Captain Harold Sperber served in World War II as a Pathfinder co-pilot. Pathfinders were small paratrooper groups that were sent to mark landing zones ahead of major paratrooper missions. Their work helped insure the success of the drop, but it was incredibly dangerous because they flew in very small numbers, very low to the ground (to avoid radar), and had no backup chutes.
In this episode, Sperber describes the mission he had on the night of June 5th, 1944, the day before the D-Day. Sperber and the rest of the pathfinders flew over Normandy and were hit, forcing them to retreat back to the English channel. They narrowly avoided crash landing and freezing to death in the cold waters.
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Marine Raiders in the Pacific
Amphibious Assault in the Pacific
Guadalcanal
Glider Attack On D-Day
U.S. Rangers On D-Day
Hitting the Beach On D-Day
Airborne Assault On D-Day
Assault on Germany in World War Two
Battle of the Bulge
Air War Over Europe in World War Two
Armored Warfare in World War Two
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