Pathfinders of the 82nd- D-Day (505th)

[Bruce "Face' Dale]

General overview of 82nd Airborne Pathfinder insertions into Normandy on D-Day.  Includes great photos of the various regimental sticks.  

www.dday-overlord.com/en/battle-of-normandy/forces/usa/82nd-airborne-division/pathfinders

Pics of two 505th Sticks!

Attachments:

[JayJones]

3/505 Pathfinders

[jcoyle]

Anyone have good research sites for information on a specific individual. I'm trying to find some more information on a Pathfinder medic Pvt. James E Barnette. 06988604. 3/HHC 505. He was on Plane 11. CIB Sicily and CMB Normandy. BS but no PH so he was probably in Holland and Belgium too. He survived and Date of Death was 07/14/1985. Thanks, Joe

[JayJones]

I'll see what I can find for you brother.

[jcoyle]

Thank you LT.

[jcoyle]

I've got a few of Phil Nordyke's books inbound. Maybe there will be something in those. If not I'm sure they are good reads.

[JayJones]

Nordyke's stuff is pretty good all around. Great regimental histories.

[JayJones]

Enlistment Archive for James E Barnette

I'm starting to find things here and there for James E Barnette of Boyd County, Kentucky. His ASN is interesting though as it starts with an O. Did he eventually become an officer? It is highly unusual for an ASN to start with a ZERO, so this is something I'm looking further into.

James appears to be a special case as well. He holds both the CIB (Sicily) and the CMB (1945). These awards are usually mutually exclusive. To win the CIB you MUST be an Infantryman, and to win the CMB you *MUST* be a member of the Army medical department, which would mean not being an infantryman. According to James roster info on 505RCT.org, he was both a member of 3/HHC and a member of 307 AMC (the medical company attached to the 505 RCT). Usually, that would mean that he was a 307 man attached to 3/HHC, but the fact he won the CIB, in Sicily of all places kind of calls that into question.

Now, what that COULD mean is that he was a 505 trooper who saw combat, and later in the war was transferred to 307AMC and became a medic. That would explain how he was able to win a CIB *AND* a CMB. Otherwise, I suppose he *MAY* have been awarded the CIB due to his attachment to the Pathfinder teams, but that doesn't quite seem right to me.

I need to reference my Pathfinder book to check the roster for Plane 11 (the roster online is incomplete), but I see no reason to not take you at your word that is the plane he was on. Plane 11 was 3rd Battalion's Pathfinder aircraft, so that would be correct. It also supports the assertion that there *WERE* 307AMC medics in the Pathfinder teams, which we know of some were trained, but seems to be ver rare. As for his Bronze Star, if he *WAS* a Pathfinder (which I'll verify tonight), then that is likely where his award came from. If not though, in 1947 the Army decided to award any CMB winner the Bronze Star in addition to it, and it was retroactive to 1941, so would have covered his award in Normandy.

In any case, I'm still searching for you. I do have a list of Normandy Bronze star winners somewhere, so I'll check that also.

If you don't mind me asking Joe, what is your interest in James E Barnette?

[jcoyle]

Thanks LT. , good information and questions. I've seen his ASN two ways one with the 0 and one without just seven digits without the 0. My interest is that he was a 505 medic and a Pathfinder. The fact that he has a CIB means he would certainly be weapons qualified. He would have been the medic for DZ O. Despot 507 was on DZ T and Demciak 508 was on DZ N. Demciak made no bones about being armed with a carbine and a knife. There are no references as to whether Barnette was but he was qualified . So was Ray Smith of the 101st, Chalk 1 DZ A. I don't see any Medic armbands in any of the Pathfinder photos that I found so it's not like they were armed with a armband too. Demciak said he did toss his weapons just before being captured though. Just interested to see about how he was CIB/CMB and was he also possiblly armed.

[JayJones]

So, by army regulation Medics were not awarded the CIB.

Pathfinders though, being a provisional unit had different rules. By nature of the mission, medics and engineers were assigned a role outside their usual army jobs and they were to fulfill the team role beyond their usual army training until they returned to their normal regimental assignments. This meant Medics were either on the technical teams, or they were assigned to the security team. (After Normandy teams jumped without additional security personnel, taking teams from 18 to 10).

Barnette, being a pathfinder would have jumped with whatever equipment was deemed for his role on the team. Any additional equipment, would have been secondary to his Pathfinder role. It is absolutely appropriate that he jumped with a weapon, as he was not a 'functioning' medic on the team. I've seen one Pathfinder account where a man from a 508 Pathfinder team immediately discarded his weapon when he hit the ground, as his team was surrounded, and he felt his job as a Pathfinder was over before it began. He decided he could do more good as a medic, and that the germans would be more apt to mercy if he was unarmed.

I'm still wondering about that CIB award in Sicily though. That's a huge ? for me.