WWII 101st Airborne Division cover APO 472 England 1943 502nd Parachute Infantry

Description

Cover from a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division in England before D-DAY . The sender of this cover participated in the Normandy Jump.  An interview with him can be listed to here:
http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.05635/sr0001001.stream
Cam McKay Anderson, 84, well-known associate with Pigg & Parsons Men's Clothiers and resident of West Sixth Street, died Friday, November 11, 2005 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Funeral services will be conducted Monday at 10:00 a.m. at First United Methodist Church with Rev. Bob Adair and Dr. Jim Hughes officiating. Burial will be in Rose Hill Cemetery with military honors provided by Herbert Griffin American Legion Post #19. The family will visit with friends Sunday from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Oakes & Nichols. Memorials may be made to the Herbert Griffin American Legion Post #19 Nursing Scholarship Fund, 812 Nashville Highway, Columbia, 38401. Notes of sympathy may be sent to www.oakesandnichols.com. A life-long resident of Columbia, he was the son of the late Ross Anderson and Margaret McKay Anderson and attended Maury County schools. He began his work with Pigg & Parsons prior to World War II. At the outbreak of the War, he enthusiastically enlisted for service (at the age of 19) as one to the Screaming Eagles, 101st Airborne Division, Charlie Company, the first battalion of the 502nd Parachute Infantry. Following Boot Camp at Camp Wheeler, Georgia, he received extensive airborne training at Fort Benning and Fort Bragg. His group was shipped to England in preparation for the legendary D-Day invasion, six months before it actually took place, unknown to Anderson and his compatriots. When the fateful day arrived, eight hundred planes left England in time to arrive over the jump zone in France at midnight. The paratroopers were scattered over a large area, but, before dawn his group had formed a complete outfit busy with a mission. The paratroopers were used as shock troops, dropped into the interior behind German lines to make the landing of the main force on Utah and Omaha beaches more effective, to cut German communications and destroy bridges. The men marched on to take St. Germain de Varreville that day and later to Beuzeville-au-Plain. After this "longest day" he jumped twice more in major engagements of the war and was involved in other conflicts as well. Of the 135 enlisted men and 7 officers in his company during the D-Day jump, he was one of only 10 men to survive without injury, capture or death. Reluctant to speak of his experiences, he did speak of this time once in saying: "I had been long-prepared for this mission, so long and so well, that if the gates of Hell had opened up, I'd have marched right in." At the end of World War II, he was married October 8, 1946 to the former Mary Turner of Columbia. Mrs. Anderson died September 4, 2005. When the United States entered the Korean War, he was called back to service for two years. Upon his return to Columbia he continued his work at Pigg & Parsons Men's Clothiers. His association with the store and as a "fixture of downtown Columbia," spanned over fifty years until his retirement. Mr. Anderson's patriotic fervor continued through his membership in Herbert Griffin American Legion Post #19 where he served as Post Commander in 1950, member of the Post Honor Guard and in many other capacities over the years. In honor of his dedication and years of service he was awarded a Life Membership in February of 1998. He completed sixty years of continuous membership in 2005. He also was a charter member of Voiture Locale #1394 of the La Societe des Quarante Hommes at Huit Chevaux, an independent fraternal organization of U. S. Veterans more commonly known as The Forty & Eight. He was a long-time member of First United Methodist Church and active in affairs of the church for many years. He was an active in and a supporter of the work of The Boy Scouts of America for a number of years. His efforts and service were recognized with the Silver Beaver Award and Long Rifle Award. Survivors include a daughter and son-in-law, Pam and Gary Hamburg of Franklin; a son and daughter-in-law, Bill and Carol Anderson of Decatur, Alabama; a sister, Lollie Anderson Osborne of Columbia; three grandchildren, Kenneth McKay (Laura) Hamburg, Blair Hamburg and Todd Anderson. He was preceded in death by a sister, Dabney Anderson and a brother, William Terrell Anderson. Members of the Herbert Griffin American Legion Post #19 Honor Guard will serve as active pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers include Ned Laughmiller, Bob Medaugh, the Ayres-Whitney Sunday School Class of First United Methodist Church and members of Herbert Griffin American Legion Post #19 and The Forty & Eight.