Hi Mark and greetings from Australia. I work in aged care and have had the pleasure of looking after and gentleman who served with the 21st indpendent parashoot company. he would happily talk with me about his time from 1942 till 1945 with the company. he mentioned how the 21st were the first to adopt and trail night drops. he would comment that Major John Lander was an exelent charasmatic leader and enjoyed the times serving under him in the early days. He was trained as a radio operator and was mostly with 2nd or 3rd platoon jumping from Italy, france (not D day), Holland (yes the bridge too far) and finnally Norway. He loved his time in Norway and stated the people there were by far the nicest he had ever come by and would make funny comments wishing "Aussies" were norwegian. He was a proud and lovely man that was always happy to share his experience. i always made sure he was happy to talk about the details of his service and he enjoyed having somene to talk about his adventure so late in his life
When I joined the jnr . parachute coy in 1966 there was still a few of instructors who had been at Arnhem and Normandy. I live in Melbourne now please give my regards to your man. I was 1para.
@@nevilled2781 such a small world, amazing to hear. Ater the war He also served with the 6th Airborne Division in Palestine 1946 when the compony disbanded. after that he moved to Australia in 1952
One of my Uncles was a Pathfinder duing that operation. I proudly carried on that tradition serving with the 2/17 Air Cav air assualt in Nam from 1970-72.
@@yepeekiyaymamamia3053 Thank you for calling me "Kid",,it's been along , long time sense I was called , kid ! LOL! I tried to post a pic of my squad but being the dummy I am on a computer I couldn't quite figure out how? Guess you'll have to take my word for it ?
Agree! nice that we hear the good and bad. I know its a cliche but 'brave men stepping up' never gets old and although my contribution is small the free West still means a whole lot
Pathfinders are the cream of the paratroopers.. You get to hold the drop if the ground full of enemy to overcome. Eventually they are on their own. These men have Balls of steel..
Respect to all involved. Thanks for including the Canadians who suffered 5,500 lives lost during the Normandy Campaign with a small population of only 12 millions in 1944 🍁.
One out of 11 bipeds from here went over, it started within two weeks of declarations of war. You bet I’m proud of them. Barely anyone mentions CAF even in historical context, despite such actions that got major battlefield medal awards (like the ones in CAF military media films of Monty applying them, in situ, forgot what those were called), of them bailing out fellow Allies in a certain Italian disaster in the making, and too many more to mention. they kicked ass. i wish the soy drinkers of canada would have a clue who made their lives so soft, especially today when we are losing our freedoms.
@@bsc4344 Why does everything have to be political? Sheesh. It's ridiculous and ignorant to claim that Canadians are unaware of WW2 and those who fought in it.
My Aunt and Uncle recently sold their cafe that they owned in the centre of Sainte-Mère-Église, was brilliant to see the D Day 75th anniversary celebrations from the top floor. Great video Mark :)
When my dad, who was a tank driver, entered Sainte-Mère-Église, France after the invasion of Normandy he could not believe all the paratroopers hanging from trees, buildings etc. as they were shot and killed as they were trying to land on the ground during their jump. He said it was a horrible thing to see, so many men killed.
I served in the 101st, and was trained and qualified as a Pathfinder. I felt the pride of even my tenuous connection to these men D-day while watching this video. That you for a well researched and candid piece.
I met a few Pathfinders Instructors and candidates at my initial Airborne training. True to this day they are a gnarly bunch. Plenty of special forces, regular service and even a few British RAF officers were going through the U.S. Pathfinder course while I and my class were learning to jump next door.
@@billywalker9223 I was in the field with an element off the 101 ABN here in Canada...they flew over our transports....low...deafening... Base Borden summer 1983
Thank you for the lesson. I had the honor to meet and speak with a member of the 101st who put his knees in breeze on D-Day and in operation Market Garden. Humbling experience. Gus Bernadoni. RIP.
Another great video. When I completed the US Army officer infantry school I volunteered for Pathfinders. Instead the army sent me to the mortar course. When I reported to my unit in the 7ID, they told me, "We need pathfinders!"
@@Wuestenkarsten That joke must be universal! When I was in the Marines know what we used to say? "What's the difference between the US Marine Corps and the Boy Scouts?"" "The Boy Scouts have adult leadership!"
Dr Felton makes my high school history teacher look like someone that was teaching because she was given a court ordered community service order... Great content as always Doctor!
Man! You hit the nail on the head! I have no idea what my grades would have been in history, or geography for that matter, if my teachers were half as interesting as Mr Felton. I am hoping I can find some work he has done during WWII in the Middle East areas. For me, I don't remember being taught anything about that area except where the British gave land to the Jews. It would be very interesting to me to find out what the hell happened in those geographical areas.
@@Ed70Nova427 I was educated in South Africa in the 80`s and 90`s, in my final year of high school I actually corrected my history teacher about a detail that she mentioned about the war in Vietnam, she insisted the Vietcong had nothing to do with the Viet Minh and that the Viet Minh actually assisted the US in the fight against communism...ie, she thought that the Viet Minh were the ARVN...when I pointed it out as incorrect she had myself and my desk removed from her class, a week or two later when I was on a double history soaking in the glorious South African sunshine outside, alone, at my desk the Principal came over and escorted me back to class and had a quiet word on the side with her, I then had to write a 6 page speech and present it to the class on the Vietnam War...she HATED me from that day until the day I matriculated (Graduated)
@@Ed70Nova427 the corrections were made in the presentation and accepted as fact, I even brought my extensive library (Books about the conflict) that I collected and owned to back it up, hence why she hated me so much, she lost face...
@@ca9968 You're a good man, but you know what I'd tell a kid in high school nowadays? "When you hear something you know is absolute bullshit just keep your mouth closed and roll with it. You can't fight the system. When you're an adult and a taxpayer with kids of your own, THEN you can fight the system!" People here in the US are doing just that right now. Slight correction, you can start to fight it in college, but in a quiet way. In college you're not a "prisoner," you're a paying customer. If the school's not giving you what you want or need take your business elsewhere. A lot of American colleges and universities are being hit with walk-aways and declining alumni donations even as we speak.
