WWII letter, D-Day he talked to 101st Airborne with Eisenhower, Gen. Burnell WW2

Description

I am honored to offer this original WW2 two page letter written in the ETO by
a member of
General Eisenhower's D-Day Staff.
The two page letter is from Brigadier General Nathaniel A. Burnell to his Wife with no date but it was written in 1944. The letter comes with the original
censored envelope signed three times: Brig. Gen. N. A. Burnell and N. A, Burnell ...
Any General Eisenhower staff letters are rare and i
t's not often you see a WW2 letter of this caliber for sale on ebay.
Brigadier General Nathaniel A. Burnell
was with General Eisenhower the evening Gen. Eisenhower and Burnell spoke to the the 101st Airborne, just before takeoff, D-Day.
Eisenhower's D-Day Staff
signatures alone are worth each so this autograph letter and envelope is a good value at .00.
About
Brig. Gen.
Burnell and the 101st Airborne:
After
Eisenhower and staff
talked with the 101st airborne troops, that evening General
Eisenhower
and his staff waited till the C-47's took off and then he went back to his quarters where he penned a speech that he would give, should the invasion fail, putting full blame for the failure on himself. A speech, thankfully for the world, he never had to deliver.
Brig. Gen.
Burnell was with
Gen.
Eisenhower
and the 101st Airborne during the sendoff talk Gen.
Eisenhower had with the troops.
Gen.
Burnell
also talk to the 101st Airborne troops,
June 5th 1944, just
before the paratroopers
boarded C-47's headed for the French liberation.
Brig. Gen. Burnell Commanded the 74th Antiaircraft Artillery Brigade, then 52nd Antiaircraft Artillery brigade, finally 31st Antiaircraft Artillery Brigade January 1943-March 1946.
His military decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit and Bronze Star.
About the photos:
On June 5, 1944: General Eisenhower and his staff talked to the first wave of paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division. This meeting with the troops took place right before they boarded
their
planes for France.
General Eisenhower wanted to meet the troops because he was worried that the men might sustain casualty rates as high as 75%. Eisenhower and his staff met the paratroopers at Greenham Common in the Berkshire Downs. At that historic meeting Gen.
Eisenhower advised the 101st
Airborne
:
" The idea, the perfect idea
is to keep moving.”
During the meeting one of the most iconic photos of WW2 was taken of Gen.
Eisenhower talking to the paratroopers.
Brigadier General Burnell is also in the photo along with
Commander Harry C. Butcher, Eisenhower’s naval aide. The photo
(a recent print on Kodak is include with the
original
letter)
Commander Butcher is standing next to Eisenhower and
behind the
Commander
standing next to a paratrooper is Brigadier General Nathaniel A. Burnell. See Photo in listing.
See photos for content.
The letter comes three photographs
(New Reprints)
on glossy paper (different sizes) The larger print is one of the most iconic WW2 photos ever taken of General Eisenhower talking to the 101st Airborne Troops,
Brigadier General Nathaniel A. Burnell also shown in this iconic photo. The other photos are
Brigadier General Burnell in 1945 and one of him very young at West Point photo.
Brigadier General Nathaniel A. Burnell commanded the 52nd AAA Brigade (
Antiaircraft Artiller)
and brought them to
Europe. He was a graduate of West Point, Class
of 1919 and trained many men to be Artillery men, trained men at Camp Davis and Camp Stewart, Ga. before going to war.
This original letter has excellent research potential.
Where is the value in this letter grouping?
When you buy a WWII item of this type you are not just purchasing a common artifact of WWII.
The original letter is unique and an investment on two levels:
First, it preserves history that will be of value to future generations.
Second, it will go up in value as years go by.
In this grouping I provide a number of facsimiles that give evidence to the importance of this war time General and the significance of this individual’s contribution in defeating the
in defeating the Germans during World War II.
The facsimiles also add value, they may very well be more significant than the items itself because what the facsimiles do, is tell a deeper contextual story about this General.
I believe it is the story or narrative that is the most significant aspect of these artifacts that you are purchasing.
What you will get:
You will get the original 1944 letter and envelope and three
(recently printed photos)
of
Brigadier General Nathaniel A. Burnell.
Also I will include four facsimile letters of
General Nathaniel A. Burnell,
printed on 25% cotton paper of different dates.
One of the facsimile letters is a cut of a letter in-which he describes the day he met with the
101st Airborne
just before they boarded their C-47's.
In this facsimile he write the fallowing:
"
I was on my way to visit the airborne troops which initiated the invasion. We talked to the leaders of the Path-finder forces and to the paratroopers in the first wave of assault. Then we saw them take off for the battle. It was a great experience talking to the men – fine soldiers and fit as could be – and a wonderful sight to see the hundreds of planes fly off in perfect formation".
I will also include additional content about the day
Gen. Burnell and Gen.
Eisenhower
met and talked to the 101st Airborne troops just before D-Day.
One of the paratroopers Gen.
Eisenhower spoke to that day was
1st Lieutenant Wallace C. Strobel, who
said this about the meeting:
"You must remember that the men of the 101st and the 502nd Parachute Infantry especially were exceptionally well trained. We all felt we had outstanding senior and field grade officers. We had the best arms and equipment available and we had been very well briefed for the operation. We were at a peak physically and emotionally. We were ready to go and to do our job.
While I think the General
(E
isenhower
)
thought his visit would boost the morale of our men, I honestly think it was his morale that was improved by seeing such a remarkably “high” group of troops. The General’s later writings confirmed this.
Within minutes of his visit we gathered our equipment and walked to our planes. I especially remember that as our plane took off at dusk and as I stood in the open doorway of the plane I could see a group of men watching and waving at the planes and I understood later that it was General Eisenhower and his staff."
About the seller:
I have been buying and selling Americana, rare books & documents, since the early 1970’s.
I have sold large collections and important individual items to some of the largest
libraries, Auction Houses, Rare book rooms, Universities and Museum in the US.
I have published unique Americana works which are in University and private libraries throughout the world.
Some of the proceeds from my sales go to
support WW2
Primary Source Material for class rooms at High Schools in my area
. (If you are a teacher and are interested in
WW2
Primary Source Material for your class room please email me.)
My main goal is by selling WW2 and other historical Primary Source material; I can distribute letters, documents and items around the world that tell the true story of the courage, bravery and sacrifice, made by millions of Americans and the Allied Forces during the war.
When you by a Primary Source letter or document to add to you collection you are doing what Thomas Jefferson did hundreds of years ago (Jefferson sold his library to the USA to create The Library of Congress) in preserving American history, which will be handed down to generation of future American and the World.
When you buy from me you have my guarantee that what you are buying is authentic.
Email me if you have questions.
See photos for condition and letter content.
Bidding conditions and mailing below:
I ship Priority Mail US Post Service, three day delivery.  The reason why is virtually all of the items I sell are one of a kind and even though an item may not have a high selling price it is sometime priceless to the buyer. Also
Priority Mail US Post Service is insured and is tracked to
guarantee
delivery.
US buyers only. (I do make some exceptions for foreign buyers but you need to email me to get approval for bidding.
You must have bought over 25 items on eBay, Paypal preferred and you must have a good rating in order to buy on this item/items.
I have a 100% rating and have sold many rare and important document, letters and items on Ebay so you know you will receive this original item.
See photos for condition and see my other
101st Airborne D-Day related letters I'm selling.
Email me if you have any questions.