The Raid

At 2130 on 26th December 1942, 2nd Lieutenant Dan DeLeo, a replacement officer who had joined the 509th PIB after their involvement in Operation Torch and his men, readied themselves for the drop. Lt. DeLeo was part of the detachment at Thelepte and he was making his first combat jump along with twenty-five of the men on the raid. They were accompanied by their two French paratroopers, 1st Sergeant Jean Guilhenjouan and Corporal Paul Vullierme and a team of five demolition experts from the Headquarters Company 509th PIB. As well as their usual jump equipment, on this mission, the troopers carried an escape kit containing a saw kit, fishing line, tiny magnetic compass and a dozen wooden matches. At 2230, the group began to load up and take off on what was a bright moonlight night. About an hour into the ninety mile flight, the convoy was having difficulty locating their drop zone in the dark and to make sure of their location, the C-47s circled El Djem, before heading north, keeping east of the railway tracks, until they reached the drop zone. On the green light the planes dropped their equipment bundles and the paratroopers exited their planes, but in the darkness, most had a hard landing, as they were unable to see the ground. However, the group quickly reached their assembly point and although it took another hour to locate the equipment bundles, they moved off south confident that they would soon reach their target.

In reality, the men had been miss-dropped and instead of being north of the bridge, they were in fact south of the bridge and with each step, they trudged further and further away from their objective. After three hours of marching, carrying heavy bundles of TNT, the group stopped in an orchard for a rest and while DeLeo sent scouts south to find the bridge. Thirty minutes later the scouts returned and reported the bridge nowhere in sight. Alarmed, DeLeo thought that they must have been dropped further north than planned and as daylight approached, kept his group heading south. At sun up, DeLeo was able to study his map and with the help of the French paratroopers. He was able to discover the horrible truth; they had been marching in the wrong direction all night. Given the daylight and the condition of his troops, DeLeo felt that it was impossible to go back the twenty miles travelled and decide to try and destroy a “target of opportunity.” Near to where they were holed-up was a small relay building next to the tracks that contained many wires, switches and what appeared to be railway control mechanism and so he decided to blow it up, along with as much of the track as possible. The Demolition Squad quickly laid their charges in the building and along a 100-yard stretch of track and connected it to one detonation switch. As the final arrangements were being made, lookouts based north and south of their location cam back and stated that German troops were approaching down the tracks from either direction and were approximately one mile away. DeLeo gathered his troops and told them the news before ordering them to head back to the U.S. lines in small groups and to only travel at night. He also ordered the demolition squad to blow their charges and then make their way to safety. A few moments later, 400lbs of TNT destroyed the area.

Of the troopers who made the jump with Lt. DeLeo on 26th December 1942, six returned to the U.S. lines; Private Roland Rondeau, Sergeant John Betters, Private Frank Romero along with the two French paratroopers on a journey that took three weeks. Private Michael Underhill also made the journey, but unaware that he had reach the Allied lines, kept going west.  Fortunately, he reached a town called Hadjeb el Aioun where he found that he had reached safety. This ill-fated jump was the last that the 509Th PIB made in Africa, and while they still were utilised as regular infantry and fought with distinction at Kasserine Pass, their next combat jump would be until later in 1943. But by May 1943, the Axis domination of North Africa was almost over as Rommel’s Afrika Corps had been squeezed into a small area in northern Tunisia. And during the last few weeks of combat, the German forces lost some 248,000 men either killed or captured.

When the fighting was over, the 509th PIB reassembled and moved by train to Oujda, French Morocco and made themselves at home in the hastily assembled tented Camp Kunkle, where they would remain while the Allied leaders planned their next military objective. By January 1943, the Combined Chiefs of Staff had decided that this would be in Sicily and plans were put underway for its invasion, planned for July 1943.  It was likely that there would be an airborne element in this plan codenamed Husky, but the 509th PIB would not play any part in the initial jump.

Jump Summary

Date:               26 December 1942

Unit:                509th PIB, Headquarters Demolition Squad and French Paratroopers

Operation:       No name given

Troopers:         32

Country:          Tunisia

Drop Zone:      El Djem

PT II HISTORY EL DJEM BRIDGE RAID​ 

1942 AIRBORNE HISTORY