When I went to the Pathfinder course at Benning in '83, I had just made corporal (the second time) and had rotated back from my first tour with the 1st of the 509th Airborne Battalion Combat Team in Italy. I had been lucky to be posted to a Pathfinder company which was conditional on passing the course and earning the torch. During the 'Lost Aircraft' exercise (where pathfinder candidates had to guide a lost aircraft into the LZ ... 'state intentions ...climb to higher altitude and describe prominent terrain features ...'). I had one pilot say "I am one Hind-D inbound to your location for ordinance drop off" to which I replied "Climb to 10,000 feet, cut engines, report crash." The pilot and instructor laughed their asses off. Our instructors were all Vietnam vets, they had loads of tricks up their sleeves to measure vertical hazards for helo landing zones and calculating drift on drop zones. Good course.
@@johnstephen2869 The young ones of today had proven themselves to be worthy warriors of their forefathers in the battlegrounds of Iraq and Afghanistan. No question about that. See the number of MOH, DSC, NC, AFC etc awarded to the servicemen during these 2 campaigns. Many came with heart wrenching stories who gave up lives for their buddies next to them. One was even abandoned on the mountain top and fought on his own before being gunned down.
I served with the Pathfinders for 12 years, including on operations in Kosovo, Macedonia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Thankyou for doing justice to our forebears, with an accurate and informative video (unlike many on RUclips). I was privileged to know many of the original members of the 21st Independent Company, incredibly brave men, who are sadly all departed now. "First In"
Another great war story from Mark Felton. I enjoy them and have learned so much. Thank you for your frequent referral to Canadian troops who are often omitted by other documentaries about the American and British contributions to the War.
exactly. one character in The Great Escape depicted as canadian...when almost all were Brit and Canadian. Half of the Devils Brigade were Canadian, the PPCLI did amazing things that saved Allies butts, and list goes on... but mention Canadians you get scorn if not blank stares. trusting Hollyweird to be accurate or a “teacher” was a bad way for ppl to learn, as most low level fans are movie buffs only, and get right livid if you dare try setting them straight. Seems they have the home rink ideology, and movies planted it there. Even Spielberg skewed stuff... Ted Danson character condescends what was going on at the Schelt, wasn’t that what the bs he spewed against Monty saying he was dilllydallying? The Canucks were facing a hell fight, they weren’t lazing around, not like that character would’ve know that level of sht in the middle of chaos any way... writing that crap into the movie was disgusting. digress. It’s a shame Canucks don’t get respect generally. Same for the Polish AF serving out of Britain, they were ferocious airmen and wildly effective. Hear much of them either? nope. Certain lines of material get all the focus.
My grandfather said the same thing... Trees, churches and house roofs.... hanging shot. He went in D-Day +3. I hate we are losing so many of these brave men now to time. Thank you to the Greatest Generation! * Also, a shout out to Mark Felton for doing such great stories and videos.
You are a national, heck a global treasure. Your videos provide such a vivid display of our history. It’s a shame our youth didn’t all learn from you directly.
My mother had two of her older brother's at D-Day, one of them was in the first on Omaha Beach in the 29th ID. He survived that but was badly wounded in the hedgerow fighting a couple of weeks later and spent the rest of the war in a hospital in State's. The other brother was a Pathfinder in the 101st Airborne. He was MIA remains never recovered
Just when you think you know everything about WW2, Mark Felton drops a video and you have to backtrack in embarrassment! Luv your channel, it never disappoints! Stay safe, stay sane, be well
I visited the airfield at North Witham a couple of weeks ago , it’s easy accessible , the runways all exit and the control tower still stands. It’s well worth a visit.
Major Howard's glider group captured Pegasus bridge near the Orne canal, north of Caen, Normandy. It is quite remarkable, when you stand near the bridge today and see the markers where the gliders ended up, so close to the bridge, and realise that it happened in complete darkness, it is truly amazing. I live not far from the Normandy beaches and it is a real experience to see what these brave men achieved.
Jumping out of a plane would mean I get no sleep! Doing it at 1am behind enemy lines is even more scary. Incredibly courageous soldiers! Thank you for the video Mr. Felton!
Well done. I had never realized (though it makes perfect sense) that the scattering of the parachute drops far and wide helped to make the Germans think there were many more than there were and added to their confusion. So that actually had some benefit to it.
I served with 2 Commando and the Patrol Pathfinder platoon with the Canadian Airborne Regiment. 90-95. In 94 we jumped into Normandy for the D+50 anniversary celebrations. One of the many highlights of my career. Ex Coelis, Airborne.
Pathfinders have a way of becoming obnoxious to the enemy.. I was extracting some in Jun 1969 from an LZ made by daisy cutters and took a round thru the nose of my Huey which struck me in the chest about 2" right of my heart, saved by my chest protector and flack jacket. We got them all out- in those days, we didn't leave Americans behind. Times have changed
You know, in what is considered the last battle of the Vietnam war, we did leave three guys behind, and they were killed. The battle was on an island off of Cambodia, but still considered the last battle of the VN war.
Had Hitler have kept the panzer units closer to the beaches they may have pushed the invasion back to sea. It took days for them to get to the front after train tracks were destroyed
@@THIS---GUY Its unlikely they would have committed them. The Germans were convinced that the invasion of Normandy was just feint to lure those tanks out of position before the 'real' Allied invasion at Calais.
@Stevie Moore i think the main problem when Panzers are too close to the shore will be Allied naval guns will start blowing up every goddamn panzers that were trying to disrupt the landing operation.
@@interabang Felton was born in Colchester, Essex, and received his education at the Philip Morant School.[1] Felton sat for a BA in history with English at Anglia Polytechnic University, holds a postgraduate certificate in political science, an MA in Native American studies, and a PhD in history, all at the University of Essex.[2] You were saying??
The Pegasus Bridge operation is one of the greatest stories of WWII. Stephen Ambrose wrote about it; excellent book. I've been to the site, as well. How the glider pilots managed to land their craft right on target - in the dark - is absolutely amazing. To see where it all happened was a privilege, something I'll never forget.
@@VictorySpeedway Some years ago I saw interview with pilot and copilot of one of those gliders. Basically, they went down head first, landed on their nose and broke every major bone in their bodies, but... Every single soldier, apart from them ofc, went out of the craft on their own feet. Heroes. Every single of them.
My Great Uncle Frank was a pathfinder. He passed away from Cancer in 2002 but was a great man! Super humble, and didn't talk about it much. I served and now my nephew is with the 91st Cav Regiment Germany, 173rd Airborne.
