"The Longest Day" - Very, VERY Cool Story

Many of you may be familiar with the film "The Longest Day" which covers the D-Day landings. One of the key characters in the movie is Maj John Howard of the Parachute Regiment Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire (Ox & Bucks) Light Infantry, and Royal Engineers (thanks for the correction, Airframes ) who led the force which took Pegasus Bridge. The actor who played Maj Howard was Richard Todd, who also played Guy Gibson in "The Dambusters."

Now for the cool part...on D-Day, then Lieutenant Richard Todd served with the 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion as part of the British 6th Airborne Division. On 6 June 1944, he participated in Operation Tonga during the D-Day landings. Todd's Battalion were the reinforcements that parachuted in after the gliders landed and captured Pegasus Bridge to prevent German forces from crossing and attacking. Todd was promoted to Captain five days after D-Day. During the Operation Todd met Major John Howard on Pegasus Bridge.

The beret that Todd wears in the film is the one he wore on D-Day.



Captain Richard Todd passed away on December 3, 2009 at the age of 90. He lies in rest at St. Guthlac's Church, Little Ponton, Lincolnshire, England.

Lest We Forget.

Slight correction - Maj. John Howard led the force made up of the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire (Ox & Bucks) Light Infantry, and Royal Engineers, not Parachute Regt, but still part of 6th Airborne Divn.
They landed in three Horsa gliders flown by pilots of the Glider Pilot Regt, and arrived very close to their objective. A further three Horsas landed at Horsa bridge at Ranville, some 500 yards to the east.
Pic below shows the gliders at Pegasus bridge over the canal at Benouville.

Airframes said:

Slight correction - Maj. John Howard led the force made up of the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire (Ox & Bucks) Light Infantry, and Royal Engineers, not Parachute Regt, but still part of 6th Airborne Divn.
They landed in three Horsa gliders flown by pilots of the Glider Pilot Regt, and arrived very close to their objective. A further three Horsas landed at Horsa bridge at Ranville, some 500 yards to the east.
Pic below shows the gliders at Pegasus bridge over the canal at Benouville.

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Thanks for the correction, Terry (I've updated the original post accordingly). TBH, all pongoes look alike to me!

That said, I figured this would be of interest to you. It may be a well-known story within Para circles but it was new to me.

Kinda like the time Sir Christopher Lee (who worked with both the LRDG and SAS behind German lines in North Africa) was told by a director to "imagine how a man being stabbed in the back sounds", he replied "I don't have to imagine".

The Longest Day contains numerous factual and technical errors.
BUT
guess what?
NOBODY CARES!

As great as the movie is the book is even better. The same for Is Paris Burning. Great movie and even better in book form.

Unfortunately to include all the good stuff in the book would make a VERY long movie.

That dress is somewhat like the dazzle camo used on ships. Confuse the enemy about direction and speed.

And by the strangest of hazard, the first french house to be liberated (Café Gondrée at Bénouville) was, and still is, a bar.

PlasticHero said:

That dress is somewhat like the dazzle camo used on ships. Confuse the enemy about direction and speed.

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She's pretty fast, even when standing still!