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D-DAY COFFEE WITH IKE
THE MUG THAT LAUNCHED A
THOUSAND SHIPS
Where was I on D-Day? In the wee
morning hours of June 6,1994,1 was hav
ing coffee with the Allied Supreme Com
mander of World War II, General Dwight D.
Eisenhower!
I know that begs for an explanation
Toward the end of May a hundred C-47
cargo planes were preparing for a mission
at Newbury. England, the airbase where I,
as a first lieutenant, was in charge of the
control tower Over the next few days, amid
lots of activity, the C-47s groduaty occu
pied. wing tip to wing tip. every inch of ev
ery runway except one
In the next few days other C-47s landed
at the field long enough to
discharge troops from the
101 Airborne Division, who
were immediately re
stricted to a remote section
of the base. In recent
months there had been
many feints and false ru
mors about an imminent
invasion, so we at the base
remained skeptical that
even all this activity was
the real thing
But on the afternoon of
June 5, the base com
mander, with a colonel
from SHAEF in tow. visited
the control tower for the first time in months
For hotf an hour they talced privately, but
with animation Then the Colonel flew away,
and my doubts about the imminence of an
invasion flew away, too.
Newbury hod been a British airbase be
fore the U. 5 9th Air Force took it over The
control “tower,' unlike American models,
was actually a two-story building with a
“bubble' on the roof where the radio op
erator on duty directed landings and take
offs Technicd and administrative person
nel worked on the second floor, which had
an outside balcony completely surround
ing it so the controller-in-charge could hare
a full view of the entire airfield The ground
floor housed ambulances, fire trucks and
two restrooms One of the restrooms hod
been converted into a nook where we
could sit and have coffee.
Late in the evening of June 5, mynod
generals, colonels and their aides arrived
by staff car and plane, and soon the con
trol tower was crawling with them, all on
hand to see off the first wove of the inva
sion The tower crew, which usually worked
in solitude, was intimidated by all the com
motion and brass, particuiarty me.
When the orders came for the mission,
UTAH OMAHA r n , n
BEACH BEACH °ii LU
‘‘I guess I'll have
to let them find
me. Thanks lor
the coffee. Dick.'
“My pleasure...
Ike,” I said.
the base, like a disturbed bee hive, came
furiously to life Puffs of smoke from en
gines being tested, Jeeps and trucks go
ing bock and forth and shocks of people
milling around the parked aircraft Then the
airborne troops filed out to the planes
Around midnight, with aN in reodiness, our
tower cleared the first of the C-47s to taxi
toward the only runway available for take
off. I went out on the bokony for relief from
the crowd inside, to clear my head and to
monitor the teke-offs One mistake on this
over-crowded airfield would cause a mo-
jor catastrophe
One by one the
C-47s lumbered off
into the early cloud-
covered p re-dawn
Wow! I thought, this
was it. D-Day was
really happening
About midway
through the depar
tures, everything going routinely, I became
aware of a presence next to me on the bal
cony
“Quite a sight, isn’t lt?“ he asked.
“Yes, SIR?' I answered automatically, see
ing stars on his jacket. I readily recognized
it was general
Eisenhower We
watched more
planes take off and
then he asked. 'Is
there a way I con
get a cup of coffee
around here 7 *
“Yes, sir,' I re
sponded. 'Down
stairs m get some
for you '
Til go with you,'
he said
So the General
and I went down
the balcony stair
case to the converted restroom There I
was. a mere lieutenant, getting coffee for
the Supreme Allied Commander just as D-
Day was beginning General Eisenhower
sat down on the only chair and tilted it bock
ogainst the wall We could heor the planes
droning off and the muffled commotion on
the floor above us
•Wont they be worrying about you, SirT
I asked, feeling a little less intimidated
He put his hat down on the table “They 11
find me,' he answered “What's your first
name, Lieutenant 7 '
It's Dick... Richard,' I answered.
'Mine s Ike,' the General said. “Well,
Dick, this is on historic night, the beginning
of the end of the war By mid-morning well
have a hundred and fifty thousand men on
the continent'
“Yes, Sir,' I replied, handing him a mug
of steaming coffee
"You re a pilot, ehr he said, gestunng
toward the wings on my chest
Tes. sir Grounded now. though'
'Got a family bock home 7 *
'Just a wife so for We got married just
before I came overseas Been here more
than two years now '
^ “Well, Dick, we re going to get you back
home pretty quick now.... All of us. I hope.'
My new friend, ke, asked me about my
home and plans for the future, and made
smal talk until the drone of one of the C-
47s took over We both listened until the
sound subsided and, feeling bolder, I
asked, “Where are they heoding 7 '
Ike grinned at me 'Promise you won t
tellT
'Oh. yes. sir'
“Well.' he said, stiH grinning, 'I've prom
ised. too'
After a pause, looking at his watch, he
odded, “You ! know in about six hours'
Suddenly we heard scampering and
voices all over the ploce ke colmly swal
lowed the remainder of his coffee 'Weir
he sighed, picking up his hat, 'I guess HI
have to let them find me Thanks for the
coffee, Dick'
'My pleasure... ke,' I said.
Richard Forbecker
utwn
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C O C K T AILS
120 E. Washington St.
613-1300
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