You mentioned the flooded fields. I think that I remember reading that Rommel gave the order to flood the fields and that this gave so many problems specifically for the Americans because they had no quick release on their parachute harnesses and this led to a number of them drowning.
Biggest problem of flooded fields is that they are full of little drainages canals which got hidden by the water especially in the dark, but even during the day the water generally would be murky. So first you just walk in a couple of feet of water and then with your next step you, you hit nothing and drop into a channel with flooding included probably is a couple of meters deep. That's why the troopers tried to line up with each other like mountaineers before they started to move out, so they could pull people out. And of course obstacles get hidden also the water especially something like barbwire which can trip you and trap your legs.The hidden canal/ditches and obstacles also made landing with gliders so dangerous it was pretty much impossible.
Man…. That “dummy drop” was one of my most mind blowing facts about the war. I’ve watched literally thousands of hours of testaments from all sides of the war. That sir was amazing
I'm not sure if you are planning to run for political office somewhere in Canada or not Mr. Felton but you're certainly a popular man here. You've mentioned the Canadian contributions many times in your videos and although we are a modest people traditionally, it's very nice to not be overlooked! Thank you very much on behalf of many Canadian history buffs!
Hi Mark could you please make a video about Sgt Tommy Prince of Canada he was the most decorated indigenous soldier in Canadian military history I think his story should be a lot more well known.
The british airborne units did a much more detailed and intense training to prepare themselves for D-day as the americans did. For example a real size copy of the Merville battery was build on a training ground where the paras trained the coup de main again and again until they were twice as fast as at the beginning. And the glider pilots used a primitive forerunner of a flight simulator to train their approach to the Orne and Caen canal bridges. This was a very detailed small scale modell of the entire area including all buildings, streets, rivers, trees, bridges and so on. A cockpit of a glider was put on a platform which was slowly moved over the modell just as the pilots used their control sticks and food pedals. This modell was later used again during the production of the film "The longest day". The american paras used only aerial reconnaissance photos to make themselves familiar with the drop zones.
Another GEM video - Over the years I have been fortunate enough to meet about 20 of the US (Band of Brothers) & British Airborne Pathfinders, Glider Pilots and crack 'Coup De Main' Paras from D-Day - But also visit Normandy and St. Mere Eglise, Ranville, St. Come du Mont, Deadman's Corner, Pegausus Bridge, etc. It's a ripping story in itself how they prepared the ground and then secured it for the main invasion force. RIP all of them.
My Neighbour was a Pathfinder He is passed away now but he Landed in a Glider in Normandy and parachuted in to Arnhem later that yr before the main Jump he was with the recce corps Polar Bear Squadron made up of Lovatt Scouts and others...All Volunteers!
@@snowflakemelter1172 You know what I never asked him that ....people didn't question things like they do now they got on and did but I know that he only ever jumped out of a plane once.aparrently and that was over Holland
These guys are the reason I volunteered for paratroopers. I wanted the same baggy pants with huge pockets, beret, same badges, patches and I was willing to go through pain, fear, mud, sleep deprivation. I was not gonna be no sad sacking leg. I was a kid once and the experience changed me profoundly. Special breed paratroopers are. Arrogance, confidence all come through tough training. And what was most remarkable. No one in my time liked to just lay around. Even when we got really short we would do something physical to pass the time.
My father was in the 82nd Airborne, 376th PFAB attached to the 501st PIR. He was at St. Mere Eglise. He would tear up the few times he talked about it. We will never really know just how terrible it was for those brave men and the courage they showed that day.
I SO look forward to Mark's Videos especially on Friday . It is my "escape" from the stress of work. I so look forward to these interesting topics that I never heard about.
I'd like to say that a good friend of mine, Robert Murphy of the 82nd Airborne, was a D-Day pathfinder. He was the author of a book entitled "No Better Place to Die". My children still refer to him as "Col. Bob." I am proud to have a photo of the two of us over the desk in my den. "All American. All the Way."
I've seen many doco's on gliders landing pre D-Day on missions to take out specific key objectives. But none rival this gem of information on the Pathfinders unit. Thanks for sharing Dr Felton!
I still remember playing this in the original call of duty. I never knew of how the parachutists got to normandy and always assumed it was by compass. The game came out a few years after BoB so it was very enlightening to me.
The bad weather that convinced the Germans no invasion was going to occur in most of June also made things very hard for the landing of paratroops. The medium bombers trying to saturate the many strong points along the Atlantic Wall in Normandy on the few days left just before the sea landings started worked in equally bad conditions with much less than hoped for results.
I've heard Drachinifel talk about "Plan Zed" for the German navy so much that when I heard Ryan on battleship New Jersey call it "Plan Zee" I was offended. And I'm American.
PATHFINDERS!!!!! Graduated from Pathfinder School following Air Assault School in 1995. I never did ANYTHING as lofty as the men in this video, but I was proud to be a small part of the Pathfinder tradition.
The ones with the Mohawks are from the 1st Demolition Section, aka, “The Filthy 13.” Their leader was Jack McNiece, who had Choctaw blood. So to honor his heritage, they decided to give themselves Mohawks and war paint from the C-47s painted with invasion stripes before flying over France
During that time the Cowboy and Indian stories where very popular. So the Joe's would get Mohawks to intimidate the Germans. The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.~Sun Tzu, The Art of War OIFII Combat wounded vet.
The last British pathfinder Robert ‘Bob’ Stoodley passed away last week. A true airborne legend who was the very first to ‘drop’ on D Day. The world is an empty place without men like Bob and his friends. Every man an emperor.
Wife: "Video tapes? Yeah, right. This is the 2020s dear, not the 1990s! Now where are you really going? What's her name, and how long has this been going on?"
Finally. I've been waiting for a report on these guys, and wondering why they were practically written out of the D-Day story. So that's what happened to them. Scattered around as badly as the main Airborne forces. At least they were partially successful. Better than nothing.
If I recall correctly, the pilots that flew the pathfinder units were some of the best pilots pulled from every air wing in the U.S. Army air Corp and the British RAF. They had to be as they needed to drop their pathfinders accurately without the benefit of marked DZs.
The most courageous guys in WW2 flew in the US 8th Air Force. They suffered the highest loss rate of any unit in the war. 80% did not go home. Statistically none of them really should have. Some just beat the impossible odds. Everyone knew the score too. You had a better chance crewing a U Boat. They only suffered 75% losses.
