WORLD HISTORY AND LOCAL GIST

  Historical photo of John Steele or 82nd Airborne John Steele and the Parachute on the Church Steeple In the early hours of June 6, 1944, as Allied forces launched the D-Day invasion of Normandy, American paratrooper John Steele found himself trapped in one of the most unlikely and terrifying places imaginable — hanging from a church steeple. Steele’s parachute became tangled on the steeple of the church in Sainte-Mère-Église, leaving him suspended high above the town square. Below him, the invasion was already underway. Gunfire echoed through the streets, buildings burned, and soldiers fought fiercely in the darkness. For nearly two hours, Steele hung motionless, pretending to be dead as the battle raged beneath him. John Steele was a member of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division. His unit had been dropped behind enemy lines in the early morning hours of D-Day with orders to secure key roads and towns in Normandy. Poor visibility and heavy Ger...