Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
5:23 | At only seventeen years of age, Carl Beck enlisted and went to Toccoa, GA where he went through airborne training. It was 1943 and the Allies were building up the resources to reclaim Europe from the Nazis. Finally in June of 1944, the time came.
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In the middle of the night, thousands of paratroopers loaded into C-47's for the crossing into Normandy. Carl Beck was just a teenager but he was ready. His plane was hit by flak when it neared the drop zone and the jump was rushed, resulting in scattered men and equipment. Part 1 of 2.
Thousands of men had jumped into Normandy that night and Carl Beck found exactly one. The two men were miles off their drop zone and hid out for days, dodging German patrols until they were helped by some French civilians. They joined with the first American outfit that came by and were finally in the fight. Part 2 of 2.
Carl Beck recalls his first combat experience assaulting the town of Baupte in Normandy. He was anxious, yet eager to give the Germans what they had coming to them. When he saw a crew moving one of their 20mm guns, he did just that.
Back in England after the Normandy invasion, Carl Beck's Airborne unit began to get replacements. As the war went on, he noticed that it was the same core group of men who survived every fight. This kept him from wanting to get closely acquainted with the new guys.
Operation Market Garden was a combined US and British air and ground assault which was intended to open up a route into Germany through Holland. Carl Beck was one of the thousands of airborne troops who jumped and he describes being fired on with those deadly German 88's. Part 1 of 3.
Carl Beck recalls his experience in Operation Market Garden, the ill fated move toward the Rhine. He helped a forward observer direct fire early in the operation. Later, he went on reconnaissance patrols in the dead of night across the Rhine. The Dutch underground was helping to locate British survivors of units that had been wiped out. Part 2 of 3.
Combat isn't just deadly, it can be bizarre. In Holland, Carl Beck faced off against a bull, as if the Nazis weren't enough. It happened during Operation Market Garden which had many strange moments including a Dutchman presenting him with a precious Coke. Part 3 of 3.
Carl Beck had just gotten back from leave in Paris when his unit was told to move out. The Germans are coming. What? It was December of 1944 and they were supposed to be beaten by now but some of their brothers were in a town called Bastogne and they needed help. Part 1 of 3.
While manning his machine gun near Bastogne, Carl Beck caught some shrapnel from a hand grenade. It was a little present from the retreating Germans. He did get a good night's sleep in a warm building but was back out in the cold the next day. After Christmas, the weather cleared up so that Allied planes could return to destroying German armor. Part 2 of 3.
Carl Beck was facing kids and old men on the German side. They had been thrown into the battle at Bastogne to distract from the SS units which were scrambling to retreat. One of the medics got a Silver Star that day for saving a wounded man while under fire. It was cold and miserable and you felt like the German 88's were pointed right at you. Part 3 of 3.
After Bastogne had been relieved, Carl Beck's Airborne unit moved toward Luxembourg. It was just a matter of time until it was all over. He had been wounded slightly by shrapnel and didn't want the Purple Heart but, when the points system was devised, it was worth five points. He went looking for the medic who treated him.
After the shooting stopped, Carl Beck got to tour Berchtesgaden where a friend of his found a nifty souvenir. He was a little rowdy when he got home but reenlisting calmed him down. He found an unlikely friend when he met a German paratrooper and visited him in his home which had an interesting design.