@@1pcfred Well, everyone is entitled for their own opinion ofc. But to me, those guys who dropped hours before the actual D-Day landings behind enemy lines to very very hostile environment and against much stronger (in numbers at least) enemy, to pave the way for the rest of the paratroopers is just... I am not from US even, but just thinking about those guys just gives me goosebumps! If you are in airplane, at least then you have multitude of directions you can at least try to stay alive. Those Ranger Pathfinders literally took the battle to the enemy, with so little numbers too... Either way, everyone during that historical day was a hero in my eyes.
@@flashdancer42 the plan was that they would be reinforced quickly. Going first they had the greatest element of surprise too. But what they did was extremely risky. Between being dropped first or coming off a later landing craft wave on the beach I think I might have picked the parachute myself. It is a difficult decision though.
I've heard of these guys. They were sure fun to hear about. And it makes sense that Pathfinders are still around today. As long as paratroops still exist so will these guys.
Hi Mark and greetings from Australia. I work in aged care and have had the pleasure of looking after and gentleman who served with the 21st indpendent parashoot company. he would happily talk with me about his time from 1942 till 1945 with the company. he mentioned how the 21st were the first to adopt and trail night drops. he would comment that Major John Lander was an exelent charasmatic leader and enjoyed the times serving under him in the early days. He was trained as a radio operator and was mostly with 2nd or 3rd platoon jumping from Italy, france (not D day), Holland (yes the bridge too far) and finnally Norway. He loved his time in Norway and stated the people there were by far the nicest he had ever come by and would make funny comments wishing "Aussies" were norwegian. He was a proud and lovely man that was always happy to share his experience. i always made sure he was happy to talk about the details of his service and he enjoyed having somene to talk about his adventure so late in his life
When I joined the jnr . parachute coy in 1966 there was still a few of instructors who had been at Arnhem and Normandy. I live in Melbourne now please give my regards to your man. I was 1para.
@@nevilled2781 such a small world, amazing to hear. Ater the war He also served with the 6th Airborne Division in Palestine 1946 when the compony disbanded. after that he moved to Australia in 1952
ex·cel·lent
One of my Uncles was a Pathfinder duing that operation.
I proudly carried on that tradition serving with the 2/17 Air Cav air assualt in Nam from 1970-72.
Thank you for your service to our country. You guys are my heroes.
I was in 1st 17th CAV in the 82nd post DS/DS
Ok.....ok....Can I trust you kid????
Ok boomer
@@yepeekiyaymamamia3053 Thank you for calling me "Kid",,it's been along , long time sense I was called , kid ! LOL! I tried to post a pic of my squad but being the dummy I am on a computer I couldn't quite figure out how? Guess you'll have to take my word for it ?
Lots of stories about airborne operations during D-Day but this is the first I have heard about the Pathfinders. Thanks Mark.
Would love to hear more about the "glider-riders" in other operations as well.
Try William F Buckingham's book, 'D-Day, the first 72 hours', which details this amongst everything else.
Agree! nice that we hear the good and bad. I know its a cliche but 'brave men stepping up' never gets old and although my contribution is small the free West still means a whole lot
I have read about them but this is the only first class video I've seen
Pathfinders are the cream of the paratroopers.. You get to hold the drop if the ground full of enemy to overcome. Eventually they are on their own. These men have Balls of steel..
I do appreciate that you spoke of the designated British LZ's with "zed" and US LZ's as "Zee".
Attention to detail is a thing!👍
I noticed that, too.
He is a perfectionist no doubt
@@BackBruck In which case he would pronounce 'coup de main' as 'coo de man', would he not?
He's British. What were you expecting?
Dr FELTON STRIKES AGAIN ON POINT , TRUE HISTORY.
Good stuff isn't it 👍
Oh - is he a genuine PHD in military history? I thought he was just a passionate history acolyte like Dan Carlin. That's amazing, if so!
@Mark Felton Productions Fake!
@Mark Felton Productions Fake!
@Mark Felton Productions Fake!
Respect to all involved. Thanks for including the Canadians who suffered 5,500 lives lost during the Normandy Campaign with a small population of only 12 millions in 1944 🍁.
good brave Canadians
One out of 11 bipeds from here went over, it started within two weeks of declarations of war. You bet I’m proud of them.
Barely anyone mentions CAF even in historical context, despite such actions that got major battlefield medal awards (like the ones in CAF military media films of Monty applying them, in situ, forgot what those were called), of them bailing out fellow Allies in a certain Italian disaster in the making, and too many more to mention.
they kicked ass.
i wish the soy drinkers of canada would have a clue who made their lives so soft, especially today when we are losing our freedoms.
@@bsc4344 Why does everything have to be political? Sheesh. It's ridiculous and ignorant to claim that Canadians are unaware of WW2 and those who fought in it.
And those Canadians were all volunteers, no conscription.
My Aunt and Uncle recently sold their cafe that they owned in the centre of Sainte-Mère-Église, was brilliant to see the D Day 75th anniversary celebrations from the top floor. Great video Mark :)
Can you remember the name of the cafe ?
@@chriscollier7469 E Castel
30 odd years ago flew a veteran to Caen. He wanted to lay wreath on buddies grave and visit cafe in Caen. But found cafe had become a home.
They probably know my old schoolmate, Bill Palfreyman
@Mark Felton Productions Fake!
When my dad, who was a tank driver, entered Sainte-Mère-Église, France after the invasion of Normandy he could not believe all the paratroopers hanging from trees, buildings etc. as they were shot and killed as they were trying to land on the ground during their jump. He said it was a horrible thing to see, so many men killed.
Was those paratroopers from F Company?
Nope....John Wayne did them all cut down! ;-)
@@Wuestenkarsten Karsten,halt den Ball flach!
@@thotslayer9914 How original. Think that up all by yourself? Or did your uncle-Dad tell you that?
@@thotslayer9914 immature comment
I served in the 101st, and was trained and qualified as a Pathfinder. I felt the pride of even my tenuous connection to these men D-day while watching this video. That you for a well researched and candid piece.
Great timing- yesterday was 20th anniversary of the release of Band of Brothers mini-series on HBO
Thank you again Dr. Felton!
Wow 20 years.
Ive littery binged the series again last weekend.
