Something about D-DAY
On the night of June 5-6, 1944, 30 American paratroopers were dropped over Sainte Mère Église, with 20 landing in the town square near the church. Among them was John Steele, a paratrooper from the 82nd Airborne Division, who was hit by shrapnel during his descent. Injured and unable to use one leg, he landed on the church steeple around 4 a.m. As the battle raged below, Steele spent two and a half hours hanging from the steeple. After trying unsuccessfully to free himself with a knife, he accidentally dropped his pistol and decided to play dead to avoid being targeted by German soldiers. Eventually, he was freed by a German soldier named Rudolf May, who treated his wounds and took him prisoner. Steele managed to escape three days later, rejoined the Allies, and was sent to a hospital in England. Today, a mannequin depicting the paratrooper watches over Sainte Mère Église from the church steeple, serving as a permanent reminder of this crucial moment in history. The church’s stained-glass windows are also dedicated to the American paratroopers.
