D-DAY PARATROOPER lands on CHURCH ROOF during WWII INVASION | Sainte-Mère-Église

The story of the WWII paratrooper at Sainte-Mère-Église is one of the most iconic moments of D-Day. During the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944, American paratrooper John Steele from the 82nd Airborne Division famously got caught on the church steeple in the French town of Saint Mère Église, dangling helplessly as the battle raged below. His dramatic experience was immortalised in the 1962 war film The Longest Day, where Steele's role was portrayed by actor Red Buttons in that iconic scene that takes place in the church courtyard. St Mère-Église became one of the first towns liberated in the D-Day invasion, and the church remains a popular historical site today, with a mannequin honouring Steele's heroic ordeal.

📖 In this video, I follow the story of the famous WW2 Paratrooper John Steele on D-Day.
⚬ Who was the World War Two paratrooper stuck on the church at Sainte-Mère-Église?
⚬ Who was the WW2 paratrooper in the Longest Day Hollywood movie?
⚬ What happened on D-Day in WW2
⚬ What happened at Sainte-Mère-Église during D-Day?
⚬ What US Airborne Divisions were active on D-Day?
⚬ What happened on D-Day before the Omaha Beach Landings?

🎬 Check out more D-Day Stories on the channel:
🐎 ASSAULT ON PEGASUS BRIDGE
   • D-DAY GLIDERS LIBERATE PEGASUS BRIDGE...  
🪖OMAHA BEACH
   • OMAHA BEACH D-DAY | Remembering the W...  
🪖POINTE DU HOC
   • THE LONGEST DAY, D-DAY POINTE DU HOC ...  
🇨🇦 CANADA HOUSE
   • WW2 D-DAY CANADIAN ASSAULT on JUNO BE...  
🪖MERVILLE BATTERY
   • D-DAY PARACHUTE ASSAULT ON MERVILLE G...  
🛠️ MULBERRY HARBOURS
   • D-DAY MULBERRY HARBOURS | TOP SECRET ...  
⛑️ FORGOTTEN D-DAY HERO
   • D-DAY VETERAN DENIED MEDAL OF HONOR |...  

📺 Check out my War Stories playlist:
   • WAR STORIES  

⏰ VIDEO CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
00:28 Opening message from Steve Lee
00:43 US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions
00:53 D-Day Airborne Invasion
01:06 Sainte-Mère-Église
01:31 Morning of the D-Day Airborne drop
02:30 Battle around Sainte-Mère-Église church
02:52 Paratrooper John Steele
04:20 Band of Brothers Easy Company
05:14 Closing message from Steve Lee

✍️ ABOUT STEVE LEE
I've been a storyteller all my life with a deep love of history. As a dreamer in Sunday School, I was mesmerised by the stories of the Bible - David and Goliath, the Battle of Jericho and the parting of the Red Sea. But through my teenage years, I struggled to get the whole religious thing and left it well alone. It took me some time to realise I needed to go back and pick up what I left behind. At 20 I encountered the God of the Bible stories I had learned about as a kid and it changed my life forever. I founded Miracle Street as a result and it has taken me all over the world on countless adventures. Today I communicate in all kinds of environments - indoors, outdoors and online, often retelling the stories of famous lives and epic moments from the past. Behind it all is a backcloth of the greatest story ever told - the story of a creator God who has relentlessly loved this world and the people in it.

MY WEBSITE AND PODCAST
🌍 https://www.miraclestreet.com/
🎙️ https://www.miraclestreet.com/podcast/

MY ‘ON THIS DAY’ HISTORY BLOG
👨‍💻   / miraclestreet  

FOLLOW MY OTHER SOCIALS
👤   / steveleemiraclestreet  
📸   / steveleeuk  
📱   / steveleebigstory  
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USEFUL VIDEO RESOURCES
📚 Sainte-Mère-Église: https://www.ot-baieducotentin.fr/en/d...
🎥 Sainte-Mère-Église WW2 Footage:    • Sainte Mere Eglise 1  
🎥 The Longest Day Scene:    • The Longest Day (1/3) Movie CLIP - Pa...  

Additional graphics and music from storyblocks.com and pixabay.com

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