Good series. But shame it was full of historical errors. Thanks to the hack of a historian Stephen E. Ambrose
@@kevin_1230 perfectly correct Kevin, so many people take his books as gospel.
Dick Winters and chums create more mayhem!
I met a few Pathfinders Instructors and candidates at my initial Airborne training. True to this day they are a gnarly bunch.
Plenty of special forces, regular service and even a few British RAF officers were going through the U.S. Pathfinder course while I and my class were learning to jump next door.
very cool!
Pathfinder was on my list of schools to somehow attend had I stayed in longer
I'll take that as a compliment.
I knew a guy who went into the Pathfinders, after training with me at Fort Benning. Hopefully he's doing well, after all these years.
@@billywalker9223 I was in the field with an element off the 101 ABN here in Canada...they flew over our transports....low...deafening... Base Borden summer 1983
Thank you for the lesson.
I had the honor to meet and speak with a member of the 101st who put his knees in breeze on D-Day and in operation Market Garden.
Humbling experience.
Gus Bernadoni. RIP.
Another great video. When I completed the US Army officer infantry school I volunteered for Pathfinders. Instead the army sent me to the mortar course. When I reported to my unit in the 7ID, they told me, "We need pathfinders!"
That's the Army for you. If you pick Alaska for a duty station, they'll send you to Hawaii...or vice versa.
Army....like German Bundeswehr: A big Kindergarten for Adults.
Yep, sounds like the US Army.
@@Wuestenkarsten What's the difference between the boy scouts and the army? One has adult supervision and the other has artillery.
@@Wuestenkarsten That joke must be universal! When I was in the Marines know what we used to say?
"What's the difference between the US Marine Corps and the Boy Scouts?""
"The Boy Scouts have adult leadership!"
Dr Felton makes my high school history teacher look like someone that was teaching because she was given a court ordered community service order...
Great content as always Doctor!
Man! You hit the nail on the head! I have no idea what my grades would have been in history, or geography for that matter, if my teachers were half as interesting as Mr Felton. I am hoping I can find some work he has done during WWII in the Middle East areas. For me, I don't remember being taught anything about that area except where the British gave land to the Jews. It would be very interesting to me to find out what the hell happened in those geographical areas.
@@Ed70Nova427 I was educated in South Africa in the 80`s and 90`s, in my final year of high school I actually corrected my history teacher about a detail that she mentioned about the war in Vietnam, she insisted the Vietcong had nothing to do with the Viet Minh and that the Viet Minh actually assisted the US in the fight against communism...ie, she thought that the Viet Minh were the ARVN...when I pointed it out as incorrect she had myself and my desk removed from her class, a week or two later when I was on a double history soaking in the glorious South African sunshine outside, alone, at my desk the Principal came over and escorted me back to class and had a quiet word on the side with her, I then had to write a 6 page speech and present it to the class on the Vietnam War...she HATED me from that day until the day I matriculated (Graduated)
@@ca9968 Were you allowed to present the corrections or made to conform to what was taught?
@@Ed70Nova427 the corrections were made in the presentation and accepted as fact, I even brought my extensive library (Books about the conflict) that I collected and owned to back it up, hence why she hated me so much, she lost face...
@@ca9968 You're a good man, but you know what I'd tell a kid in high school nowadays?
"When you hear something you know is absolute bullshit just keep your mouth closed and roll with it. You can't fight the system. When you're an adult and a taxpayer with kids of your own, THEN you can fight the system!" People here in the US are doing just that right now.
Slight correction, you can start to fight it in college, but in a quiet way. In college you're not a "prisoner," you're a paying customer. If the school's not giving you what you want or need take your business elsewhere. A lot of American colleges and universities are being hit with walk-aways and declining alumni donations even as we speak.
This is another story that reinforces just how complex the D-Day invasion really was.
Germans were tricked. Their codes were also broken. Bad intel
@@jasonbell6234 It's crazy how complex it was.
@@jasonbell6234 there was also a misinformation campaign that the Germans bought hook line and sinker
Yep, and now the same nation can't even defend itself against a few hundred refugee boats as they easily avoid the Royal Navy to land on our shores!
Especially now that we have all the Katyn Massacre declassifications? You think we aren’t coming for this rodent lol.
You just know there must have been at least one guy who spent an hour trading fire with a speaker, and was so embarrassed that he never spoke of it.
Or he kept calling on the speaker to surrender.
Imagine if it's in stereo surround sound, that would mess with someone
Hanz, how does die bastards keep shooting on us so long without any reloading?
Thanks!
When I went to the Pathfinder course at Benning in '83, I had just made corporal (the second time) and had rotated back from my first tour with the 1st of the 509th Airborne Battalion Combat Team in Italy. I had been lucky to be posted to a Pathfinder company which was conditional on passing the course and earning the torch. During the 'Lost Aircraft' exercise (where pathfinder candidates had to guide a lost aircraft into the LZ ... 'state intentions ...climb to higher altitude and describe prominent terrain features ...'). I had one pilot say "I am one Hind-D inbound to your location for ordinance drop off" to which I replied "Climb to 10,000 feet, cut engines, report crash." The pilot and instructor laughed their asses off. Our instructors were all Vietnam vets, they had loads of tricks up their sleeves to measure vertical hazards for helo landing zones and calculating drift on drop zones. Good course.
“Cut engines, report crash” gave me quite a giggle, great anecdote 👏
Huge respect to the Pathfinder Platoons and Regiments, past and present.
Huge respect to the men defending the beaches from invasion
These brave boys were all so young. Would our boys today do this? I would like to think so.
@@johnstephen2869 The young ones of today had proven themselves to be worthy warriors of their forefathers in the battlegrounds of Iraq and Afghanistan. No question about that. See the number of MOH, DSC, NC, AFC etc awarded to the servicemen during these 2 campaigns. Many came with heart wrenching stories who gave up lives for their buddies next to them. One was even abandoned on the mountain top and fought on his own before being gunned down.
