Timmes' Orchard

 Dad was able to link up with a group of soldiers lead by LtC Timmes, the commander of 2/507th. Because dad was first battalion, and not with his parent formation, he was considered Missing in Action during the few days he spent there. Incidentally, LtC Timmes was the only battalion commander to finish the war with the 507th. 

Here is the Monument at "Timmes' Orchard" (the top one is not my photo)

Another view of the orchard

It never ocurred to me to get a soil sample as a souvenir, like we did at Omaha beach. So when we got home I sent an email to our guide asking if he would get one for me. Here he is at the monument with my sample. He said he wanted to prove to me it actually came from the orchard and not his back yard!

The fighting positions in the orchard and the fields nearby are still visible. This is LtC Timmes' position

And some others

It seemed like every field in Normandy was (and is) bordered on all sides by hedgerows of varying thickness - some being quite impenetrable. This is still very early in the spring, so the vegetation would be much thicker in the summer. The photos below are hedgerows near Timmes' orchard. Dad was wounded in the upper arm when he crawled through one like those below  (perhaps even one of them) and surprised a German machine gun team.

After he was wounded, he made his way to this farmhouse (just visible in photo below). Dad said he was wounded on D-Day during the attack towards Amfreville. I have seen some records that say he was wounded on June 8th (D-Day +2), but I think that was likely just the day it was reported as the group he was with was cut off from the main body for a few days. The right side served as an HQ, while the wounded were kept on the left. 

The view of the buildings from the front of the field next toTimmes' Orchard. Bob, the father of the current owner (a Brit from the channel islands) was nice enough to let us get close.

Kyle liked the look of this outbuilding

All of the nearby country floods regularly; however the French typically manage it through a series of locks on the Merderet River. The videos below are of nearby flooded areas. The Germans manipulated the locks to make it worse. Somewhere between 35-40 paratroopers are believed to have drowned in the flooded area (weighed down by their heavy equipment).

 Dad says at the time the area they were defending was flooded on three sides. Everything you can see would have been under a few feet of water and the path invisible. Bob showed us this "secret" (from the Germans) path.

With the help of a local who showed them the path, 1Lt Law, dad's commanding officer and "stick-mate" used this path to bring in ammo, etc., earning a Silver Star in the process. He was later severely wounded on June 29th. Here we are with Bob (I don't recall his last name) on the path. It gave me great pleasure to send these photos to the son of 1Lt Law.

Looking back towards Timmes' Orchard. This entire area was flooded and impassable except on the road (which was alo under a few feet of water) in 1944.

Looking towards the Merderet River

My attempt to show how marshy the ground was. It is one year later as I write this and I have yet to wash the mud of these pants (they are saved in my closet).