80th Anniversary of D-Day Commences-- Part 2: Largest-Ever Air, Land and Sea Armada

Part of the reason for the fireworks shows, parachute jumps and solemn commemorations and ceremonies  that world leaders will attend this week is to pass the baton of remembrance to the current generations now seeing war in the Ukraine.

U.S. President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and British Royals are among the VIPs that France is expecting for D-Day events.

**************************

The Parachute Drop

Looping around each other, the C-47s dropped strings of jumpers, 70 in all, dressed in WW II-era uniforms.  A huge crowd, estimated in the thousands, whooped and hollered as the round chutes opened while listening to tunes from Glenn Miller and Edith Piaf.

Two of the planes, christened "That's All Brother" and "Placid Lassie"were D-Day veterans themselves.  They had been among the thousands of C-47s and other aircraft that on June 6, 1944,  formed what was the largest-ever sea air and land armada.

--GreGen

What Happened to Glenn Miller-- Part 6

Yet another theiry is that Glenn Miller disappeared due to a combination of circumstances: a pilot untrained to fly by instrumentation, plane failure and worsening weather.

The plane was not given permission to fly that day, December 15, 1944.  The weather was bad and getting worse all over Europe.  Denial for the flight came from Paris, where the plane was headed.    Hitler used the next day as a launch for what became known as the Battle of the Bulge, partly because the bad weather would take away Allied air superiority.

Norseman planes had a particularly bad problem in cold weather where they experienced engine failures. There was a particular situation with the carburetor icing causing the engine to fail.   Plus, the pilot had a lack of experience flying with instrumentation.

The PBS History detectives arrived at this as being the best possibility for Miller's disappearance.  I agree with them.

--GreGen

What Happened to Glenn Miller?-- Part 4

Then, there is a conspiracy theory saying that Glenn Miller was on a secret mission to overthrow Adolf Hitler.  Miller was really good friends with David Niven, actor who had returned to England to help with the war effort.  Niven was involved in very top secret activities.

Plus, Miller was staying in Bedford, England, a center for covert operations.  It is known that despite tghe war and Nazi attempts to censure Glenn Miller's music, there were still a lot of German youth who were avid followers of American swing and jazz music.  Some of these youth were even rounded up and sent to concentration camps.

And, speaking of top secret stuff, German V-1 rockets which rained death and destruction on Britain, were in full swing at this time.  The building Miller's orchestra was staying in was hit by one shortly after they left it.

This seems Like the Most-Far-Fetched Possibility.  --GreGen

PBS History Detectives Look for What Happened to Glenn Miller-- Part 4

Glenn Miller and the other two men took off from Twinwood, England, in a C-66 Norseman single-engine plane and flew to Paris.

British planes would jettison unused bombs in a particular area southeast of England on their return from missions.  This area was right along   the flight path Miller's plane was top take.  That day, 100 British Lancaster bombers were returning from a mission scrubbed because of the bad weather and carrying huge 4,000 pound Blockbuster bombs.

A few years back, one of the men in the planes reported that he recognized the shape of a Norseman plane below the bombers and believes that a blast from one or more of the jettisoned bombs caused it to crash.

He is not sure if it was from a direct hit blast or from the shock waves.

Miller's Norseman was the only such plane in the air and was in the area.

As such, it is possible that Miller was killed by "Friendly Fire."

Plus, there is an airplane spotter's log book that turned up on the "Antique Roadshow" that noted on December 15, 1944, that he had spotted a Norseman plane near where the Lancaster bombers were.

--GreGen

PBS History Detectives Look for What Happened to Glenn Miller-- Part 3

Earning $10,000 to $20,000 a week as the leader of his band, Glenn Miller nevertheless volunteered for service during World War II.  It was decided to have him lead his band to play for the Armed Forces to boost morale.    He was in England as Christmas approached and was scheduled to have a radio broadcast in newly liberated Paris at Christmas and wanted to go ahead of his band to make sure things were in order.

He boarded a small, single-engine C-66 Norseman plane, took off on December 15, 1944, and was never heard from again.  The flight to Paris was not supposed to happen because of bad weather there.  As a matter of fact, the weather was bad all over Europe that day.  As a matter of fact, the Germans used the bad weather that kept Allied planes grounded, to launch their offensive that became known as the Battle of the Bulge the next day.  The pilot was ordered not to fly, but a superior officer, also going on the flight, overruled the order.

Glenn Miller was noted for his fear of flying, so it is not likely he would have wanted to take off under such conditions.

--GreGen

PBS History Detectives Look for Glenn Miller-- Part 2

What really happened to noted American musician Glenn Miller?  He took off from England December 15, 1944, on a flight to Paris where he was going to do a holiday concert in the newly liberated  City of Lights,  Neither he or his plane ever arrived.  What happened is still unknown and probably will remain so until the wreckage is actually found.

Theories abound.

Was he really a spy on a mission to overthrow Hitler?

Was he killed by friendly fire from the British?

Did his plane experience problems causing it to crash into the English Channel?

These are things the three history detectives are going to investigate.

--GreGen

PBS' History Detectives Try to Find What Happened to Glenn Miller-- Part 1

July 8, 2014, PBS, WTTW Chicago.

These last two weeks I have really enjoyed watching this series.  Last week, they looked into the horrific explosion of the SS Sultana in the Mississippi River in the waning days of the Civil War, the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history with over 2,000 dead.  I'll be writing about that in my Saw the Elephant Blog.

Last night's episode was on what happened to world renowned bandleader Glenn Miller December 15, 1944, when he took off from England on his way to a concert in Paris and his plane was never heard from again.

They investigated three theories as to what happened:  downed by friendly British fire; killed in a secret mission and plane crash.

More to Come.  --GreGen