I served with the Pathfinders for 12 years, including on operations in Kosovo, Macedonia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Thankyou for doing justice to our forebears, with an accurate and informative video (unlike many on RUclips). I was privileged to know many of the original members of the 21st Independent Company, incredibly brave men, who are sadly all departed now. "First In"
Another great war story from Mark Felton. I enjoy them and have learned so much. Thank you for your frequent referral to Canadian troops who are often omitted by other documentaries about the American and British contributions to the War.
exactly. one character in The Great Escape depicted as canadian...when almost all were Brit and Canadian. Half of the Devils Brigade were Canadian, the PPCLI did amazing things that saved Allies butts, and list goes on... but mention Canadians you get scorn if not blank stares.
trusting Hollyweird to be accurate or a “teacher” was a bad way for ppl to learn, as most low level fans are movie buffs only, and get right livid if you dare try setting them straight. Seems they have the home rink ideology, and movies planted it there. Even Spielberg skewed stuff... Ted Danson character condescends what was going on at the Schelt, wasn’t that what the bs he spewed against Monty saying he was dilllydallying? The Canucks were facing a hell fight, they weren’t lazing around, not like that character would’ve know that level of sht in the middle of chaos any way... writing that crap into the movie was disgusting.
digress. It’s a shame Canucks don’t get respect generally. Same for the Polish AF serving out of Britain, they were ferocious airmen and wildly effective. Hear much of them either? nope. Certain lines of material get all the focus.
My grandfather said the same thing... Trees, churches and house roofs.... hanging shot. He went in D-Day +3. I hate we are losing so many of these brave men now to time. Thank you to the Greatest Generation!
* Also, a shout out to Mark Felton for doing such great stories and videos.
I see Mark Felton, I click.
Regards from the Philippines! I'm very active when it comes to your videos hehe
Your country sucks… im sorry
@@pedrocasonatti8067 can't even be mad at this because it's true
Can’t imagine being the guy scheduled to drop with the dummies and having to set up the loud speakers.
Yes. Set up the speakers. Then what? Your behind enemy lines by yourself.
That sounds like a sketch in a war comedy movie that’ll look like Deadpool 2 when most of the team dies
@@allen_p
Exactly. For the nonbrave like myself, it’s much easier to become brave if you’re surrounded by guys who are doing what needs to be done.
Ancestors to our modern roadies....
Was thinking the same ! Now what do I do ?
You are a national, heck a global treasure. Your videos provide such a vivid display of our history. It’s a shame our youth didn’t all learn from you directly.
My mother had two of her older brother's at D-Day, one of them was in the first on Omaha Beach in the 29th ID. He survived that but was badly wounded in the hedgerow fighting a couple of weeks later and spent the rest of the war in a hospital in State's. The other brother was a Pathfinder in the 101st Airborne. He was MIA remains never recovered
Just when you think you know everything about WW2, Mark Felton drops a video and you have to backtrack in embarrassment!
Luv your channel, it never disappoints!
Stay safe, stay sane, be well
He does this with pretty much every video he creates and even if you know of the event he provides information about it that you didn't know.
Agreed
I visited the airfield at North Witham a couple of weeks ago , it’s easy accessible , the runways all exit and the control tower still stands. It’s well worth a visit.
Major Howard's glider group captured Pegasus bridge near the Orne canal, north of Caen, Normandy. It is quite remarkable, when you stand near the bridge today and see the markers where the gliders ended up, so close to the bridge, and realise that it happened in complete darkness, it is truly amazing. I live not far from the Normandy beaches and it is a real experience to see what these brave men achieved.
Yup, definitely one of the most successful operations of the entire D-Day invasion.
@@wwiibuff9862 one of the most amazing military feats ever
Jumping out of a plane would mean I get no sleep! Doing it at 1am behind enemy lines is even more scary. Incredibly courageous soldiers! Thank you for the video Mr. Felton!
Well done. I had never realized (though it makes perfect sense) that the scattering of the parachute drops far and wide helped to make the Germans think there were many more than there were and added to their confusion. So that actually had some benefit to it.
You can't do any better Dr. Felton. Great job on your expertise and explanation of those times of great conflict.
You never fail to inform and entertain Dr. Felton! ❤️
Dr. Felton as an U.S. Army veteran I thank you for the history lessons. I love WW2 history, the forefather of modern army doctrine.
How do you give this a thumbs down?
Bravo, Mark Felton! Bravo, once again!!!
Proud to have graduated Pathfinder school in 2002. Wearing the Torch was a great honor.
My great grandfather was one of these men. He fought the entire war and re enlisted for Korean war
is he still alive?
@@klennalbertb.delapena322 no unfortunately he died before I was born I have only heard stories from those that knew him.
I served with 2 Commando and the Patrol Pathfinder platoon with the Canadian Airborne Regiment. 90-95. In 94 we jumped into Normandy for the D+50 anniversary celebrations. One of the many highlights of my career. Ex Coelis, Airborne.
Pathfinders have a way of becoming obnoxious to the enemy.. I was extracting some in Jun 1969 from an LZ made by daisy cutters and took a round thru the nose of my Huey which struck me in the chest about 2" right of my heart, saved by my chest protector and flack jacket. We got them all out- in those days, we didn't leave Americans behind. Times have changed
You know, in what is considered the last battle of the Vietnam war, we did leave three guys behind, and they were killed. The battle was on an island off of Cambodia, but still considered the last battle of the VN war.
We left many behind in Nam.
Brave men all, GOD BLESS THEM.
God bless the men on both sides
@@grantsears2746 except the SS and Hitler's followers
@@grantsears2746 Exactly!!!👍
@@guxtavouz 👎👎
The great pathfinder..remember studying this in 10th grade..when they used to teach actual history..didnt know it was only 300 men!
You mean, when the History Channel used to teach history??
We truley have inhearted lies
Another certified Felton classic
"Hitler built a fortress around Europe, but he forgot to put a roof on it."
Had Hitler have kept the panzer units closer to the beaches they may have pushed the invasion back to sea. It took days for them to get to the front after train tracks were destroyed
@@THIS---GUY Its unlikely they would have committed them. The Germans were convinced that the invasion of Normandy was just feint to lure those tanks out of position before the 'real' Allied invasion at Calais.
With all that dope he was taking he forgot to lock the front and back doors
@Stevie Moore
i think the main problem when Panzers are too close to the shore will be Allied naval guns will start blowing up every goddamn panzers that were trying to disrupt the landing operation.
Oh I love that quote
One day people will be making documentaries about Dr Felton. Legend
Proving his doctorate every day! Splendid video!
His Doctorate is from the University of Albania ,it's not legitimate.
@@interabang Felton was born in Colchester, Essex, and received his education at the Philip Morant School.[1] Felton sat for a BA in history with English at Anglia Polytechnic University, holds a postgraduate certificate in political science, an MA in Native American studies, and a PhD in history, all at the University of Essex.[2] You were saying??
