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==== Airborne Missions ====
[[File:Eisenhower_d-day june5 w 101st.jpg|thumbnail|left|250px|General Eisenhower with members of the 101st Airborne in England, June 5, 1944.]]
Before the amphibious landing was made, paratroopers from the U.S.101st and 82nd Airborne divisions were tasked with jumping behind enemy lines in order to secure roads and bridges tactically imperative to the security of Omaha and Utah Beaches. British airborne divisions conducted a similar operation to secure access to the Sword, Gold, and Juno Beaches. The British divisions achieved a greater measure of success than the Americans.
The American Airborne transported its paratroopers via C-47 transport planes, which were neither armed nor armored. These aircraft and their crews had no means by which to defend themselves once the German anti-aircraft guns began to fire. Further, since they were not armor -plated, due to weight, being hit by flak or shrapnel in an engine or fuel tank was catastrophic for the aircraft and crew. After the tight V formation of planes crossed the English Channel, German guns opened fire and immediately began to cause irreparable damage to the 101st and 82nd aircraft.<ref>Stephen Toth, “Total "Total War and Crisis” Crisis" (lecture, Arizona State University, Glendale, November 17, 2011).</ref>
[[File:Paratroopers_just_before_They_Took_off_for_the_Initial_Assault_of_D-Day 101st.jpg|thumbnail|250px|Paratroopers aboard a C-47 waiting to take-off, June 6, 1944, 0100 hours.]]
The American C-47 pilots were relatively inexperienced in combat flying. The lack of experience, combined with the fact that the crews were ordered to fly under radio silence, compounded an already perilous situation. Some of the pilots ordered the jump too soon while others waited too long. As a result of the ill-timed jumps, scores of paratroopers were dropped at an altitude too low for success. Many were dropped at sea while others jumped into flooded fields. Other companies jumped into heavily defended towns and were either shot down while descending or captured once they hit the ground. Some paratroopers never got to jump at all as several aircraft were damaged in flight to the extent that they crash -landed or exploded while still in flight; the aircraft carrying their crews and full complements of paratroopers were casualties of war. One such aircraft crashed into a hedgerow and immediately burst into flames. This plane carried the headquarters company for Easy Company; E companyCompany, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Easy Company’s Company's recently installed leader, 1st Lieutenant Thomas Meehan, was killed instantly. Command of Easy Company fell to 1st Lieutenant Richard Winters. He and his fellow paratroopers were unaware of Meehan’s Meehan's fate upon landing in France.<ref>Stephen Ambrose, ''"Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler’s Hitler's Eagles Nest'' " (1992, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001), 69. To support Ambrose, see Richard Winters and Cole C. Kingseed, ''"Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters'' " (New York: Berkly Books, 2006).</ref>
Once safely on land, the men of the 101st and 82nd were scattered haphazardly throughout the French countryside. In the dark, these men had to blindly navigate the terrain after having lost maps and compasses during the drop. Some paratroopers lost everything they had packed into their leg bags, which blew off immediately once they exited the aircraft; that meant no map, compass, weapon, food, or ammunition. With as much stealth as possible, the troopers slowly connected with others who were lost and made their way to the rendezvous point. Because of the heavy casualties and dramatic delays due to the inaccurate drops, their missions were minimally accomplished, which meant that the amphibious landings took place without the benefit of the German communications and access to the beaches being cut.
