men as they packed their gear on June 4. "Give me three days and nights of hard fighting," he told them, "then you will be relieved." The 101st Airborne would be in action for twenty-three days and suffer 4,670 casualties.

A night drop over enemy territory is one of the most difficult and perilous military operations imaginable. The Screaming Eagles who leaped from their C-47 transports in the early morning darkness of June 6 entered a world of confusion and terror. Close to 1,500 paratroopers landed outside the 101st's area of operations, and 1,300 were killed or wounded. No more than 2,500 could be organized into viable combat units before the end of D-Day. The division failed to achieve all of its objectives on June 6, but it managed to provide a buffer for Utah Beach and to open the causeways leading inland.

In the week that followed, the 101st Airborne spearheaded the campaign to capture Carentan, which would allow the American troops landing at Utah Beach to link up with their comrades from Omaha Beach. The Screaming Eagles mounted a two-pronged attack toward Carentan on June 9, and they finally occupied the town three days later. The German 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division counterattacked on June 13, but the airborne troops kept their prize with the assistance of elements of the 2nd Armored Division. The 101st went on to hold defensive positions south of Carentan until relieved by the 83rd Infantry Division on June 29.

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