His story - Sgt William Galbraith
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Name: William ‘Bill’ P. Galbraith
Rank: Sergeant
Unit: Company HQ, Third battalion’ S3-section, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment,
101st Airborne Divison
Bill was born and raised in Southern-California and enlisted in the US army on September
9th, 1942 in Long-Beach California. He was sent to Fort Mac Arthur, where he enlisted
for the Marines. The Marines declined him for being colorblind. After being turned
down, Bill decided to join a newly created fighting force, the paratroops. From Fort
Mac Arthur he was sent to Toccoa, Georgia. That is where he was assigned to Company
I of the 506th PIR. The 506th PIR was an experimental unit of paratroopers. Where
the other regiments consisted of men drafted from the army, the 506th PIR consisted
of volunteers recruited from civil life. Bill was lucky enough to make the cut, because
Company I was the last company to be formed in the 506th PIR.
Bill received intensive training at Toccoa and was finally trained as a .30 cal light-machinegunner.
From Toccoa the regiment was moved to Fort Benning. This is where they received their
parachute training. Bill made his five qualifying jumps at Fort Benning and earned
his parachute wings. Now he could officially call himself a paratrooper. The men
of the 101st Airborne Division received further training at Camp Mackall. Here the
division was prepared to invade fortress Europe.
Photo: Portrait picture of William P. Galbraith just after earning his parachute
wings. (Galbraith via Ian Gardner)
Photo: Bill Galbraith using his .30 cal MG on the training grounds of Camp Mackall
in 1943. (Galbraith via Ian Gardner)
In September 1943, the regiment was transported from Camp Mackall to New York, from
where the 506th PIR regiment was shipped to England together with the rest of the
101st Airborne Division.
Finally, after months of training, on June 5th, Bill would find himself on Exeter
airfield, where Company I boarded their C-47 Troop Carrier planes for the invasion
of Normandy, France. Bill’s company was one of the last companies to jump into Normandy.
Sadly, his company was misdropped over France, just like the rest of the battalion.
Bill
landed close to Saint-Come-du-Mont where he met up with 1st Sergeant Paul W. Garrison,
also a member of Company I. Garrison had injured his ankle on the night jump into
Normandy and Bill decided to stay with him. Finally the two men met up with a large
group of paratroopers from the 501st PIR. They joined this fighting force at a spot
which was later called ‘Hell’s Corner’. After intense battle, when things calmed
down a bit, Bill and Sgt Garrison were finally able to rejoin their battalion again.
On June 13, third battalion participated in a large offensive executed by the 101st
Airborne Division. This action is known as the ‘battle for Bloody Gully’. During
the attack Bill served as a light-machinegunner, covering the attack. Bill got out
of Normandy unscaved and returned to England with the division.
Back in England, Bill was promoted to Technician 4th grade and assigned to HQ-3-506
PIR’ S-3 section, serving under Captain John Kiley. Bill wasn’t able to enjoy his
newly acquired rank for long. When he was on leave in Scotland he missed his flight
on a B-17 bomber and was busted back to private on return.
After a short time in England, the 101st Airborne Division prepared for another Airborne
invasion in the Netherlands, called Market Garden. Bill jumped into the Netherlands
as an acting Sergeant for the S-3 section of third battalion on September 17, 1944.
3-506 PIR jump out of their C-47’s over the Son DZ. The jump went well with most
of the battalion assembled on the side of the dropzone within an hour. Third battalion
followed second battalion into Son
with the goal of capturing the bridge over the Wilhelmina canal. After a short but
fiersome fight, the battalions reached the bridge, but before they were able to capture
it, the bridge was blown up by the enemy. Second and third battalion crossed the
makeshift bridge at Son, created by the 326th Airborne Engineers Battalion, while
first battalion stayed behind in Son.
The next morning, September 18, third battalion was the leading element in the attack
on Eindhoven. Bill, together with Captain Kiley and the S-3 section, reached the
church on the Vlokhovenseweg. Captain Kiley saw that Company H lagged behind in the
attack and ordered Bill to find a radioman and let Company H know that they had to
speed up. Bill got the job done and returned to Captain Kiley. Kiley stood up behind
a burning German half-track and Bill warned him that if he didn’t stay low he would
get shot. Captain Kiley answered Bill by saying: “If I get down, so will everyone
else.” He just finished his sentence when a shot was fired, hitting him in the neck.
Kiley died instantly. Bill was shocked by this death scene and fired shots towards
the church and some houses on the opposite side of the road. He then asked to join
Company I in the attack. He walked through the streets together with the rest of
the battalion, clearing house by house. Finally the battalion reached the Woenselsestraat.
This is where Bill and the battalion encountered two 88mm guns which were placed
on the Woenselsestraat and the Kloosterdreef. One of the guns was firing down the
street. The first round exploded close to Bill and shrapnel struck his leg, blowing
him of his feet. The second shot fired by the gun exploded close to Bill again, now
wounding his shoulder. He tried to get out of the line of fire and reached a door.
The door opened and a Dutch local, Piet Klompemaker, dragged Bill into his house
and tended Bill’s wounds.
Eventually medic Alvin ‘Bill’ Kidder found Bill and dressed his wounds properly.
Bill was sent to the Sanatorium in Son, where the 326th Airborne Medical Company
had set up a hospital. Bill received surgery the same day and woke up a day later.
After a few days in the hospital in Son, Bill was put on a truck that transported
him to Brussels (Belgium) then back to Normandy (France) and finally back to England.
He stayed there for a few days before being shipped back to the United States. The
war was over for Bill. For the upcoming years Bill was going in and out of surgery
and finally recovered from his wounds. Bill was discharched from the army on June
18, 1947.
Bill returned to England and the Netherlands numerous times after the war. He eventually
married his Scottish sweetheart who he met during his leave in Scotland in 1944.
They bought a home in Southern-California where they raised ten children.
Bill is an active member of the local 101st Airborne Division Association and is
quite an artist. He made several paintings, all depicting his time in the US army
during World War 2.
Photo: The 88mm guns on the Woenselsestraat (top) and Kloosterdreef (bottom) in Eindhoven.
(Unknown and van Kruijsdijk)
