Fox Company
Fox Company: the jump on September 17, 1944
Sep
Operation Market Garden was a daring operation. The British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery wanted to deploy British, Polish, and American Airborne troops across the German defensive lines to secure a bridgehead in the Netherlands, crossing three major rivers: the Meuse, the Waal, and lower Rhine. The aim was to envelope the Germans in the Netherlands, which made it possible to push forward towards the Ruhr Area which was the center of the German War Industry.
Featured image: LtoR: PFC Patrick G. Fergus, PFC James C. Phifer and PFC Phillip E. Tinch, standing by a German 88mm, somewhere in Germany, 1945 (Courtesy of Frank Marchese, Jr.).
The airborne jump took place on September 17, 1944, which was a beautiful day. The Fox Company, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment troopers were gathered at the same marshalling area at Greenham Common Airbase where they also made their final preparations for the D-Day jump in June 1944. On September 17, they were making another Channel crossing, this time to Brabant, the Netherlands. At 1023 hours, the men of Fox Company left England with the invasion fleet toward Drop Zone “C”, which was close to the small town of Son, where they landed at 1330 hours.
Private (PVT) Parmley jumped in the same stick as Private First Class (PFC) Patrick G. Fergus, a 19-year-old replacement from Granada Hills, California. It was his very first combat jump that day. Some of the other men in his stick who Fergus remembered in a letter to George Koskimaki were PFC Garson Durham, PFC Charles Pembleton, PVT William “Junior” Turner, PVT R.C. Hicks, and Corporal John Hovey. Sergeant Al Mazzeo was the jumpmaster and PVT Bob LaFear was the medic.
“The flight from England was impressive, exciting, but uneventful. No flak that I remember until we approached the drop zone. Being a very calm and quiet day, my chute landed on top of me. While I was scrambling to get uncovered, I received help from Major Douglas T. Davidson, the regimental surgeon. I had almost landed on top of him.”
This is an excerpt of the book: From the Frying Pan to Mittersill, Fox Company, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment (1942 – 1945). Curious for more? Order your copy now!
I am researching a particular soldier who I believe was in Fox Co., 2 Battalion, 502nd PIR. Can you help confirm Joseph M. Lynch was a member of Fox Co.? I would be interested in purchasing the book ‘From the Frying Pan to Mittersill’ if I can place him on the roster of the unit. Thank you, Jeff