Operation Dragoon - After Action Reports

Record of Events

Company "C", 517 Parachute Infantry Regiment

“D” DAY

Company C enplaned at Campino Airfield, 30 miles NE of Rome, Italy at 0030 hours, 15 Aug 44, with a total strength of 121 EM and nine officers.  The planes took off at 0200 hours and after circling the field for an hour headed NW for France.  Most of the men settled down and went to sleep.  The trip over the sea was uneventful.  Twenty minutes from the DZ all pilots gave the parachutists an oral warning and the men buckled on their equipment.  There was a heavy fog lying close to the ground.  It was later revealed that the Pathfinder group had missed the field, thereby resulted in having the pilots use their own judgment for the drop.  The results were that the Co. was scattered.  The majority of the Co. landed approximately one mile S and W of Trans-en-Provence, France.  One stick of the 4rd Platoon under Lt. Cook landed near La Motte, and the Company Commander landed in the center of Trans-en-Provence proper.  The Company assembled by sticks and in groups of three and four and began to find their way toward the 1st Bn. assembly area.  Enroute there were several minor clashes with German patrols with no causalities to ourselves and 20 or 30 Germans were killed.  Because they were widely scattered it was necessary for each of these groups to take a different route to the Bn. assembly area (which was near Chateau St. Roseline) and noon of “D” day found the Co. disposed as follows:  (a) Majority under Lt. Dugan in positions around Chateau St. Roseline, (b) a group of 15 under Sgt. Hanson with Major Boyle in Les Arcs where they were helping to defend a road block.  (c) Captain La Chaussee plus the stick that jumped with Lt. Cook at La Motte, was on the Co. Objective (Roque Rousse, France).  Throughout “D” day there were not any clashes with German troops on a large scale.  A few minor clashes occurred.  Outside of these skirmishes there was no action, but it was with relief that the Company saw reinforcements arrive by parachute and glider early in the morning.

CHARLES E. LA CHAUSSEE
Capt., 517th Prcht. Inf.
Commanding