Uncle Matty Comes Home (eBook)

James Farrell (Autor)

Gayle Wurst (Herausgeber)

eBook Download: EPUB

2017
380 Seiten
Uncle Matty Comes Home LLC (Verlag)
978-0-9991514-1-9 (ISBN)

Infos

On Saint Patrick's Day 2016, Jim Farrell received a surprising email: an M-1 rifle engraved with the name M. Teahanhad been discovered in Normandy 72 years after its owner, Martin (Matty) Teahan, Jim's uncle, had been killed in the June 1944 D-Day invasion of France. A young private in the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Matty had been laid to rest beside his fellow heroes in the Normandy American Cemetery, but now French Army General Patrick Collet was writing to inform the family that Matty's rifle had been recovered and was safe in his possession. Luck of the Irish!Thus began Jim Farrell's adventure of discovery and self-discovery, as he and his family embarked on the successful quest to bring his uncle home in spirit by repatriating his historic rifle. A saga spanning four generations and multiple countries, the rifle's extraordinary journey and recovery is also the story of Matty Teahan, a humble private made of the stuff that made so many of his generation greatthe strength of character, courage, and will-power to prevail against great odds, and the guts, determination, and sheer daring-do to jump out of a perfectly good airplane over enemy territory.Martin Teahan's emblematic M-1 rifle currently hangs in office of the Chief of Staff of the US Army, awaiting donation to the new US Army Museum at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Similarly, the Farrell family's quest represents something larger than itself: the intensifying search by the children of the Greatest Generation to understand the facts and meaning of their fathers' and grandfathers' war, and their intense desire to come to terms with the often tragic, yet seldom discussed, repercussions of the death and violence their elders experienced in World War II.

Inhalt

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiPROLOGUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xviiSaint Jerome’s Church: A Landmark and a Trigger . . . . . .xviiPART ONEUNCLE MATTY’S WORLD: THE IRISH SOUTH BRONX NEIGHBORHOOD, FAMILY, AND THE GREATEST GENERATIONCHAPTER 1Born to be Airborne . . . . 3CHAPTER 2Uncle Matty’s Irish South Bronx, by Bill McWeeney . . . . 11CHAPTER 3Two Martins from the Greatest Generation . . . . 25CHAPTER 4Matty’s Family . . . . 31CHAPTER 5My Father Mickey . . . . 49CHAPTER 6A Soldier and His Rifle . . . . 69CHAPTER 7I Owe You Big Time, Uncle Matty . . . . 75CHAPTER 8Beyond Dying—Killed in Action . . . . 87PART TWOUNCLE MATTY’S WAR: D-DAY, NORMANDY—THE 508TH PARACHUTE INFANTRY REGIMENT IN COMBATCHAPTER 9The Parachutist’s Creed . . . . 99CHAPTER 10My Normandy Invasion Experience, by O.B. Hill . . . . 103CHAPTER 11A Conversation with Rock Merritt, “Mr. 508th” . . . . 115CHAPTER 12Distinguished Unit Citation: 508th PIR . . . . 127MAPS82nd Airborne Division, 508 PIR Drop Pattern, June 6, 1994 . . . . 133D-Day near the Merderet River . . . . 135Crossing La Fière Causeway . . . . 137The 508 at Chef-du-Pont . . . . 139PART THREESEARCHING FOR UNCLE MATTY: THE FAMILY QUEST IN EUROPE—ADVENTURES IN NORMANDY AND NOTTINGHAMCHAPTER 13My Hero, General Patrick Collet . . . . 143CHAPTER 14The Rock Stars of 1944 . . . . 151CHAPTER 15Our Journey to Nottingham . . . . 159PART FOURUNCLE MATTY COMES HOME: MISSION ACCOMPLISHEDCHAPTER 16Uncle Matty Comes Home . . . . 171CHAPTER 17Mission Accomplished! . . . . 179PART FIVERECALLING TIMES PAST: FRIENDS AND HEROES AT HOME AND IN COMBATCHAPTER 18Uncle Matty’s Best Friend, Jim McMahon . . . . 189CHAPTER 19Uncle Matty’s Army Buddy, Art Jacoby . . . . 195CHAPTER 20A Family Friendship with the Donahues . . . . 201CHAPTER 21A Family Friendship with O.B. Hill . . . . 209CHAPTER 22Rock Merritt and the Battle that Started It All, by Eve Meinhardt . . . . 221PART SIXTORCH BEARERS: YOUNGER GENERATIONS PRESERVING HISTORYCHAPTER 23Liz’s Special Connection to Uncle Matty . . . . 229CHAPTER 24Walking with Ghosts: A Talk with Glyn Shipstone . . . . 237CHAPTER 25Uncle Matty’s French Angel, Valérie Gautier Cardin . . . . 247CHAPTER 26Lucien’s Wall, Le Mur du Souvenir . . . . 255EPILOGUESaint Jerome’s Church: Uncle Matty Brings the Family Together . . . . 271ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . 281ILLUSTRATIONSPhoto galleries follow pages 140 and 186

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 9.10.2017
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► 1918 bis 1945
• Themenwelt: Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Militärgeschichte
• Schlagworte: D-Day Rifle • General Milley • History • M1 Garand • M1 Rifle • military history • World War II
• ISBN-10: 0-9991514-1-X / 099915141X
• ISBN-13: 978-0-9991514-1-9 / 9780999151419