I can’t imagine the amount of courage the Pathfinders exhibited during those missions. The world should be thankful for the sacrifices those men made.
I've been to Pegasus Bridge, and St Mere-Eglise. For the time this was using cutting edge technology, brave men all of them.
Germans did it first at Crete...got hurt bad as well.
@@greasyflight6609 No para drop at Pegasus Bridge - it was a glider borne assault.
@@maconescotland8996 I thought it odd Light Inf Regiments went in too assault the bridge....makes sense now. Tks
The Pegasus Bridge operation is one of the greatest stories of WWII. Stephen Ambrose wrote about it; excellent book. I've been to the site, as well. How the glider pilots managed to land their craft right on target - in the dark - is absolutely amazing. To see where it all happened was a privilege, something I'll never forget.
@@VictorySpeedway Some years ago I saw interview with pilot and copilot of one of those gliders. Basically, they went down head first, landed on their nose and broke every major bone in their bodies, but... Every single soldier, apart from them ofc, went out of the craft on their own feet. Heroes. Every single of them.
My Great Uncle Frank was a pathfinder. He passed away from Cancer in 2002 but was a great man! Super humble, and didn't talk about it much.
I served and now my nephew is with the 91st Cav Regiment Germany, 173rd Airborne.
You mentioned the flooded fields. I think that I remember reading that Rommel gave the order to flood the fields and that this gave so many problems specifically for the Americans because they had no quick release on their parachute harnesses and this led to a number of them drowning.
Biggest problem of flooded fields is that they are full of little drainages canals which got hidden by the water especially in the dark, but even during the day the water generally would be murky. So first you just walk in a couple of feet of water and then with your next step you, you hit nothing and drop into a channel with flooding included probably is a couple of meters deep. That's why the troopers tried to line up with each other like mountaineers before they started to move out, so they could pull people out. And of course obstacles get hidden also the water especially something like barbwire which can trip you and trap your legs.The hidden canal/ditches and obstacles also made landing with gliders so dangerous it was pretty much impossible.
Thank you Dr. Felton!
Man…. That “dummy drop” was one of my most mind blowing facts about the war. I’ve watched literally thousands of hours of testaments from all sides of the war. That sir was amazing
I'm not sure if you are planning to run for political office somewhere in Canada or not Mr. Felton but you're certainly a popular man here. You've mentioned the Canadian contributions many times in your videos and although we are a modest people traditionally, it's very nice to not be overlooked! Thank you very much on behalf of many Canadian history buffs!
As with the Airborne, Dr. Felton leads the way! Cheers 🍻 from East Coast Canada 🇨🇦. Take care and stay frosty.
Hope all is well on the right coast, bud. Cheers from the left coast. C’mon if you’re goin’, eh?
@@dashcroft1892 I'm not too far right...aka.. The Rock.....more of a NB boy! Take care..
Thanks for the up load Mark .
Hi Mark could you please make a video about Sgt Tommy Prince of Canada he was the most decorated indigenous soldier in Canadian military history I think his story should be a lot more well known.
I love history and appreciate all of the stories you bring us Mark.
Hugely appreciate your work Dr Felton. Many thanks for your quality and informative content from South Africa!
The british airborne units did a much more detailed and intense training to prepare themselves for D-day as the americans did. For example a real size copy of the Merville battery was build on a training ground where the paras trained the coup de main again and again until they were twice as fast as at the beginning. And the glider pilots used a primitive forerunner of a flight simulator to train their approach to the Orne and Caen canal bridges. This was a very detailed small scale modell of the entire area including all buildings, streets, rivers, trees, bridges and so on. A cockpit of a glider was put on a platform which was slowly moved over the modell just as the pilots used their control sticks and food pedals. This modell was later used again during the production of the film "The longest day". The american paras used only aerial reconnaissance photos to make themselves familiar with the drop zones.
They had one of those Ruperts on the British show QI. Very interesting to see them here as well.
Another GEM video - Over the years I have been fortunate enough to meet about 20 of the US (Band of Brothers) & British Airborne Pathfinders, Glider Pilots and crack 'Coup De Main' Paras from D-Day - But also visit Normandy and St. Mere Eglise, Ranville, St. Come du Mont, Deadman's Corner, Pegausus Bridge, etc. It's a ripping story in itself how they prepared the ground and then secured it for the main invasion force. RIP all of them.
My Neighbour was a Pathfinder He is passed away now but he Landed in a Glider in Normandy and parachuted in to Arnhem later that yr before the main Jump he was with the recce corps Polar Bear Squadron made up of Lovatt Scouts and others...All Volunteers!
Why would a pathfinder land in a glider, that makes no sense.
@@snowflakemelter1172 You know what I never asked him that ....people didn't question things like they do now they got on and did but I know that he only ever jumped out of a plane once.aparrently and that was over Holland
These guys are the reason I volunteered for paratroopers. I wanted the same baggy pants with huge pockets, beret, same badges, patches and I was willing to go through pain, fear, mud, sleep deprivation. I was not gonna be no sad sacking leg. I was a kid once and the experience changed me profoundly. Special breed paratroopers are. Arrogance, confidence all come through tough training. And what was most remarkable. No one in my time liked to just lay around. Even when we got really short we would do something physical to pass the time.
01:38
Love the First Nations inspired war paint and Mohawk hairstyles on the American pathfinders.
The perfect start to our weekend.
Those were not pathfinders. That was the HQ company of the 326th Engineers. You can see the "E" on the helmet at 6:35
My father was in the 82nd Airborne, 376th PFAB attached to the 501st PIR. He was at St. Mere Eglise. He would tear up the few times he talked about it. We will never really know just how terrible it was for those brave men and the courage they showed that day.
Great video!Another piece of history I didn’t know about before, thanks for teaching great history!
Thoroughly interesting episode, Mark, and a million thanks for not saying "Zee". I truly appreciate that.
I love it when you include stories of my alma mater. Put on your boots, boots boots, we're going up, up,up...
I SO look forward to Mark's Videos especially on Friday . It is my "escape" from the stress of work. I so look forward to these interesting topics that I never heard about.
