Steve Odahowski was an American glider pilot who flew a British Horsa glider on D-Day. He entered into the military in April 1942 and was already an established pilot when he volunteered for the glider training program at Lubbock, TX. “They had so many gliders, but not enough glider pilots.” He traveled from there to CA, NM, KY and IA. Barefield, Indiana is where the glider pilots and crews formed up before heading to NJ for disembarkation overseas. He and about 15,000 others crossed the Atlantic on the Queen Mary. “It was so crowded and cramped, if you wanted to turn over in your bunk you had to get out, turn around, and get back in your bunk.” He flew with the 434th TCG, 71st TCS. Mr. Odahowski was able to bring his glider down behind enemy lines in the "Big Dipper" section just outside of Hiesville, France on June 6, 1944. His glider was carrying a few men from the 101st Airborne Division and a jeep. While Mr. Odahowski trained on both the American CG-4A Waco glider and British Horsa, he would pilot the British Airspeed Horsa glider on D-Day. His interview begins with his landing in Scotland and ends with his return home.

This interview was recorded in 2004

Mr. Odaohowski passed away in 2006

Glider pilot interviews are few and far between and I could not find another interview with a Horsa glider pilot. This is one of my favorite early interviews and it was an honor to interview him. Please share this video and the link to our channel.

Thanks go to Sharon McNeal for allowing me to post this interview and providing additional information and photos from her father's WWII service.

I would also like to thank Patrick Elie for allowing information used on his website, which is one of the best D-Day websites for research. Link below.
http://www.6juin1944.com/assaut/aerop...

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:15 Crossing the Atlantic
00:20 Scotland and Aldermaston, England
00:54 CG-4A & Horsa gliders
02:11 D-Day
08:10 Dulag Luft
10:41 Stalag Luft III
12:20 Camp Conditions
17:40 Stalag 7A
18:17 Liberation
20:03 Going Home
21:04 Honored by France

#wwii #wwiihistory #glider #ww2 #dday

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