Mark Felton Productions: The History Pathfinder
I'd like to say that a good friend of mine, Robert Murphy of the 82nd Airborne, was a D-Day pathfinder. He was the author of a book entitled "No Better Place to Die". My children still refer to him as "Col. Bob." I am proud to have a photo of the two of us over the desk in my den. "All American. All the Way."
Another great video coming up, cheers mark
Excellent way to begin the weekend with a historical presentation from Dr. Felton!
The last time I was this early, the Maginot Line still seemed like a good idea.
It was a good idea
Lol
The last time I was this early, we were told we 'd be home by Christmas.
@@efan558
😁
I've seen many doco's on gliders landing pre D-Day on missions to take out specific key objectives. But none rival this gem of information on the Pathfinders unit. Thanks for sharing Dr Felton!
I noticed you called the British drop zones "D Zed" then switched to "D Zee" when identifying the American drop zones. Nice attention to detail!
hello , indeed Britsch called D Zed i jump with the U S Army in the year 2.000 and they called D Zee and L Zee and P Zee for Helicopters
Thanks for a brief account of such great heroes.
I still remember playing this in the original call of duty. I never knew of how the parachutists got to normandy and always assumed it was by compass. The game came out a few years after BoB so it was very enlightening to me.
A very good and informative series. Thank you. Peter
The bad weather that convinced the Germans no invasion was going to occur in most of June also made things very hard for the landing of paratroops. The medium bombers trying to saturate the many strong points along the Atlantic Wall in Normandy on the few days left just before the sea landings started worked in equally bad conditions with much less than hoped for results.
Yes, Pathfinders were some really brave men. Thanks for reminding us.
It's refreshing to here someone say "Zed" rather than "Zee"
Actually, I used the British and American pronunciations depending which nationality I was talking about.
@@MarkFeltonProductions Since I am Canadian, I appreciate the "Zed". 😁
I've heard Drachinifel talk about "Plan Zed" for the German navy so much that when I heard Ryan on battleship New Jersey call it "Plan Zee" I was offended. And I'm American.
@@gryph01 hear hear Jeff
@@gryph01 I’m a dual citizen so really either works for me.
Dr Felton puts flesh on our skeletal knowledge of history!
Many things helped the success of Normandy's invasion, but the greatest was the grace of God.
PATHFINDERS!!!!!
Graduated from Pathfinder School following Air Assault School in 1995. I never did ANYTHING as lofty as the men in this video, but I was proud to be a small part of the Pathfinder tradition.
Heard of Pathfinder aircraft but not Pathfinder paras. Yet another excellent bit of history learnt ❤️❤️❤️
Another brilliant video from Dr. Felton. Thank you!
Thanks for another video Mark Felton love these videos a lot (as they are not biased to the allies of the axis)
Thanks mark felton (also of is supposed to be “or”)
Another outstanding episode by Dr. Felton
The mohawk haircuts are interesting, especially for this time. Wonder what the motives were behind them.
Yes I would love to know the story behind this
The ones with the Mohawks are from the 1st Demolition Section, aka, “The Filthy 13.” Their leader was Jack McNiece, who had Choctaw blood. So to honor his heritage, they decided to give themselves Mohawks and war paint from the C-47s painted with invasion stripes before flying over France
Today they would be fined for cultural appropriation and docked pay.
@@mrbruhog thanks for the info. I was thinking it had some sort of connection with native Americans.
During that time the Cowboy and Indian stories where very popular. So the Joe's would get Mohawks to intimidate the Germans.
The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.~Sun Tzu, The Art of War
OIFII Combat wounded vet.
The last British pathfinder Robert ‘Bob’ Stoodley passed away last week.
A true airborne legend who was the very first to ‘drop’ on D Day.
The world is an empty place without men like Bob and his friends.
Every man an emperor.
Another interesting video … very brave men - the Pathfinders & the glider pilots
Another Dr. Felton master production.
Wife: "where are you going?"
Me: "I need to return some video tapes."
Gets in car, turns on Mark Felton, drives in circles for 15 minutes
Wife: "Video tapes? Yeah, right. This is the 2020s dear, not the 1990s! Now where are you really going? What's her name, and how long has this been going on?"
Why would you need to hide from your wive that you are watching a RUclips video about Military History, wat?
@@TheSerec Because he wouldn't get a single moment of peace to enjoy the video around his wife
Man up !
anything to get a 'heart' from Dr., eh? so sad.
Finally. I've been waiting for a report on these guys, and wondering why they were practically written out of the D-Day story. So that's what happened to them. Scattered around as badly as the main Airborne forces. At least they were partially successful. Better than nothing.
It's people like you that make me love history. Thank you Mark, for making it entertaining and interesting!
If I recall correctly, the pilots that flew the pathfinder units were some of the best pilots pulled from every air wing in the U.S. Army air Corp and the British RAF. They had to be as they needed to drop their pathfinders accurately without the benefit of marked DZs.
Dr. Felton, bringing obscure WWII history, that tv wouldn’t bother to cover.
Hell yeah! Pathfinders IMO was the most courageous guys in the whole WW2. Tried to look for videos about them, this will be good!
The most courageous guys in WW2 flew in the US 8th Air Force. They suffered the highest loss rate of any unit in the war. 80% did not go home. Statistically none of them really should have. Some just beat the impossible odds. Everyone knew the score too. You had a better chance crewing a U Boat. They only suffered 75% losses.
@@1pcfred and being a ball turret gunner.
@@uwantsun yeah but think of the view.
@@1pcfred Well, everyone is entitled for their own opinion ofc. But to me, those guys who dropped hours before the actual D-Day landings behind enemy lines to very very hostile environment and against much stronger (in numbers at least) enemy, to pave the way for the rest of the paratroopers is just... I am not from US even, but just thinking about those guys just gives me goosebumps! If you are in airplane, at least then you have multitude of directions you can at least try to stay alive. Those Ranger Pathfinders literally took the battle to the enemy, with so little numbers too... Either way, everyone during that historical day was a hero in my eyes.
@@flashdancer42 the plan was that they would be reinforced quickly. Going first they had the greatest element of surprise too. But what they did was extremely risky. Between being dropped first or coming off a later landing craft wave on the beach I think I might have picked the parachute myself. It is a difficult decision though.
Fascinating! I really appreciate the detailed, clear maps!
I've heard of these guys. They were sure fun to hear about. And it makes sense that Pathfinders are still around today. As long as paratroops still exist so will these guys.